I remember first founding out they were make the movie when my sister found the Narnia.com
production blog with Ben Barnes and called me in to watch it. For some reason I had assumed that there weren't going to be anymore Narnia films after LWW (I didn't know how the film industry worked back then.) So I was completely caught off grade and unbelievable excited, I don't know if I've ever been more excited about a movie then I was with Prince Caspian. I desperately wanted to see it opening weekend but my family was busy with something else so I had to wait until the following tuesday, which was agonizing for 12 year old me. But I finally got to see it, and I remember being on cloud nine throughout the entire movie until we got to "the kiss" I wouldn't discover Narniaweb for another year so I had absolutely no idea what was coming. I remember being completely dumbfounded and I'll never forget looking over at my brother and seeing the look of bewilderment his face, I imagine that I probably had the same look on my face as well.
Looking back at the movie now, I still think it's overall a pretty good movie. From a technical standpoint it's great. The production design, costumes, effects, and cinematography are all fantastic. They did a great job making Narnia feel like a real place. The acting is all pretty good, Sergio Castellitto as Miraz is great, I think the Pevensie actors all improved from LWW, and I like Ben Barnes as Captain(though his accent is still a little distracting.) And I absolutely love Harry Grayson-Williams' score.
As an adaptation I think they really captured the feel of the book. The sadness and nostalgia of the old day being gone and the longing for them to return and for Narnia to be set right. I appreciate how they managed to restructure the story for film without really changing the plot all that much. I think they could have done a better job with Caspian's longing for the old days. I don't think it comes across as strong in the film as it needed to, I wish they had included him as a boy being told storys of the Old Narnians in someway, even if it was only a bref prologue or something. In general the return of the old days needed just a little more of a payoff.
In retrospect I think my biggest problem is how Peter was handled. His arc of overcoming his over-confidence and hubris could have work, even though isn't really in the book. But the execution was just bad, he come off as an arrogant jerk to the point of being almost unlikable. I also feel like there should have been a scene between Peter and Aslan, similar to the one in the book were Peter apologized for leading them wrong.
Overall I'm happy with Prince Caspian. I think it's a pretty good movie and a mixed bag as a adaptation. Revisiting it's sort of a frustrating experience. Because it's has a lot going for it and I think they got a lot right, but it gets weighed down by missed opportunities and things like the Caspian\Susan romance that have no reason being there.