Wonderful escapist fantasy flows nonstop in the best instalment in the Narnia series to date. Seasoned director Michael Apted (Enigma, The World Is Not Enough) deploys the usual mix of adolescent derring-do, impressive special effects and sledgehammer moral lessons with a captivating dynamism that refreshes the mythic underpinnings of CS Lewis's adventure. In what is the most Tolkienesque of the tales, the two younger Pevensie siblings, Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and their insufferable cousin Eustace (an absolutely brilliant Will Poulter) are whisked aboard the buccaneering ship of King Caspian (Ben Barnes, who is significantly better than in the previous film). Caspian is on a quest to find the seven lost lords of Narnia, banished by his evil uncle. needs the children's help on a quest to rid the land of a green mist that makes dark thoughts reality. They must contend with evil slave-traders, a creepy invisible mansion, a mysterious golden dragon and a scary sea serpent on their perilous journey, making for a thrilling and swashbuckling spellbinder.

This time around Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, along with their pesky cousin Eustace Scrubb find themselves swallowed into a painting and on to a fantastic Narnian ship headed for the very edges of the world.