After a year since their last visit to Narnia, the four Pevensie children are summoned back to the magical land where they are the kings and queens, to help Prince Caspian.

While waiting in an Underground station, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy (William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley) are whisked away from London to a beach in Narnia, only to discover that 1,300 years have passed.

During their absence, Narnia has been conquered by the Telmarines and ruled by the evil King Miraz (Sergio Castellitto). Their castle has turned to ruins, the minotaurs, talking animals and other magical creatures have been driven into hiding, and Narnia is believed to be extinct.

Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes), Narnia's rightful heir to the throne, escapes from his uncle Miraz who is plotting to kill him. With the help of the Pevensies and the Narnians, Peter and Prince Caspian lead an army in a war against the Telmarines to restore the glory of the land, and return Narnia to its people.

It has been three years since the first instalment, “The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe,” hit the big screen and you can see how much the young actors have matured, not just as actors but in their characters.

Edmund who used to betray his family for sweets in the first film, will now do anything to protect them, while Susan has become a true warrior and queen in this chapter who will not hesitate to wield her bow and arrow to bring down her enemies.

Prince Caspian, on the other hand, looks lost and is essentially passive for much of the film's two and a half hours. And what’s up with the weird Mediterranean accent?

Castillitto who plays King Miraz, the villain in the sequel, manages to convey the menace of an evil king without resorting to over the top “bad guy” routines but pales in comparison to Tilda Swinton’s White Witch in the first film. Even her character’s short appearance in “Prince Caspain” was, to me, one of the best scenes of the film.

Like the first instalment, the talking animals are sure to entertain.

Stealing the show is the mouse warrior, Reepicheep (voiced by Eddie Izzard), which seems to be modelled after Puss in Boots from “Shrek 2.” Together with the sarcastic dwarf Trumpkin (Peter Dinklage) and Nikabrik (Warwick Davis), they add much-needed comic lightness to this darker chapter.

The mighty Aslan, however, is missing in action in most of the movie. It is only in the film's final minutes that Aslan steps in to help the children.

What I didn’t like about this film is the intense battle scenes and high body count.

Based on the second published novel of CS Lewis’ fantasy series, “Prince Caspian” is meant to be an adventure for children but ends up looking like a war movie - gore-free nevertheless - and is a bit too violent for the young audience.

If anything, you will find that the battles sequences are more dramatic and more action packed with special effects and digital animation than the first film.

"Prince Caspian" is a pretty good action film, but it doesn't really deliver much more than that. Hopefully the third instalment in the series, “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” scheduled to hit theatres in 2010, will restore the lost magic.

- CNA/il