I think the only reason you find more strengths with Prince Caspian as time rolls on is because the film rings true to the phrase, "it's so bad, it can only go uphill from here". The first time I saw the film, I severely disappointed. The second time around, I thought it went really well. Third time, blah.
DVD viewings....I think I watched it once. Maybe twice.
I can understand that they needed to make changes to story and they did some of those really well. I mean, the structure of it was great, but I still can't get over some of the things they added. I don't see how the Caspian/Susan romance enhanced the movie at all (I'm still not over it. I never will be.). Or even the arguments between Caspian and Peter (I'm sure they could have found a more interesting way to show "Peter learning his lesson").
Not to mention the CGI was worse than the first film.

LWW is the overall better film. I hardly watch it on DVD anymore because I've watched it so many times already. Nonetheless, I would rather watch the first film over the second film. It felt more Narnian than PC. I could go on and on but I'm sure many people have praised the first film many times way better than I ever could on this forum.

I feel pretty much the same way about PC now as I did when I first watched it. I think it's a very good movie and it saddens me that it's regarded as the "red headed step child" of the series. I don't agree with all of the changes made (Caspian/Susan... urghrgh) but as a whole I think it was a very strong effort indeed.

Not to mention the CGI was worse than the first film.

Come on now, that is simply not true. I know there were some complaints about the CGI on Aslan, but generally speaking the CGI in PC is miles ahead of LWW. In fact, I'd say the visuals in PC was one of the film's greatest strengths. It just looks SOLID throughout. LWW was not as convincing by a long shot.

On the whole, I still like PC, probably just as much as when I first saw it. I think over time some of the changes I've come to like less, but that still doesn't mean I absolutely hate them. I suppose all in all, even with some of the ones I liked less, for me there's just no use getting worked up about it- no matter how much I vent and rant it's not going to take away those scenes, and it's much better to move on, accept that PC was perhaps not up to it's full potential, hope VDT is better, and all in all, have my peace about PC still intact.

Ever since most of us saw the first footage of PC we knew it was doomed.

Here I have to beg differ (assuming that the "most of us" is talking about Narnia fans in whole), at least personally for myself. When I saw the footage- indeed the trailer when the day it first came out online- I was really quite excited about it, and the more I saw of the footage the more I was looking forward to the film. I thought the film could do quite well, actually, and even if the film wasn't a huge, blockbuster success, I didn't find it a letdown, neither was I disappointed that I had previously chosen to be quite excited about the film.

All in all, I'm happy we have a new director at the helm of VDT, and while there were some changes I don't absolutely love about PC, I do not hate them either, and quite enjoyed the film (as did my family).

I’m honestly completely shocked by the majority of reactions. I didn’t started snooping around NarniaWeb until a few months after Caspian was released in cinemas, but I didn’t think people were really so anti it, I thought it was just a lukewarm indifference! You learn something new everyday.

Two years on . . . I still really enjoy watching it. On first viewing I enjoyed it – when I found out they were making it I really could not see how they could do it at all – and I was pleasantly surprised. I own it on DVD and I watch it a lot. Along with LWW it’s one of my ‘go to’ films when I’m ridiculously bored. I wouldn’t like to compare the two films, after repeated viewings of both I think they are too different. Like the books though, I like them as stand-alone stories. After having time to think about it, I would say it’s a very ‘honest’ adaptation (perhaps not the best word to use), what I mean is that it’s clearly different to the book, but it doesn’t hide the fact, it tries to have fun with it, & I personally think it works.

Actually, I think I like this film more with repeated viewings. Things that slightly irked me on first showing (Susan/Caspian and, um ... no that’s it really) really don’t matter to me now. Basically, similar to LWW, I love it more with age. Both films would be near the top of my favourite films list, although for different reasons.

...I liked Edmund.

Yep, that's about it, folks. They ruined the movie and I haven't watched it for a year at the least. I'm not ashamed, and I'm not sad.

They just messed it up. I think I only enjoyed it in the theatre because I was at a Lion Party and PrincessRosario put up with my comments during the movie.

After having time to think about it, I would say it’s a very ‘honest’ adaptation (perhaps not the best word to use), what I mean is that it’s clearly different to the book, but it doesn’t hide the fact, it tries to have fun with it, & I personally think it works.

That's a great way of putting it. I feel the same way. The film works as a film; it's not the cleanest adaptation but it doesn't pretend to be. I think PC is difficult material to adapt anyway, and while I can certainly think of other approaches that might've satisfied us book fans better, I don't think this one was an outright failure.

Particularly, I love Ben Barnes' Caspian - he is very different from his book incarnation but I ended up not minding because of how much I believed in his character. He's one of the reasons I'm so looking forward to Dawn Treader; I can't wait to see him as King Caspian the Seafarer.

Ultimately, though, I think both LWW and PC fail to capture Lewis's storytelling voice, and that's where my main discontent with the series lies (so far). I can bear changes in the details, and even big shifts in plot structure. What I can't bear so easily is a change in tone or theme, and when it comes right down to it, the films don't feel very Narnian to me. I'm very eager to see a new director's take on the world because I feel it needs a new vision at this point. I hope I can find more of "my" Narnia in Dawn Treader.

Most of the problems with the PC movie were unavoidable because of the extremely uncinematic source material. Most of the changes needed to be made.

I predict that after VDT comes out, fans will be saying "They learned their lesson and decided to stick to the book this time!" But the truth will be that PC is just much less cinematic than the other Narnia books. Fewer changes will be required for VDT.

I've always liked PC. Not the greatest film ever made, but still very enjoyable with some very impressive visual effects. It's been a year or more since I've seen either LWW or PC (yeah I know, "bad Narnia fan!" ), but I enjoy them equally. LWW is Narnia in my opinion and is such a great improvement on the old BBC TV movie. *dodges barrage of rotten fruit*

PC is just a fun action/adventure fantasy film. I have no problems with the changes (of course, I've never been a big fan of the book) and the CGI was leaps and bounds above LWW.

Here's hoping that VDT will be an excellent three installment!

*enters this thread and dies*
Could we PLEASE not talk about this film anymore?
That's about how I feel right now. We've discussed and discussed to death all the aspects of the marketing, the CGI, the characters, the romance, the battles, the epic failure...I feel as if I've written the same review about 20 times.
I don't mind the film as much as I did at first. I've come to peace with it (really dramatic way to put it, I know, but very true). I hate Suspian. I hate Susan at the Battle at Aslan's How. I hate the overextended Battle at Aslan's How. I hate the portrayal of Sir Reepicheep. Unfortunately, those elements take up pretty much the whole film.
Everything else I've come to terms with (yes, even the Night Raid). I can watch the film and enjoy it still, but I wish I didn't have to cringe every few minutes for one reason or another. Long ago I decided to deal with it and put all my hopes toward VoDT.
Here's to the next film being better than any yet!

I can't believe it's been TWO YEARS!!!!! wow!

I still remember that day like it was yesterday - the day I first saw PC.
flashback to May 16, 2008
Glenstorm The Great, her sister, and my sister went to see it on May 16, 2008 (the day it came out, of course ! I dressed up as Lucy, Glenstorm The Great dressed up as Susan, and my sister dressed up as Caspian! we saw the movie at 10:15 am! it was so awesome! I hyperventilated during the entire movie (so I was dizzy by the end of the movie )! it was great!

Most of the problems with the PC movie were unavoidable because of the extremely uncinematic source material. Most of the changes needed to be made.

I predict that after VDT comes out, fans will be saying "They learned their lesson and decided to stick to the book this time!" But the truth will be that PC is just much less cinematic than the other Narnia books. Fewer changes will be required for VDT.

I've been thinking this all along and I dont think I've heard anyone say this until now. PC just was not movie-conversion friendly. I mean, think about it. Aslan is here to save the day in the middle of the book. Pretty anti-climatic. As far as both movies are concerned, PC is my favorite of the two.. and I can honestly say that I have watched PC much more than LWW. I watched it a few days ago .. again. It just feels more fleshed out and mature. Some of the changes (in my opinion of course) were welcome. No Romp? Totally ok with that. Caspian flashback? Would have been interesting to see but no big deal. The Night Raid? A paragraph was embellished into an entire section of the movie... way cool! The Infamous Kiss? I will never get over it. Regina Spektor? Don't like it either but other than that the movie is good. We have yet to see a jaw-dropping effort out of a Narnia film but I have a feeling its coming.

Libby: yeah that was awesome . I loved the weird looks we got from people . I have to say I liked the movie a WHOLE lot more then than I do now.

For example, last night, my sisters wanted to watch PC b/c it was "the anniversary! Come on Alissandra, why don't you like it! It's awesome! Let's watch it! Who cares if we stay up til 2 am!? We love this movie" blah blah blah etc. So I stayed up and watched it with them...and fell asleep. Not from being tired, from boredom and the fact that it was too painful to watch. I fell asleep right after the duel (and a few other parts as well) hoping to miss the ending but then my sisters threw pebbles at me and woke me up . So yeah...don't like it very much at all.

I don't love either of the Narnia films. I do like them both to varying degrees. I would go into my feelings on LWW, but since this is a PC-specific thread, I'll hold those thoughts for now.

I've seen the movie now four times I believe, twice in theaters and twice on DVD, and for the most part, I've really enjoyed Prince Caspian.
Is it the best movie I've ever seen? Absolutely not, but it's certainly not the worst.
Could another director have made a better adaptation? Most definitely. I could probably list more directors who I think would have done a better job than I have fingers on my hand. However, I think Adamson made the best movie from the story that he could have, and I applaud him for that.

I agree with others who say that the book Prince Caspian is one that is not cinematic at all, and very hard to adapt to the big screen. So given what they had to work with, the movie could have been a lot worse.

There are moments of the film that I think show glimmers of greatness. The first 5 minutes or so of the film, with Caspian escaping, are excellent. The night raid and its aftermath, both in the camps of the Narnians and the Telmarines are some of my favorite parts of the movie. Miraz' coronation is another scene that sticks out to me as being very good. I also enjoyed the inclusion of the White Witch. That entire scene was very creepy and very well done.

I love the culture and heritage that Adamson gave to the Telmarines. In fact, the Telmarine characters are some of my favorite of the movie. Glozelle, Sopespian, Miraz to be exact. From an acting standpoint, I think Pierfrancesco Favino, Damian Alcazar, and Sergio Castellito gave knockout performances, and probably the 3 best performances in the entire film. Of course Peter Dinklage and Warwick Davis I thought were very good as well.

I appreciate the character arcs that they were trying to portray with Peter and Susan, as I believe glumPuddle wrote about earlier. However, I think they missed the mark. Maybe this was due to the actor's abilities, the direction they were given, or the writing itself, who knows, but for whatever reason I don't think they had the emotional impact and importance that they could have.

I also wasn't a fan of the final battle. I realize it is a PG film, and maybe I'm just spoiled from watching LOTR and similar movies that the final battle was too "clean" to be believable. Sure there was a lot at stake, but there was no tension. I was unattached, unmoved. Even with PG violence, there can be tension and emotion added to a battle scene to make the viewer care, and PC's finale didn't do that for me.

But, overall, I do like the movie. Like I said, not my favorite, but not a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, I think that from a technical standpoint (writing, acting, directing, cinematography, CGI, costumes, etc.) PC was a superior movie to LWW.

I like it more everytime I watch it, which is saying something because I loved it when it first came out. I liked everything they added except Suspian.

I liked how Aslan and the magic of Narnia did not come untill the end. Their absence emphasized their importance to me. Because Caspian and the Pevensies waited so long on Aslan and had tried everything else but Him, I think it made is coming so much sweeter and more triumphant.

I think it tells an excellent story of faith and the struggle of holding onto it when hope seems lost. It feels more real and relevant to me than LWW. I mean, what do you do? Where do you turn when the magic is gone and you can't find Aslan and the only thing you can see is problems coming at you like an army?

I think a lot of the emotions there are normal responses to the abnormal situations the Pevencies and Caspian found themselves in. I liked that the movie showed the characters were flawed. It was an honest kind of story and because it was so honest and shows flawed characters and Aslan as the hero who comes and rescues them despite their shortcomings, I find myself better able to relate to it and learn from it. Anytime I can learn something from a movie I believe it is well worth watching.
That's my humble opinion

Libby: yeah that was awesome . I loved the weird looks we got from people . I have to say I liked the movie a WHOLE lot more then than I do now.

For example, last night, my sisters wanted to watch PC b/c it was "the anniversary! Come on Alissandra, why don't you like it! It's awesome! Let's watch it! Who cares if we stay up til 2 am!? We love this movie" blah blah blah etc. So I stayed up and watched it with them...and fell asleep. Not from being tired, from boredom and the fact that it was too painful to watch. I fell asleep right after the duel (and a few other parts as well) hoping to miss the ending but then my sisters threw pebbles at me and woke me up . So yeah...don't like it very much at all.

yeah, the guy behind the popcorn counter gave me the most hilarious stare!

wow, really? you got bored by it? I like it for the action, not the "adaption' (sarcasm ) from the book. I don't fall asleep though! I still like it, but VotDT is going to be a whole lot better than PC!