It's both intentionally and unintentionally ironic when great lion Aslan tells little Lucy Pevensie (Georgie Henley), "Things never happen the same way twice." It's intentionally ironic because Aslan says it two times in the film, and unintentionally ironic because Caspian in many ways seems like a warmed over remake of the first film, not the least because it simply repeats the basic plot elements of The Lion in slightly altered form. The bottom line is Narnia's in trouble again (almost extinct, it turns out) and the Pevensie kids are called back from wartime London to aid in its defense. This time they're up against the Telmarines, whose exiled Prince Caspian may or may not be an ally. Caspian is in a fight of his own against his ruthless Uncle, who has claimed the throne of the Telmarines for his own and is intent on eradicating Narnia and its remaining inhabitants once and for all.

While Pevensies Peter (William Moseley) and Susan (Anna Popplewell) are frankly more or less exactly the same as they were in the first film. Edmund (Skandar Keynes) is no longer the petulant semi-bad boy of the first film, but that sadly keeps him from contributing much this time, with the shades of gray scenario instead passing to Caspian (Ben Barnes), a maddeningly written character who is by turns heroic and stupid, venal and honorable, pretty much like Edmund the first time round. In fact there are several moments where some viewers may be tempted to turn the film off if only because plot machinations are put into motion only through some pretty poorly motivated actions by Caspian. It's all the more incomprehensible when an underdeveloped love interest between Caspian and Susan (not really part of the original book) is part and parcel of the proceedings, something focused on in the climax of the film which is perhaps leaving the door open for a romantic strand in the upcoming third film, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

With all of the above comments you might be forgiven for thinking that I think Caspian is a total bust, and it really isn't. Director Andrew Adamson has an overall firm grip on the epic sweep of the film (including two very impressive battle sequences, the first of which, a nighttime raid on Caspian's Uncle's castle, is magnificent), giving Caspian an awesome sweep with plenty to look at, especially in this Blu-ray edition. I nonetheless personally had some qualms over some strange editing choices--in one of the first forest scenes with the centaurs and other magical beasts, all of the dialogue is between the Pevensies and Caspian, and yet we cut away just for a second to one solitary centaur. Why? Later, in what could have been a very effective fast dolly shot into Susan shooting her arrows, the shot is broken up into two segments, one very brief, interrupted by a non-related shot. Again, why? For a film that was evidently as massively storyboarded as Caspian was, this sort of minutiae may seem trivial, but it's all the more confounding because great swaths of the film flow so well, visually at least.

What's missing here is any real connection with any of the characters, especially the Pevensies, with perhaps the exception of helpful dwarf Trumpkin (Peter Dinklage). The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe at least had us rooting unfailingly for the four siblings, but this time out there's really no doubt that the Pevensies are going to triumph, and without any other hooks to engage the audience, there's really not much else there aside from spectacle. Barnes as Caspian is halting and stiff, and at times hard to understand (something shared by Sergio Castellito as Caspian's nefarious uncle). This film is certainly more epic than the first, with one impressively staged set piece after another, and yet it's strangely non-engaging, something akin to watching a grand parade on television--there's a lot of motion and activity, but the viewer feels oddly removed from it all.

What Adamson, Walden and Disney may have forgotten in the mammoth production that is all of these Narnia films is that it was the human element that made the Potter and Rings films so smashingly successful. That connection to character was there in at least a passing degree in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and hopefully it can be found again for the upcoming third film. As it stands, Prince Caspian is a gargantuan visual and aural feast with very little going on at both it literal and figurative heart.

The Blu-ray

Video:
Caspian's 1080p AVC 2.40:1 transfer is certainly reference quality Blu-ray material. This is one amazing looking motion picture, with vivid detail (you can virtually count the chains in the various chainmail costumes) and some really amazing color (the aquamarine river at the end is especially lustrous). Black levels are completely consistent, and this film does have some dark and gloomy underground sequences where that's important.

Sound:
Equally of reference quality is the impeccable DTS HD 7.1 mix, which offers not just incredible separation and well thought out channel use, but also has an impressive variety of frequency range. Everything from the gossamer flutters of wings to the roaring boom of a water demon is handled with superb fidelity and reproduction. There are also French and Spanish 5.1 mixes available, as well as subtitles in all of the soundtrack languages.

Extras:
Disc One offers a really good commentary by Adamson, certainly one of the most articulate and informative directors doing these sorts of things, in tandem with the four Pevensie actors. There's also the literally overwhelming "Circle-Vision Interactive," an amazing panoply of featurettes and text pop-ups (mostly but not exclusively about the castle battle sequence) that allow you to decide how you'll navigate through them. I spent literally hours poring over this information and I'm still not certain I saw and read everything. There's also BD Live content and trailers. Disc Two has the bulk of the bonus material, including "Inside Narnia: The Adventure Returns," a very engaging making-of piece that I actually found more consistently interesting than large segments of the film itself; "Sets of Narnia," detailing the massive constructions used in the film; "Big Movie Comes to a Small Town," a very sweet look at the town in Slovenia where a big battle sequence was filmed; "Previsualizing Narnia," a look at the computer storyboarding process; "Talking Animals and Walking Trees," a look at the CGI-heavy special effects elements; "Secrets of the Duel," showing various fighting training the actors underwent; and "Becoming Trumpkin" and "Warwick Davis," two brief featurettes about the two main little people in the cast. Rounding out the extras are ten deleted scenes and a blooper reel, as well as some fun (and quite brief) easter eggs. Disc Three offers a digital download of the film for your portable device.

Final Thoughts:
It pains me somewhat not to give this film a better recommendation, but I have to be honest both with you readers and myself and simply say Prince Caspian left me pretty cold most of the time. Yes, there's an awful lot to look at and listen to, but it never touched me or elicited the sense of wonder that the first Narnia film did, at least in dribs and drabs. Your reaction may be completely more positive, but I recommend you Rent It first if you haven't already seen it and therefore know what your reaction is.

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"G-d made stars galore" & "Hey, what kind of a crappy fortune is this?" ZMK, modern prophet