The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

The Pevensie kids of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Mosely, Anna Popplewell) are magically summoned back to Narnia to aid a fugitive prince (Ben Barnes) who has thrown in with the magical creatures against his tyrannical, usurping uncle (Sergio Castellitto). For this second installment in the series, the script by Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely and director Andrew Adamson improves on the first film—but more surprisingly, it even improves on C.S. Lewis’ original novel, finessing his rather unwieldy flashback structure and tweaking incidents for a smoother dramatic flow. Lewis fans may scratch their heads as some of the story turns, but they’ll recognize the spirit. An ill-advised bid for a best song Oscar in the last scene is the only major misstep.