“The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” has hit the big screen.

It follows the 2005 “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” based on a fantasy novel of the same name by C.S. Lewis.

The movie begins with the titular character Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes), rightful heir to the throne of the Telmarine Empire, fleeing an assassination attempt by his nefarious uncle, Lord Miraz (Sergio Castellitto). With the help of his mentor, Doctor Cornelius (Vincent Grass), Caspian escapes to Narnia and blows a magic horn said to summon the Narnian kings and queens of old.

Meanwhile, back in London, the Pevensie siblings Peter (William Moseley), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), Susan (Anna Popplewell), and Lucy (Georgie Henley) sit in the train station, quite conveniently talking about the time when they were all Narnian kings and queens of old.

The horn does its trick and the quartet is transported back to Narnia. However, hundreds of years have passed and the land of whimsy and wonderment is not quite as they remember it.

Together with Caspian, the four must unite the forces of Narnia against the Telmarine invaders.

Director Andrew Adamson has done a faithful job in translating literature to film. He retains the most important story elements while cutting away those that would have weakened the film.

“Prince Caspian” ramps the action. The combat in the first film left something to be desired, but this is not the case in the sequel. Everything from the clashing of the Telmarine armies against the Narnian resistance to Peter’s lonely duel against Miraz has been carefully polished to make the violence much more satisfying.

The acting, however, remains weak. The first film had the benefit of the standout performance by Tilda Swinton as the White Witch. “Prince Caspian” fails in that department.

The most satisfying performances are by Ben Barnes as the disenfranchised Prince Caspian and Georgie Henley as Lucy, the little girl nobody listens to. Still, neither of these were exactly groundbreaking and so couldn’t carry the film. Liam Neeson also reprises his role as the voice of Aslan the lion, providing the film a chewy moral center, but limited screen time hampers his performance.

“The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” is a decent sequel, though audiences not familiar with either the first movie or the book series will get lost quickly. Fans of fantasy and/or messiahs that are also lions could certainly do worse.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5 Boones