Following their epic battles inside a wardrobe in the land of Spare'oom, the kings and queens of Narnia: Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter ended up back in our world living their lives as children once more. It is a little over a year later when whilst waiting for a train in a London tube station they end up teleported back into Narnia.

They are all so excited to be back, that it takes them a while to realise that the castle ruins they see before they once called home. While they once again struggle to comprehend how hundreds of years have passed in Narnia since they grew up there, and how they are now somehow younger than they were when the left - the realise that Narnia is in trouble.

After fleeing for his life from his palace, Prince Caspian - heir to the throne of the land that was once Narnia - ends up accepting the help of a race of people he had been assured were now extinct. The Narnians, now mythical creatures and talking animals - some of whom have since turned savage.

Soon enough the kings and queens of old, meet up with Caspian and the Narnian remnant to fight for the survival of their way of life before the army of telmareans (human beings who had conquered the land) had their final victory.

With such overwhelming numbers, the chance of survival seems slim. Aslan is nowhere to be seen. Only Lucy is convinced that he is there - something that everyone else dismisses as wishful thinking. So they use their skill and cunning to come up with counter attacks but to no avail.

All their hope ultimately comes down to Lucy and her belief in the unseen despite everything.

CS Lewis, the author of the Chronicles, was a clever man. It is no secret that the tales of Narnia were a way of explaining the Christian faith through popular mythology and culture. The themes in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe were perhaps a bit more obvious than in this one - but they are definitely still there.

This film is clearly about faith in things unseen and is shown through the unwavering of Lucy's belief that Aslan would save them. That was in complete contrast to Peter who since the last film has got into the habit of using brute force to solve his issues.

I thought that this was a good film - sometimes a bit slow, but I enjoyed it much more than I did the original. Whereas the first film felt like a kids film, this one did not. This one felt like a family film - perhaps even more like Lord of the Rings in its epicity.

In short - I like it. I'd consider buying this one.

see also:
Arthur Christmas, Up, Flushed Away, Cloudy with a chance of meatballs

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photo © Walt Disney Pictures.