Not enough emotion in ‘The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader’

(Cert 12, 108 mins, Family/Action)

Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund (Skandar Keynes) suffer a miserable stay with stuffy cousin, Eustace Scrubb (Will Poulter).

During a fight between Edmund and Eustace, a painting in the guest bedroom magically transports all three children to Narnia and on to the titular vessel captained by Drinian (Gary Sweet). Eustace is aghast but Lucy and Edmund settle in quickly as Narnian royalty, reuniting with King Caspian (Ben Barnes) and mouse Reepicheep (voiced by Simon Pegg) aboard The Dawn Treader.

It transpires that Caspian is on a quest to locate the swords of seven lost noblemen and the Pevensie children pledge their support, encountering the White Witch (Tilda Swinton) and the majestic lion Aslan (Liam Neeson) along the way. The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader is the most crudely constructed of the films based on CS Lewis’s enchanting Narnia series.

Director Michael Apted loosely stitches together set pieces with comical altercations between Eustace and his courageous cousins, who learn valuable lessons about self-confidence and beauty.

Production design is impressive and the script introduces two monsters for the special effects-heavy finale that should delight younger viewers.

Poulter matures from comic relief to would-be hero – he’s the central character of the fourth book – while Henley and Keynes make the most of their underwritten roles before they bid a tearful farewell to their fantastical friends.

There’s action and adventure ahoy but just not enough emotion. CS Lewis penned four further adventures involving the Pevensies and their Narnian allies but it’s questionable on this evidence whether the film versions will set sail again.

Rating: 3/5