This was one of our Mithlond selections for the year.  I love including films on our list of monthly selections!  There’s such a wealth of cinema we can draw from.

Andy and i had failed to see the recent film of “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” before watching “Prince Caspian” (which irritated me — i’ll have to make a point to watch LW&W this weekend).  It’s also been probably 5 or 6 years since i read “The Chronicles of Narnia,” and so i was coming at this movie with very few reference points.

For one thing, i thought the movie was far longer than was really necessary.  Two-and-a-half hours?  Really?  As another member of book group said, “Such a thin book, such a long movie.”  Tho’ despite its length i found it overall to be a competent, by-the-numbers fantasy movie — the plot didn’t plod or rush along, the acting was adequate.  I didn’t find much to complain about, and i was pleasantly surprised at how interesting the movie managed to make the political machinations going on amongst the Telmarines.  Also, of course, i was delighted by my friend Reepicheep — voiced by Eddie Izzard, yay!

Mostly, however, i was very greatly annoyed that it was a war movie.  Either i really, really do not remember what happens in the Prince Caspian novel, or they took some liberties with the movie and turned it into far more of a war story than i thought it was.  A little too influenced by Jackson’s vision of “The Lord of the Rings,” perhaps?