The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, as I understand it, is slightly problematic, in that the main character, Eustace Scrubb, is a pill. Edmund and Lucy Pevensie are stuck with their relatives the Scrubb family in Oxford during the Blitz. Their cousin Eustace hates them for barging in, disturbing his quiet life dedicated to scoffing sweets and writing an emo journal. Will Poulter, who plays Eustace, has round little cheeks and scowling brows, instantly has our sympathy. When he expresses scorn and disbelief for Narnia, even as he is flailing in its ocean, we are with him all the way.
So, Lucy, Edmund and Eustace wind up on the magical ship the Dawn Treader with Caspian, Reepacheep et al., on a magical quest for a magical isle and some magical stuff, and the effects are very lovely. Beautiful dawn skies are featured for obvious reasons. The climax features -SPOILER- a neat dragon v. Chthulu-Kraken that wouldn't be out of place in a Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Tilda Swenson as Ice Queen makes an all-too-brief appearance, although Laura Brent does a nice (also short) turn as some kind of nymph-angel.
The conclusion, at the end of the world, is one of my favorite effects, possibly in all cinema ever - a wave endlessly breaking and never advancing up the beach where Aslan hangs out.
All in all, good fun. I don't know what C.S. Lewis fans think of this, but someone looking for a G-rated adventure fantasy should have a grand time.
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