Walt Disney Pictures with Walden Media present a PG rated family, fantasy, adventure directed by Andrew Adamson and starring Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian), Georgie Henley (Lucy Pevensie), Skandar Keynes (Edmund Pevensie), William Moseley (Peter Pevensie), Anna Popplewell (Susan Pevensie), Sergio Castellitto (King Miraz), Peter Dinklage (Trumpkin), Warwick Davis (Nikabrik), Vincent Grass (Doctor Cornelius), Pierfrancesco Favino (General Glozelle), Cornell John (Glenstorm), Damian Alcazar (Lord Sopespian), Alicia Borrachero (Queen Prunaprismia), Simon Andreu (Lord Scythley), Predrag Bjelac (Lord Donnon), Eddie Izzard (voice of Reepicheep) and Liam Neeson (voice of Aslan) along with a huge supporting cast, extras and spectacular special effects.

Having not seen the first "Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", I felt a bit lost on the character development in this second coming of the big screen adaptation from the C.S. Lewis novel.  The story eventually came together for me but some of the direction and writing did not help accomplish the goal in having this rendition stand alone.  As a sequel to the original I guess most of the people in the theatre were aware of what was going on while I was trying to catch up to who, what, when, where and the all important why things in the story were happening.

When King Miraz and his wife give birth to a healthy son, their nephew, Prince Caspian with the help of Doctor Cornelius, flees the walls of the castle in order to save his life.  Since Miraz has become the proud father of a son and potential heir to the throne, he seeks to assassinate Prince Caspian, as he did his father, so that he will become King.  For Prince Caspian, everything he knows is about to change, and it does as soon as he escapes on horseback from the soldiers out to kill him.  During a brilliantly shot horse chase sequence, Prince Caspian's fate happens to fall beyond the soldiers but now into the tiny hands of the forgotten Narnians, little people, talking animals and moving plants that hide out in the forests outside the castle.  Honestly, some of the best moments in the film involved these creatures and characters that dwelled within the trees and soil of the forests.

With the blow of a horn, Prince Caspian's life is soon joined by the presence of the Pevensie siblings.  These four children of noble ancestors along with Prince Caspian and the Narnians fight King Miraz and his soldiers trying to maintain their rightful place amongst the citizens in their community, escaping extinction of their vast human-like and talking animal species.  If after so long one gets treated like a dumb animal that's what one becomes and the Narnians were not going to take it any longer.  Whether a mouse, squirrel, badger, wolf, tiger, lion or man, all are created equal in their eyes but not King Miraz, so they must all fight to maintain their role within the society.

The cinematography in so many of the scenes was breath-taking, the mountain sides, the oceans outlined by islands and cliff sides, the chase on horseback as arrows fly through the air all set to a dramatic and exquisite score helped make this movie worth seeing.  Personally, my favorite was the scenes containing Aslan, the Lion, since the majesty of this creature filled the screen with moments of notoriety, strength and just breath-taking beauty for one of God's truly remarkable creatures that we must always remember to respect as a wild exotic animal.

But as General Glozelle and King Miraz along with an army of soldiers move in to invade the Narnians in their shelter they discover that they were right to fear the woods.  Since all other attempts failed for the Pevensie siblings and Prince Caspian to de-throne King Miraz they had but one last chance to prevent others from dieing for the throne.  During battle, the ground opens wide, the sky rains of steel and feathers, mountains fall, honor is forgotten, beliefs live on and rivers rise all leading to plants and animals uniting for the greater good of mankind.

The film although I thought targeted towards the younger generation had a very violent and mature story line to it laced with some moments of levity which for me caused even a bit more uncertainty to the direction of the film.  I enjoyed all the phenomenal CGI and special effects that are used superbly throughout the film making it enjoyable for the young but when the battles begin it abruptly turns towards the older generation.  Barnes, at times seemed to slip in and out of character, making his believability a bit sketchy for me.  Henley, although a delightful young girl lacked a bit of the star power presence that her role needed.  Keynes was actually an asset to the film bringing in a sense of sweet and innocent along with a firm character.  Moseley, was quite enjoyable and brought that true step to the story of a boy becoming a man.  Popplewell, pretty, sweet with a slight rough edge was a delight to watch although her lines seemed to be cut short sometimes. 

Overall, the movie is high on action but low on acting but the main fact that it falls into a bit of the "Lord of the Rings" scenario and that the first installment did so well this sequel should do good enough to brag for the first few weeks.  Albeit though, word of mouth may hurt it a bit as it continues it's box office run, eventually giving it life again on DVD.  Hopefully, the AHA kept a close eye on the treatment of live animals in this film with horses falling from various heights, badgers being shot in the butt, mice losing their tails, cats tied and gagged and birds shot from the air like war planes are just a few of the way animals are treated in this film.  Filled with spectacular scenery, wonderful score, sufficient acting and a moderate story line, at 144 minutes long I think once is enough for this want to be Harry Potter epic.