Lucy and Edmund Pevensie are stranded in Cambridge living in the house of their obnoxious cousin Eustace while the grown-ups Susan and Peter are living in the USA with their parents. When a painting of a ship sailing on the sea of Narnia overflows water in their room Lucy Edmund and Eustace are transported to the ocean of Narnia and rescued by King Caspian and the crew of the ship The Dawn Treader. Caspian explains that Narnia has been in peace for three years but before he took his throne back his uncle tried to kill the seven lords of Telmar who were the closest and most loyal friends of his father. They fled to The Lone Island and no one has ever heard anything about them. Now Caspian is seeking out the lords of Telmar with his Captain Drinian the talking mouse Reepicheep and his loyal men. Soon they discover that an evil form of green mist is threatening Narnia and the siblings and their cousin join Caspian in a quest to retrieve the seven swords of the seven lords of ...
Review
I have watched this film in 3d at a preview screening in London.
First of all I do not recommend anyone watching this in 3d. It is too dark and the action is just a motion blur. It's dreadful.
As for the film there is much to enjoy with excellent visual effects action set pieces (though ruined for me by the 3D) and a couple of stand out characters. But unfortunately there is also much to cringe at in some bouts of terrible dialogue.
The characters of Reepicheep (the kickass warrior mouse) and Eustace (the obnoxious brat cousin) were the most fun with the actor playing Eustace demonstrating excellent comic timing. The relationship between them was funny and touching. And they even brought much needed zest to the action.
But alarmingly Edmund and Lucy seem to have deteriorated as actors. Some of their emotions are too forced which is a pity. Not sure why as I would expect them to improve with each film as did the young cast of the Harry Potter movies.
Overall the story has surprisingly been well adapted considering not a great deal actually happens in the book. But the pacing is good even though a little episodic. There are much more Christian analogies once again which would please many and irritate others. But I rather like all of the analogies.
I do feel however that amongst adults mostly those who enjoyed the Narnia books will enjoy this more than non readers of the books because the story is too bizarre even for a fantasy! But I think most children will enjoy this immensely regardless if they read the books or not.
With better written dialogue and better handling of the child performances (namely Lucy and Edmund) this could have been a much better film but as its stands its an enjoyable enough entry in this series.
Oh and I will say it again do not watch this in 3d.