It was only a couple of years ago that the Wardrobe closed its doors to the magical world of Narnia in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, but of course a sequel was inevitable and now returning director Andrew Adamson has transported us there once more in an inspiring film which surpasses the previous one in every possible way.

Prince Caspian opens to a glimpse of an unfamiliar and inexplicably darker Narnia which has been overrun by a race of humans called the Telmarines, who have apparently run the Narnians extinct. It’s the early hours of the morning and the wife of Lord Miraz, currently in charge of the Telmarines (and sporting a fantastic beard) has just given birth to a son, which means that Miraz’s nephew Prince Caspian is no longer next in line to the throne. His life now at stake, Caspian flees to the woods only to discover that the Narnians do still exist, and in an effort to survive, accidentally summons the ancient ‘kings and queens’ of old back to Narnia.

A year after their first adventure, the Pevensie children are trying to cope with life in England as children again, having grown up in Narnia as its rulers, and they’re finding it more than a little difficult. Peter’s getting into fights, Edmund’s still being shunned by him, Susan’s a loner and Lucy’s still not being taken too seriously by her family. As they’re waiting for a train, they are quite suddenly dragged back into Narnia only to be a little shocked: 1300 years have passed in Narnia since they were around.

Those are the foundations for the story the film tells, and the rest of the plot unfolds in true fantasy tradition. Prince Caspian has a lot of themes, like most films with children as the main characters it is a coming-of-age story, but it also focuses on what the measure of a man amounts to, the importance of family, how our decisions can come back to haunt us, and the necessity of humility. First and foremost, however, Prince Caspian is a film about finding your faith.

While C. S. Lewis has always maintained that he never intended The Chronicles of Narnia to be read as Christian allegory, it has inevitably been picked apart and studied for any connections it has to the religion. This film, like the one before it, does a fantastic job of keeping all the religious undertones very subtle and undefined, choosing instead to focus on the morals of the story, which is much more respectful of the author’s work. No matter who you are or what you believe, faith in what you believe in is very important, and Prince Caspian reinforces that using the character of Aslan as the vehicle.

Everyone has been talking about how Prince Caspian is a much darker movie than its predecessor. That’s not to say the film is a bloody gore-fest, but with its ‘M’ rating comes scenes with a lot of implied violence. Of course, it’s still a children’s movie at heart featuring a lot of cute and cuddly talking animals, such as Reepicheep the swashbuckling mouse (voiced by Eddie Izzard) with honour just emanating off him, but then when you see that same mouse sneaking up on a soldier and stabbing him in the face he becomes a different thing entirely. It only contributes to a theme continuing from the previous film, in that to achieve a good end some hard things have to be done.

Prince Caspian has a strong cast, both old and new, which was a pleasant surprise given the track history of fantasy films with children in the lead (Harry Potter, anyone?). William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley all return as Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie respectfully, and turn in performances far better than their previous outing. They’re certainly more believable this time around, and they seem to work very naturally with each other. Liam Neeson returns as the voice of Aslan and just as with the previous film is both powerful and compassionate. Even Tilda Swinton returns, very briefly, and is still captivating, obviously enjoying her role.

Ben Barnes’ first time in a lead role as the film’s titular character is also impressive and his emotion was believable, though his fake Spanish accent wavered a couple times. For a lead character, Caspian isn’t given much room to develop and his dialogue can be a bit hackneyed, which is a bit of shame given his potential, but then that’s no fault of the film maker but rather the length of C. S. Lewis’ book. He manages to carry the lead well and it’ll be good to see him return in the next film (Voyage of the Dawn Treader) with a bit more experience under his belt.

Other newcomers are equally as entertaining, very noteworthy is Peter Dinklage as Trumpkin the Red Dwarf who is charming and hilarious, and who also seems to be channeling Bill Bailey, always a good thing. Warwick Davis also appears, this time cast against type as the stoic black dwarf Nikabrik. Easily the best performance in the film is carried out by the brilliant Sergio Castellitto as the evil Lord Miraz, a stereotype which he clearly delighted in playing and whose presence as a villain is equally as dominating, though sadly not as menacing, as the White Witch from the previous film.

On the technical side, the film is fantastic. The costume designs and prosthetics by WETA are, as usual, inspiring and incredibly detailed. Nothing seems out of place or fake. The locations and sets are just as good. The Telmarines are very decidedly Spanish in origin (something which those of the ‘politically correct’ persuasion will no doubt cry about for a while), with ornate armour and costumes. The special effects for the Narnians is the most visually impressive feature of the film, especially the centaurs, who play a much bigger role this time, and are probably the most realistic fantasy creatures I’ve ever seen in a film.

Unfortunately, the film isn’t perfect and there are a few cons. Harry Gregson-Williams’ score is good, and epic, but not memorable at all. The movie pitifully attempts to give romance a shot, and it comes off as forced and a little too cliche. Perhaps the biggest con of all is that the film doesn’t answer one of life’s greatest mysteries- ‘Who would win in a fight: A Minotaur with a trident, or a Centaur with a crossbow?’

All in all, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is one of those few cases where a sequel surpasses the previous film, and will definitely be a contender for one of the best films of 2008. If you enjoyed the previous film, you’ll love it, and if you didn’t enjoy the previous film, then you probably though it was too childish, in which case go fling yourself in front of a truck.