CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: PRINCE CASPIAN ***

Directed by Andrew Adamson the fantasy/adventure stars: Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Ben Barnes, Peter Dinklage, and Sergio Castellitto. Rated PG for epic battle action and violence. The film is two hours and twenty-five minutes long.

The characters of C.S. Lewis' timeless fantasy come to life once again in this newest installment in which the Pevensie siblings (Henley, Keynes, Moseley and Popplewell) are again magically transported back from England to the world of Narnia. Since their last visit, the Golden Age has become extinct as Narnia has been conquered by the Telmarines (humans) and is now under the control of the evil King Miraz (Castellitto). The four children soon meet Narnia's rightful heir to the throne, the young Prince Caspian (Barnes), who has been forced into hiding as his uncle plots to kill him in order to place his own newborn son on the throne. The children are aided by the original inhabitants of the world, Narnians, including Trumpkin (Dinklage).

I've never read the Lewis books so my opinion specifically concerns only the entertainment value of this film. That value is high for the first hour and a half and then starts declining as the film goes on and on, never seeming to know when to end. This film is simply too long for its intended audience, children, and it was really pressing its luck with me. There are some terrific CGI effects, suitably impressive battle scenes and stirring music. And, a large theatre will allow you to be immersed in the spectacle, but this film is long enough that an intermission might be in order. At least the eventual DVD version will let you take a break every once in awhile. The religious allegory will be obvious to an adult but I doubt most children will be aware of it. Even with its excessive length, this is impressive movie making and deserves to be seen whether in a theatre or at home.