Product: The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Two Disc Edition + BD-Live) [Blu-ray] (2008)
Rating: 3.0
DVD good enough, movie lacking
If you are reading reviews to learn about the DVD itself, then know that this is a nicely put together piece. Though the digital copy is kind of pointless in my view, the special features on this DVD set are very good; As with the Lion/Witch/Wardrobe special dvd, the features on this one fall somewhere in between those of the Lord of the Rings (the best), and Harry Potter series (pretty pathetic). If you are interested in behind the scenes stuff, this DVD is well worth the extra cost.However, if you were wondering about the film itself, I'm afraid Caspian falls well short of expectations. Much of the imagination of the first film is lost as the director Andrew Adamson tries to make the film more 'mature'. Actually, he never truly committed to this, with his goofy approach to Reepicheep often ruining serious and otherwise believable moments in the film. In addition to his heavy use of goofy humor vis a vis the mouse, his notion that adding a forced 'romance' between two characters made the film more adult is, I think, ridiculous. To continue with the theme of invented plot lines not found in the book, Adamson gets it completely wrong with his foolish 'castle raid' sequence and the invented tension between Caspian and Peter. Instead of adding legitimate weight to the movie, it soils the characters from the books, and it just feels false and put on.All in all, Caspian is an enjoyable film, but the direction Adamson takes it in ruins the potential for this film. I view Caspian as the best Narnia book, and the most suited to a real action film. That is the reason for my disappointment, not that it is a bad film. I am looking forward to a fresh vision for Dawn Treader.