Voyage/Dawn Trader—another unfaithful adaptation

[Falconer]

Watch the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj8MG_YCTug

The story was changed because book “doesn’t quite have that dramatic thrust to it that it needs for a film,” said director Michael Apted. What a shame.

[Flambeaux]

*sigh*
As I feared...

Thanks for the confirmation.

[Juju EyeBall]

I'll see it eventually. I don't really run out to the theaters anymore, though.

[thedungeondelver]

Watch the trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cj8MG_YCTug

The story was changed because book “doesn’t quite have that dramatic thrust to it that it needs for a film,” said director Michael Apted. What a shame.

Yeah, escaping slave traders, visiting fantastical (and highly dangerous) locations, all bookended by a bildungsroman...yeah, no dramatic thrust there.

[rredmond]

In "breathtaking digital 3D" -- tells you right there where they are putting the drawing power. Fan-freakin'-tastic. Saw some monopods though...

[T. Foster]

director Michael Apted

It's funny to me that this is the same guy responsible for the "Up" series -- re-interviewing the same group of people every 7 years from age 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, and 49 (and, presumably, counting -- 56 Up should be due in 2012). For that achievement alone he's generally considered a Major filmmaker, and yet he spends the other 6 years making these shlocky studio movies (he also directed at least one of the Pierce Brosnan-era James Bond movies and assorted other trash). Guess he's got bills to pay just like anyone else.

[Vigilance]

director Michael Apted

It's funny to me that this is the same guy responsible for the "Up" series -- re-interviewing the same group of people every 7 years from age 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, and 49 (and, presumably, counting -- 56 Up should be due in 2012). For that achievement alone he's generally considered a Major filmmaker, and yet he spends the other 6 years making these shlocky studio movies (he also directed at least one of the Pierce Brosnan-era James Bond movies and assorted other trash). Guess he's got bills to pay just like anyone else.

In fact, his willingness to do commercial schlock might be how he continues to fund the 7 up series.

On the subject of the original post...

I love the Narnia books, and I love these movies. No, they aren't faithful to the books, but I can't stop watching them either.

[rredmond]

On the subject of the original post...

I love the Narnia books, and I love these movies. No, they aren't faithful to the books, but I can't stop watching them either.

I enjoyed the first movie... but the second one was a bit rough. And this one is looking along the same vein. But I, like you, will likely watch it, not in the theatres, but I'll certainly rent it.

[Geoffrey]

I love the Narnia books.

I enjoy the first film, but strongly dislike the second one. I have a "wait and see" attitude for the third.

[Falconer]

Same here. LWW was fine, and while I cringed through some of the changes (especially LOTR-style removal of the humor from the book and then inserting cheap slapstick humor), they were pretty minor and the movie was overall well-done. PC was made a mockery of. I’m sorry, but I’m not one of those who can intellectually separate myself from the expectation that the movie will be a faithful adaptation. That in itself was enough to make PC a Bad Movie in my book. However, I maintain that (as with the LotR movies) the changes did NOT help make it a better film. My impression of LotR movie fans is that, while they claim that they enjoyed the movies BECAUSE of Jackson’s changes and DESPITE Tolkien’s original, the opposite is actually the case: Tolkien’s original shone through enough to make them good pictures DESPITE Jackson’s tinkering. With PC, very little of the original shone through. And the additions? Gratuitous never-ending battle scenes that did nothing to advance the plot. Gratuitous romance. Yawn. The subtractions? Aslan. The Greek Mythology elements. Any allusion to spiritual struggle, an exploration of belief or a juxtaposition of Atheist/Agnostic/Christian (Trumpkin/Nikabrik/Trufflehunter).

Anyway, I was hoping VDT would stick closer to the LWW formula. After all, the book is the most well-known after LWW. But after seeing the trailer, I’m disappointed. I lament the fact that we will have to wait a few more decades before we can see a faithful adaptation. (The BBC version is just okay.)

[Flambeaux]

I'll settle for rereading these with my kids.

[rredmond]

I'll settle for rereading these with my kids.

Made the mistake of following up the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe with a Horse and his Boy. All the Calamarine stuff through us for a loop. Then we ended up reading Harry Potter and are now in the third chapter of the seventh book. But once I finish that monster, mayhap it'll be time to give Narnia another whirl.

[Flambeaux]

I'll settle for rereading these with my kids.

Made the mistake of following up the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe with a Horse and his Boy. All the Calamarine stuff through us for a loop. Then we ended up reading Harry Potter and are now in the third chapter of the seventh book. But once I finish that monster, mayhap it'll be time to give Narnia another whirl.

We have a hardbacked omnibus edition of the Narnia books where they are in the new "chronological" format but I have a set with the original order and that's what we read them in. My wife did all the readings last time. I might do them this time.

[Falconer]

Definitely read them in the original published order.

My father read these to us when we were kids. It became a tradition to re-read them every Lent! Highly recommended.

[Benoist]

In all fairness, the trailer does look good.

But it's the same bullshit over and over again. Every time, some producer or director or screenwriter thinks he knows better than a JRR Tolkien or a CS Lewis. Every. Single. Time. Even though these guys proved the morons wrong because the criticisms were already there when the books were published ("that Lord of the Rings book is too long... too complex... doesn't follow the rules that make good dramatic tension... has too many protagonists..."). Bla. Bla. BLAH. Bullshit. Pure bullshit.

But never fear. Somewhere, somehow, some kids are going to see the Narnia movies and want to read the books at some point. Or many a parent will do that for them. Some of them won't get it, but some of them will. I find comfort in that thought.