The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Two Disc and BD Live) [Blu-ray]

Version: U.S.A / Region A
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
MPEG-4 AVC BD-50 / High Profile 4.1
Running time: 2:29:58
Movie size: 32,33 GB
Disc size: 48,70 GB
Average video bit rate: 19.02 Mbps

DTS-HD Master Audio English 4034 kbps 7.1 / 48 kHz / 4034 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 24-bit)
Dolby Digital Audio Chinese 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio French 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Portuguese 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Thai 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps

Subtitles: English SDH / Chinese / French / Indonesian / Korean / Malay / Portuguese / Spanish / Thai
Number of chapters: 22

#Audio Commentary
#Circle Vision Interactive: Creating the Castle Raid
#BD-Live

Disc 2
******
#The Bloopers of Narnia (3m:06s)
#Seven Deleted Scenes with optional introduction by director Andrew Adamson (11m:15s)
#Inside Narniam: The Adventure Returns (34m:41s)
#Sets of Narniam: A Classic Comes to Life (23m:45s)
#Big Movie Comes to a Small Town (23m:20s)
#Previsualizing Narnia (10m:09s)
#Talking Animals and Walking Treesm: The Magical World of Narnia (4m:50s)
#Secrets of the Duel (6m:46s)
#Becoming Trumpkin (4m:47s)
#Warwick Davism: The Man Behind Nikabrik (11m:08s)

This review comes from my wife Sarah, who is a big fan of the first movie: The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was a masterpiece. This movie didn't come close to the power of that movie. Regardless, if you're a fan of the first movie, I feel it's worth your time to view this second flick.

The first movie had such a positive, clear message of faith, love, forgiveness, standing up for what you believe in and redemption. The story along with the characters was so well developed. It had charm and depth. It was emotionally engaging.

This one was darker, with much confusion, frustration and less of a clear message to take away. There was a lot of focus on the fighting, and there were several periods in the movie that were plain disturbing rather than moving. The sets were darker also. I felt as if there was no one to like. Caspian was hard to relate to. Even the four main characters from the prior movie were less likable and more challenging to sympathize with. The ending left me entirely unsatisfied and even a bit sad. The "romance" between the older Pevensie girls and Prince Caspian was a bit unbelievable.

Yet, those who really enjoyed the first flick will want to see the continuation. The four Pevensie kids go back to Narnia and you'll want to follow the story. As in the first, the special effects are amazing, and the acting is top-notch. The introduction of the mouse character was enjoyable, and there were moments that made it worthwhile. While it doesn't live up to it's predecessor, it's still a decent movie. I give it a C+ or a B-.

One of the lesser "Chronicles of Narnia" novels makes for a difficult book-to-screen adaptation - and the filmmakers did everything they could and then some. The imagery, the acting, the effects - they're all top notch. Sequences like the "search for Aslan" may drag out, but they always pull themselves together and it's certainly a film worth your time.

I haven't read the books, so I'm not prejudiced in any way. But as someone who actually enjoyed the first one I was startled by how shockingly dull this snoozefest sequel is.

I can sit here and spend an hour writing a review that tears the film apart bit by bit though, quite frankly, I have better things to do with my time so I will only focus on my biggest complaints.

Yes, I know it's a film for kids and that it's rated PG but where is the blood? Hundreds of people, humans and creatures alike, are felled in battle but there is not one drop of blood in the whole movie. What is this teaching our children about violence exactly? Don't give me any nonsense about traumatizing them either. I saw Predator [Blu-ray] when I was a kid and I turned out fine. But this is Disney after all and the only people keeping them afloat as a studio are overprotective mothers who fear absolutely everything and are only too happy to spend money on movies and products that falsely suggest that the world is a magical and safe place (this is what you call being 'Disneyfied') and consider something as tame and boring as Prince Caspian to be dark and tough. "You may find Narnia a more savage place than you remember," warns Aslan. Wow, does that mean that we'll be getting Rambo-level violence? Sadly, no. However, more people are killed in this film. Can you work that out? Because I can't.

Since I haven't read the book I wasn't previously orientated as to who's who and what their motivations are, and the film doesn't make it any clearer I promise you. Far, far too often I found myself asking 'Who is he?', 'Who are they?', 'Why are all the bad guys identical to each other?', 'Why are they the bad guys again?'. 'What do they want?'. 'Why are they all Spanish?', 'Why are the kids still kids? Shouldn't they return to Narnia as adults?' And so on...and so on...

The only thing this film is good for is a cure for insomnia. I know that's a childish and crass and far from being a clever soundbite but it was so catatonic that it simply is not inspiring an intelligent review out of me.

Whatever charm The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe [Blu-ray] had is well and truly gone, all that's left is some pretty scenery and that's not enough to keep me interested for well over two hours. Please Disney, don't even bother making the rest of them.

Imagine finding a magical kingdom in another world... only to return over a thousand years later, and find it in ruins.

That's the whole idea of "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," a superb sequel to "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe." While it has a climax that goes on WAY too long, this movie shows us the darker side of C.S. Lewis' fantastical world -- with a heavy dose of Shakespearean villains, political intrigue, and some spectacularly epic battles.

It's been 1,300 years in Narnia, and the human Telmarines have invaded and driven the native Narnians underground. Aslan hasn't been seen in centuries.

And when King Miraz's (Sergio Castellitto) wife gives birth to a baby boy, his nephew -- the rightful heir -- becomes an obstacle. Young Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) flees from his treacherous uncle, and is discovered by a band of Narnians. Along the way, he accidentally ends up summoning the ancient Kings and Queens of Narnia -- also known as the Pevensie children, who were waiting at a train station when they were unexpectedly sucked trough a tunnel.

Though initially delighted to have returned to Narnia, the Pevensies are horrified when they find that their once-idyllic land has been nearly destroyed. Caspian has been organizing a ramshackle army of native Narnians, but Peter (William Moseley) finds that fighting an organized, armed force is very different from battling the White Witch. And after a disastrous attack, the Narnians are facing almost certain destruction -- but Lucy (Georgie Henley) is convinced that Aslan can somehow save them, and restore the kingdom to Prince Caspian....

"Prince Caspian" is definitely a darker story than its predecessor -- good guys die, coups fail, evil machinations succeed, the castles are grimy, some of the good guys turn bad for real, and a bleak, hopeless feeling suffuses much of the movie's second half. Even our heroes have to deal with their doubts and anger, especially since Aslan is conspicuously absent for 95% of the entire film.

And if the first film was a colorful fantasy adventure, then this one is a military story with all the necessary action trappings -- spectacular aerial drops, castle-wide massacres, and a spectacular finale involving a massive pit, tree roots, a river, and catapults. But Adamson also packs in as much violence as a PG-rated movie can contain -- while there's only a few drops of actual gore, there's plenty of beheadings, shootings and stabbings.

But Narnia itself has lost none of its charm, and Adamson lingers lovingly on the sunlit forests and quiet rivers for as long as he can. And though the story is grim, he sprinkles it with plenty of humor (the bound-and-gagged cat) and fairly snappy dialogue. One of the most spectacular scenes involves a very familiar character speaking from inside a sheet of shimmering ice, as Caspian is dragged into a necromancer's ritual. It's really rather creepy.

Problems with the movie? Well, the climactic battle drags on for a LONG time, and every time you think it'll end, it revs back up. And those masked soldiers are a wee bit too reminiscent of "300's" Persians.

The four Pevensie actors all do solid jobs, although William Moseley is the standout -- Peter is struggling with doubt and a bit of alpha rivalry, especially since he's used to being Narnia's top dog. Barnes starts off a little stiffly -- come on, where's the fear when you see your bed turned into a pincushion? -- but soon grows into the difficult role of a Hamlet-like prince who is struggling to become both a Narnian friend and a Telmarine king.

But there's a pretty brilliant supporting cast as well: Castellitto is simply outstanding as the ruthless, icy-cold Miraz, as are Damián Alcázar and Pierfrancesco Favino as his scheming advisors. Warwick Davis does a low-key, malevolent turn as Nikabrik, while Peter Dinklage is the likably brusque, cynical Trumpkin. And Eddie Izzard is top-notch as the mousy swashbuckler Reepicheep -- this could have a silly, comic-relief character, but he does end up being both adorable and formidable.

There are going to be two embellished versions of the "Prince Caspian" blu-ray release, and the more bare-bones version basically has the film, plus an extra bonus disc with the stuff you'd expect in such a movie: bloopers, deleted scenes, and a series of featurettes about the making of the movie -- previsualization, fight choreography, sets, special effects, and the guys who play the dwarves Trumpkin and Nikabrik.

"Prince Caspian" drops the children's fantasy feeling, in favor of a darker, more militaristic story -- especially with all that father-murder stuff. But despite its darker overtones, it never forgets the light side.