The Chronicles of Narnia: The voyage of the Dawn Treader

The Chronicles of Narnia (my favorite books as a child) continue with “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”, the third in the film series, the fifth chronologically, of the of C.S. Lewis Narnia books. This time Micheal Apted directs and I found it to be my favorite of the Narnia films so far. The story of the younger Pevensies, Edmund (Skander Keynes), Lucy (Georgie Henley) and their priggish  cousin Eustice ( Will Poulter) are transported to the Narnian Seas though an Oil painting ( great special effect). They are rescued by the new King Caspian ( Ben Barnes) and his ship The Dawn Treader, where they join his expedition to find the Seven Lost Lords of Narnia. The adventure to the Eastern Islands tests their strength against temptation and their faith in Aslan the lion. The religious metaphors are there for those who will look for them but the adventure is full of action. There’s something magical that happens when you see, on screen, a story you read many times as a nine year old (gosh, fifteen years goes by so quickly…okay, fifty-six years), and Apted does a terrific job of bringing it to life, in 3D no less. The 3D was done post-production and my one complaint about it is it seemed too dark in my screening, I’d like to see a 2D screening just to see if it would show brighter. The character Eustice , Lucy and Edmund’s nasty cousin, is brilliantly played by Poulter ( “Son of Rambow”), and if they decide to do “The Silver Chair” next in the film series I hope he returns as Eustice. “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” is a great holiday treat for those families looking for a rollicking film adventure. Rated PG.

I give it a 3.8 GPA