The Pevensie siblings – Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy – are summoned back to Narnia by the sound of a magical horn. Although only a year older, they discover more than 1,300 years have passed in Narnia.

They are transported not through a wardrobe, but from a subway station near London’s Trafalgar Square. They get involved in a power struggle between the evil tyrant Miraz and his nephew Caspian (newcomer Ben Barnes), the rightful heir to the throne.

The Narnians are on the brink of extinction and live in underground caves deep in the forest. The land is inhabited by a seafaring race of humans called Telmarines who resemble 15th century Spanish conquistadors.

The White Witch is dead, but still makes a cameo appearance. Aslan (the voice of Liam Neeson) makes his entrance very late in the movie.

New characters that make the biggest impression are Trumpkin the Red Dwarf (an unrecognizable Peter Dinklage), a courageous, sword-wielding, talking mouse Reepicheep (voice of Eddie Izzard) and faithful badger Trufflehunter.

This disappointing sequel is darker and more somber in tone. Parents with younger children should be aware that the movie is also more violent with intense battle sequences, scary images and an attack by a ferocious nontalking bear.

The magic and goodwill of the first film is missing. It fails to generate the same emotional attachment to the characters. The movie is a long drawn-out affair akin to an endurance contest with a running time approaching 2˝ hours.

The story desperately needs voiceover narration to move things along and explain why we should cheer for Caspian and root against Miraz.

The movie is too busy trying to stuff everything from the book in to please faithful readers. The story gets messy and confusing with pacing problems, and too many subplots and characters to keep track of.

The international cast of unknown actors from Spain, Italy, Mexico and Belgium speak in a strange Mediterranean dialect that is hard to understand.

The Pevensie quartet display amateurish acting skills. You can only discern bits and pieces of their conversations, which are spoken with a thick British accent. Barnes is a dashingly handsome swashbuckler who will have young girls swooning. He speaks with a fake Spanish accent.

Between impressive battle sequences, there is a lot of repetitive walking or riding through the forest.

The movie’s strong points include a glorious musical score that provides a sense of awe and wonder by Harry Gregson-Williams, clear and crisp cinematography, expert makeup and costumes, first-class sound and special effects, meticulous production designs and spectacular scenic locations in New Zealand, Poland, Slovenia and the Czech Republic.

The movie has positive messages about sacrifice and forgiveness. It also continues thematically the difficult passage experienced by adolescents in between childhood innocence and the responsibilities of adulthood.

This battle-heavy, no-brainer, summer popcorn movie is geared to audiences between the ages of 7 and 17.

Review By:
Keith Cohen, The Movie Guy