by Isabella Jordan The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian Directed by Andrew Adamson. Starring Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, and more. What does the birth of a baby boy, a prince on the run, and the mythical Horn of Queen Susan have to do with four quarreling siblings waiting in a 1940's train station? Plenty. And you won't want to miss this next film installment of the classic series by C.S. Lewis. For once, all the hype is correct. And isn't that a refreshing change? True to the written series, this tale begins one year, in our time, since the Pevensie siblings first journeyed to Narnia. As you'll remember in Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the four young people grew to maturity in Narnia. They were adult kings and queens until they stumbled upon the wardrobe again, long since forgotten, and tumbled back into their modern day reality where mere moments, not years, had passed. Now they are back in their original reality, the 1940's, and they are once again young people. Being treated like a kid after you've been an adult king or queen can't be easy. Peter is involved in a fight as our movie opens and Edmund bravely comes to help him. Peter isn't appreciative of his help, only bemoaning that he hates being treated like a child. Meanwhile Susan is avoiding a young man who's obviously interested in her and Lucy, as always, is the one with wisdom beyond her years trying to reason her way through everything. They want to return to Narnia, at least most of them do, with no idea of how and no idea if they'll ever make it.

What they don't know is that they will be returning to Narnia very shortly, summoned by a prince who's on the run for his life. He's the next in line to be king of the Telmarines, a race of men who've believed the tales of Narnian to be little more than legend and its creatures long extinct. His uncle covets his throne and with the birth of his own son, furthers his plans to eliminate his nephew, Prince Caspian.

The handsome young prince is on the run. His uncle is trying to kill him. He encounters a group of angry dwarves as he tries to make his escape, shocked to find that they aren't extinct at all. He is, however, knowledgeable about Narnia and its legends thanks to his kind, wise tutor. The tutor even sends him off with a precious gift that he's only to use at a time of greatest need. It's a familiar looking horn and when he blows it, he summons the great kings and queens of old...

Want to guess who they are? LOL

The Pevensie siblings return to Narnia to realize that while only a year has passed in their time, hundreds of years have passed in Narnia and everyone they knew and loved are gone. A great task lies before them. Can they help Prince Caspian fight the growing evil of King Miraz, Caspian's uncle, and the Telmarine army he commands? Can they convince the Narnians, what's left of them, to come together and fight to get their kingdom back? Is Prince Caspian the king the Narians have been waiting for?

There is a lot going on in this story but the movie was plotted out so well, just as its predecessor was, that even someone who's never read the books can follow easily and understand. Fans of the series are in for a treat in how dedicated the film makers were to the story itself. For a film that's over two hours long, it's an immersive experience that draws the viewer in until they want to stay in Narnia forever.

The young actors who played the Pevensie siblings were again, wonderful. Peter and Susan look essentially the same but this film finds Edmund and Lucy looking so grown up. Skandar Keynes, the young man playing Edmund, has grown tall and looks like a young man with the promise of being a handsome one. Very good for the franchise since there are two more films to come. The four of them returned to their roles effortlessly and helped make the film the treat it was.

Ben Barnes plays the handsome Prince Caspian. He did a wonderful job with his role. Maybe it was just me but he adopted a strange accent for his role in this film and it was a little annoying at times. The only noticeable flaw. I hope they work that out before the next film.

As in the first film, the effects were amazing and put to good use. Unlike most franchises, where some fx in the first film prompts the makers to do bigger and more next time, here there were probably less fx than in the first film. It was appropriate for the story not just thrown in gratuitously to cater to marketing trends. As a fan of the books and the films, I really appreciated that.

The film is rated PG. There are some battle scenes, nothing really gory, and other violence (mostly suggested rather than depicted). That being said, there are some scary parts, especially for the younger ones. The film comes in at nearly two and a half hours but it's definitely one to see in the theater. Don't miss it!

Best line:

Edmund Pevensie: [after no one believes that Lucy had really seen Aslan] The last time I didn't believe Lucy, I ended up looking pretty stupid.

Isy