I'm a kid-at-heart. Children movies and teen films attract my attention more than other genres. These movies bring me joy, and once in a while I simply need this injection of youth into my soul. Only by reconnecting with my youthful self I can be the adult I want to be.
The trailer was not good, I have to admit it. I almost had the feeling of not watching the movie. But somehow my good feeling about the first movie told me to give it a shot. I did, and I am so glad that I did. I've read the book since I was a child, and I've always wondered how will they turn it into a movie. The book itself is not the best one among the series, in fact it felt a little plain compare to the previous one. So it is good to see they put in some extra elements to make it look more realistic and interesting.
The four Pevensie siblings are all grown up. And their acting abilities are getting better and better, particularly Georgie Henley. She is no more the little girl with some weird expressions in the first movie. As for their characters, Peter (as the eldest) has always been the center of every heroic scene, in both films. This time around, it is great to see the tension and competition between him and Prince Caspian. This is one of the things they added in (I think), because I don't remember the book put it that way. But it feels natural and logical to have those teens compete with each other. Hey, isn't that what we did in high school? I also like what seems like the feeling of guilt shown on Peter's face after hearing what happened in Narnia after they left thousand years ago. They are just human, and they should have felt so seeing all the ruins in Narnia
Susan has always been portrayed as one beautiful girl in the books. As I do not see how Anna Popplewell fit to it in the first movie, she is perfectly the "pretty girl" this time around. She is more graceful and ladylike, but still manages to look heroic when doing the battle scene. The attraction between her and Prince Caspian is another of the extra elements I think appropriate and logical. They are teens, of course they will be attracted to each other. Just because they are in Narnia doesn't mean they are not human or possess any feeling anymore. And the one scene where she tells Lucy how she "finally get used to the idea of being in England" is probably a hint of her not returning to Narnia anymore (she is not even returning in the last book, because she has long forgotten it).
Edmund gets the least storyline this time. It's a pity, I really like his character very much. But luckily he gets a lot of good lines this time. The expression on Miraz's and his people's faces when he interrupted them by declaring himself a "King" is just so funny. In fact, I think this is the funniest scene in the movie. And him being the one to stab the White Witch thus preventing her from coming back is so well designed, particularly when he was once her biggest fans.
Lucy, being the first to enter Narnia, has always been the center of the story. Her character is not that well developed this time, but the plot of her faith in Aslan is still the center of the story. But it's fine, she still gets to come back in the next one.
All the other characters are great, not to mention the special effects and the breathlessly beautiful cinematography. As an epic, this movie is one of the best (although sometimes you might mistakenly thinking you are watching The Lord Of The Rings). While as a drama, I do think they show a lot more emotions and feelings this time compare to the first movie. When the song "The Call" started to play at the end, I feel kinda sad watching the siblings turn and walking out of Narnia. To me, they really do have a wonderful journey to Narnia this time.
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