The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

Skandar Keynes in Walt Disney Pictures' The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - 2008. [Agencies]

Directed by Andrew Adamson, starring Ben Barnes, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Moseley

Families and fans of the CS Lewis books can consider themselves in safe hands, though in my view some of the magic has gone, perhaps simply because the interest of the Narnia series itself declines exponentially as it progresses towards the uncomfortable, theologically strained finale in the seventh and last volume.

It is also that, in introducing a new, more grown-up and plausibly dishy leading male (Prince Caspian himself, boldly played by Ben Barnes), one of the children inevitably gets crowded out. The loser is Edmund, whose flirtations with the dark side gave the first story its thrill and underpinned the Christian-humanist message that fans and foes alike continue to find so explosive.

Our famous four, Peter (William Moseley), Susan (Anna Popplewell), Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) are down in the Strand tube station in wartime London.

Just as the children are chafing at their reduced non-royal status, they find themselves taken back to Narnia, but they have been catapulted 1,300 years into the future, during which time there has been precious little advance in technology: There are crossbows, and that's about it.

The children's reign is a distant folk memory, and Narnia with its gentle woodfolk creatures has been overrun by human invaders, the Telmarines, whose evil King Miraz (Sergio Castellitto) is preparing to fortify his reign by executing his nephew Caspian, a decent sort who believes in friendship with the Narnians.

A mighty battle commences, along with a lethal temptation by the forces of darkness, triggering a resplendent cameo for Tilda Swinton as the wicked White Witch.

This second episode certainly has much of the first film's ingenuous openness and energy, and that is very largely due to another scene-stealing performance from Georgie Henley as Lucy, who, in being able to see Aslan before anyone else, is in a state of grace exceeding her siblings; the scene in which she does so is rather daringly executed.

The Narnia saga is still on the rails, but over the next five movies, I fear a continual replaying of the fantasy-theological contest between good and evil, before the arrival of Lewis's Book of Revelations, The Last Battle, is going to get a little wearing.