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Three out of Five stars
Running time: 144 mins

The acting, direction and effects have all improved considerably since The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and Narnia fans won't be disappointed, but the story itself is weak by comparison and small children will be tested by the lengthy running time.

What's it all about?
A year after their Wardrobe-based adventure, Pevensie siblings Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) are summoned back to Narnia by way of a tube station and a magic horn (stop sniggering at the back there), only to find that Aslan has not been seen for almost 1000 years. Instead, they find the mythical creatures reduced to the status of folk legends and the land ruled by wicked King Miraz (Sergio Castellitto), who plans to murder Narnia's rightful heir, the dashing Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes).

The Good
Shrek director Andrew Adamson has improved considerably as a director since helming the previous instalment and there are marked improvements in both the acting and the action scenes. Similarly, the CGI is much better this time round and the effects are excellent throughout.

Georgie Henley is fine as Lucy and poor old Skandar Keynes is rather side-lined by the plot, but the real revelation of Prince Caspian is Anna Popplewell, who brings a confidence and maturity to Susan that is exciting to watch (her archery scenes are genuinely exciting, compared to the last film, when they were rubbish). There's also strong support from an almost unrecognisable Peter Dinklage as red dwarf Trumpkin and superb voice work from Eddie Izzard as swashbuckling mighty mouse Reepicheep.

The Bad
That said, William Moseley is still a pretty terrible actor and never convinces as Peter, while Ben Barnes strides around being really, really good looking without making much of an impression. The film is also quite dull in places, due to a comparatively weak plot, and it should have been a good 20 minutes shorter.

Worth seeing?
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a watchable, well made sequel that won't disappoint Narnia fans, although it's let down by a relatively weak story and a frankly terrible ending.