Slick tale is series business

THE second of seven books by C.S. Lewis to be brought to the screen, continues the saga of the four Pevensie children

Ben Barnes, William Moseley and Skandar Keynes in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (M) 3½ stars National release THE second of seven books by C.S. Lewis to be brought to the screen, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian continues the saga of the four Pevensie children with the same swashbuckling adventure as before.

Clearly setting their sights on an epic such as The Lord of the Rings, and with youthful heroes as inthe Harry Potter series, the Walt Disney Company and Walden Media have succeeded in telling a rollicking yarn.

As with the first in the series, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the second film takes advantage of the most spectacular locations in New Zealand (home of co-writer and director Andrew Adamson), as well as the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland, and uses the latest computer-generated technology to create a wonderful fantasy world. It has a noticeably darker edge than the first (as did the later Harry Potter films) although this is kept under strict control: not a drop of blood is seen, despite all the sword fighting and deaths by well-aimed arrows.

There were seven books in the Narnia series, published between 1950 and 1956, and, presumably, if this film is as successful as its predecessor, there's every chance all seven will be turned into films. It opens up the promise of screen adventures with the Pevensie youngsters and their Narnian friends for years to come.

There have been suggestions the conservative Walden Media group would insert fundamentalist Christian values into the franchise, but if this is true, those messages are buried deep within a spirited romp that has its roots in such adventures as Ivanhoe, Quentin Durward and Robin Hood.

In the first film, the time-travelling Pevensie siblings were transported from World War II Britain to the parallel world of Narnia via a wardrobe. This time their magical journey begins in the prosaic setting of the platform of the Strand Underground railway station in London.

Since their return from Narnia at the end of the previous story they have, it seems, settled down as pupils at private schools; to all outward appearances, they are ordinary schoolchildren enduring wartime privations (although their conversation -- "I've got it sorted" -- is more 21st century than 1940s).

They look smart in their school uniforms, although Peter (William Moseley) is getting into fights, while the blossoming Susan (Anna Popplewell) is having to fend off the unwelcome attentions of a pimply admirer. The younger children, Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley), are, like the older ones, waiting for the inevitable moment when they'll be summoned back to Narnia, where they are kings and queens, destined for battles and romantic adventures.

They soon discover that, while only a year has gone by in their lives since they left Narnia, 1300 years have passed in that mysterious country. There's little that they recognise; it comes as a surprise to them that the castle in which they lived is now in ruins.

The summons back to Narnia comes from Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes), the rightful heir to the throne. He has just survived a murder attempt by his wicked Uncle Miraz (Sergio Castellitto), who has usurped the throne and proclaimed himself king. Fleeing through the forest pursued by Miraz's soldiers, Caspian stumbles across the horn left behind by Susan, and by blowing it is able to summon the English children to the rescue.

They are transported to a pristine beach under blue skies far, far away from colourless wartime London, but they soon discover the disasters that have befallen Narnia. The human-like Telmarine (who for some reason speak with Italian accents) are led by Miraz and his loyal commander, General Glozelle (Pierfrancesco Favino), and they have been waging war on the Narnians, a colourful mixture of creatures, to the point where they are almost extinct.

The surviving Narnians include talking animals (a witty badger, some resourceful mice), centaurs and dwarves. Somewhere in the forest lurks the legendary Aslan, the huge lion with a benign expression and the voice of Liam Neeson, who helped them win the battle against Tilda Swinton's magnificently evil White Witch the last time around.

Where is he when the Pevensies need him? Lucy alone seems to sense his presence, but he proves elusive, turning up only near the end, which is just as well, perhaps, because there's something uncommonly phony about the facial expressions of this particular king of the jungle. Swinton, too, makes a repeat appearance, albeit a brief one, and is as formidable as she was before, briefly lifting the film into another dimension of fantasy.

Peter Dinklage, so funny in Death at a Funeral, brings humour to the role of Trumpkin, the Red Dwarf, one of the most intrepid Narnians. His welcome injection of sly comedy reminds us that Adamson formerly co-directed the first two Shrek films.

There's another link to Shrek in the character of Reepicheep, a dashing mouse who wields a sword like a latter-day D'Artagnan and speaks with the voice of Eddie Izzard.

There's also a hint of romance between the dashing, vulnerable Prince Caspian (Barnes was seen in The History Boys and Stardust) and the rapidly maturing Susan (whose prowess with bow and arrow is impressive), but this isn't the kind of film to allow a teenage love story to interrupt the action to any serious extent.

The big set-pieces impress, as they did in the previous film: the battle scenes are exceedingly spectacular, the more so because of the varied animals and birds that, thanks to the digital technology, participate so enthusiastically.

Credit must also go to the film's Australian production designer, Roger Ford, who has convincingly created the worlds of the Narnians and the Telmarines with magnificent sets mostly made at the Barrandov Studios in Prague.

Prince Caspian has most of the elements required for a fantasy-action-adventure story, and the book has been intelligently adapted for the screen by the director in collaboration with Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely.

Of course, if you have an aversion to talking animals and children behaving like adults, this is not for you. For the rest of the world's cinemagoers, the film will undoubtedly be successful enough to merit the continuation of the series. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is already in pre-production for release in 2010.