Prince Caspian

We were able to get someone watch the children this morning, so we took advantage of $4 Saturday morning movie tickets to see Prince Caspian. I hadn't been to a real movie theater with my husband since the first Chronicles movie.

When I went to see Bella I was angry at myself for not wearing my glasses, so I made sure that I wore them this time. That was a mistake. It has been a loooooong time since I have worn them (at least a year, and maybe two) and I was not used to them at all. The movie was slightly clearer, but I came home feeling nauseous because seeing clearly through the glasses and not as clearly out the sides gave me a feeling akin to seasickness.

As far as the movie itself goes, both my husband and I really enjoyed it. In my husband's words, "The first one follows the book more closely, but this one is a better movie." He does qualify that by saying that he didn't like the song or the kiss in the last scene, but everything else was great. I could only remember the first couple chapters, so I honestly don't know how well the events followed the book.

I loved how they embellished so many things to make them look beautiful and noble. The horn, for example, is a solid piece of horn or ivory, carved with an intricate design of a bear. The children wear colorful, multi-layered and textured clothing with details on all the metalwork that they wear. Even the evil army had amazing masks when they went into battle and the boat which the soldiers used at the beginning was ornately carved. No one ever pays attention to such detail-work nowadays so it makes that era seem much more grand.

Even though this is a PG movie, I recommend screening it if you have children who might be frightened by violence. It certainly wasn't like The Lord of the Rings, but it is more than children below a certain age should see. At the beginning of the movie there is also a scene of a woman screaming in childbirth (why do they always do that!?!) which may or may not disturb some people.

The bottom line is, unless you hate books being changed, you should see Prince Caspian. And if you do hate it when that happens, don't think of it as a movie based on a book. Think of it just as cinematic art, and then you probably like it.