Caspian: Hit Or Miss?

So yesterday marked the release of the latest cinematic installment in the Chronicles of Narnia series. I figure the film is worth mentioning because of the current lack of fantasy feature films on the market and the first movie was not so bad. So how does the second movie hold up? I'll tell you using a like/didn't like analysis. There's probably a better naming convention for that type of analysis but you'll just have to deal.

Like:

• Mouseketeers! I hadn't read the book prior to seeing the movie, but those mouse warriors were funny and much more likable than either Peter or Caspian.
• CG! The computer graphics were pretty good throughout, animating a cool water elemental and some living trees. Let's not forget that CG whore Aslan. I'm particularly fond of those kinds of graphics, though.
  
• Some intriguing plot elements. Religious parables aside, I retained a genuine interest in the temptation scene with Caspian. Not to spoil too much, but there was a point where I was on the edge of my seat to see how Caspian responded to the particular temptation. While the overall significance of the scene was not addressed in this movie, it left me wondering about what might become of certain artifacts in future Narnia movies/books.
• Stealth attack scene. The Narnian's plan to sneak attack the Talmarins is a good attempt at showing a dynamic to warfare that is actually interesting. I also liked the use of some other tactical warfare schemes that I won't mention for the sake of seeing the movie.
  
• Dwarf character is pretty cool. Not much else to say about that. Maybe give him an axe instead of a crossbow and he would have been awesome.

Didn't Like:

• Awkward ending. I'm not sure how things ended in the book, but what gives? I won't spoil it, but just be prepared for the awkwardness.
• Religious parables. They're just lame by today's standards. I guess there's no getting around them seeing as how the books place such a great emphasis on them.
• Caspian and Peter are both pricks. Whereas in the first film, we only had to deal with Peter, now we have to deal with two over the top idiots. If I had to choose between them, I'd pick Caspian because... well... not to relate the two to anything extraneous... cough red ranger and green ranger... Ok. That's enough of that.
  
• Lack of a hot chick. Seriously. Lord of the Rings can do it, why can't you?

There you go! Is the movie worth seeing? I'd say yeah, I don't think much else is in the cinema that can compete with it, so you've got nothing to lose. It's also a pretty decent movie. Just don't expect something on the same level as the Lord of the Rings and you'll be satisfied.

[The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian]