Seasonal Plume

I watched Prince Caspian with friends last Thursday at Cathay Cineleisure Orchard. Like previously mentioned, I’m not a book purist, but there is that line that mustn’t be crossed when we’re talking above movie adaptations of well-loved books. While Prince Caspian was not unsalvagable, I didn’t care overmuch about a few of the glaring differences.

(Warning: spoilers ahead!)

I didn’t mind that they “hurried” the children’s arrival in Narnia, that certain events (well, almost all events) became rather jumbled, that they added fight scenes where there was none (a bit on the fence with that one, though). I liked how Susan was in the midst of the fighting. I don’t even mind how far they got the White Witch present in the movie, and I actually like that because I rather like how Edmund was the one to resolve that issue, and his quip “Yeah, I know. You had it sorted” was good and well delivered. Being the one who suffered under the White Witch’s “affections”, it felt apt to have him deal that blow.

(I shall have to watch Skandar Keynes, who played Edmund–seems to be shaping up to be a good actor.)

But I do mind that they added a Caspian/Susan twist, and topped it all off with a kiss. Yes, I notice the tension between them, and yes, I laughed when Lucy exclaimed, “‘You might need to call me again’?!” The tension is enough, thankyouverymuch. I didn’t need to see the kiss. I’m not a prude–I like a good kiss–but you know that feeling that it just isn’t right? That’s how I felt. Maybe it was not handled well enough by the actors and/or the scriptwriters, I don’t know; but all in all I had much rather they left the kiss off.

Peter and Caspian, as well, felt like two teenage boys with these oversized egos. I realize they’re teenage boys trying to find their place in the world, but it just felt like they were immature kids, and their “bickering” was annoying. Is it just that the acting wasn’t good enough? It’s good to have a bit of rivalry within the ranks, but if they did this to just add some grittiness to the story, then it was poorly written/done.

Thank goodness there was plenty to save this movie: Reepicheep is wonderful, and I knew something was up with Nikabrik–I only found out afterward that it was actually Warwick Davis, of Willow fame! I have to say it is odd to have him play a villain, but maybe that’s why they made him practically unrecognizable? (His eyes almost gave him away though; I just knew that I knew that actor.)

Lucy and Edmund are wonderful in this film, as is Georgie Henley and Skandar. Great acting, and I have to say my favorite lines are from the two of them, like Lucy’s aforementioned “You might need to call me again” outburst, and gems like this from Edmund:

King Miraz: Tell me, Prince Edmund…
Edmund Pevensie: King.
King Miraz: I beg your Pardon.
Edmund Pevensie: It’s King Edmund, actually. Just King though. Peter’s the High King. (Pause) I know, it’s confusing.

If you’re a Narnia fan, then it’s a given: you should watch this movie. Just don’t expect a lot from it.

This Thursday’s Booking Through Thursday is Books vs Movies:

Books and films both tell stories, but what we want from a book can be different from what we want from a movie. Is this true for you? If so, what’s the difference between a book and a movie?

Interesting question, and I was actually talking about this in brief with Faye recently. I’m not a book purist, and I think that on average, I do enjoy movie/TV adaptations a lot, certainly on varying degrees of enjoyment. To me, a movie generally has to be more compact, but that’s because it has a lot of power to convey more in a short period of time, since movies and TV shows are highly visual. Show, don’t tell, is definitely the rule. It’s easier to reach a lot more people with movies, because they’re so much easier to stomach — what’s two hours, after all, in one day, in one week?

Books, on the other hand, require a bit more patience than a movie (since it won’t end after two hours I’m sure, unless it’s a very short book or you’re an amazing speed reader) but a well-written book can go so much deeper than a movie has time for, which I feel is great. It gives one the leeway to imagine as one wills, which can give a more powerful impact to the story than a movie, with its “set” visuals, can give. Those imaginings are highly personal, tainted by one’s own preferences, and one can definitely end up enjoying a book more than a movie simply because of the highly personal nature of one’s imagination.

Going back to the book versus movie debate, I sometimes even like it when adaptations deviate from the book, as long as the premise and spirit is the same, and this definitely has a lot of bearing on the skill of the actors and the screenwriter. For example, there was a bit of flack about the BBC 2006 Jane Eyre adaptation being rather, well, “forward”, but I thought it worked well, and I enjoyed the TV mini-series immensely. The 2005 Pride and Prejudice adaptation was also rather different, but it was admittedly pretty (even though I’ve found a lot of ways to poke fun at the movie).

This isn’t always the case, though. Just recently, since I had just finished reading Eragon (and Eldest), I tried watching the movie. Oh shock horror. I couldn’t get past Saphira flying down from the sky suddenly full-grown and wise. (Maybe I should have stuck to it more, since I later on found out that Rachel Weisz had voiced Saphira.) While I don’t think Eragon is omgamazingfabulous, the movie felt quite botched together. Roran not going off to find money to wed Katrina is alright, but everyone knowing about the new farm-boy dragon rider? Uh, no thank you. I don’t think I want to know how else they managed to make a rather stereotypical, predictable fantasy epic worse.

But naturally, there are also exceptions for me when a movie is better than a book. I quite enjoyed the 1999 Mansfield Park adaptation more than the book, even though I’m a staunch Jane Austen fan. Sadly, this is the only one example I can give of a movie being better than a book, but then my sister would say the same about Lord of the Rings (she couldn’t get past Fellowship of the Ring) — something we obviously disagree about ;)

Your mileage may vary.