Review: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Review: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Rating: **1/2

Nonna's Rating: $$$

Rotten Tomatoes: 49%

Audience: 72%

First, a confession. A tough one for an Episcopalian. I am not a huge fan of C.S. Lewis or the Narnia series as a whole. I read the books as an adult -- which may explain my general lack of awe and wonder. The allegory was a bit too transparent for me. When I talk to children who've read the books, like my grandson Max, I find they are not at all aware of the Christological significance of Aslan and company. They just like the stories. Ah, to be young.

But I digress. The Dawn Treader is somewhere between Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe (which was delightful) and Prince Caspian (which was dreadful). One problem is that "Evil" is played in this one by a green, smoky fog. It was all a bit too much like a bad episode from the original Star Trek series. Happily, a really gruesome sea serpent makes an appearance near the end. I wish he'd had a bigger part.

Georgie Henley, who plays Lucy, was her charming post-pubescent self -- still cute as a bug. Lucy's cousin-from-Hell, Eustace Scrubb, played by Will Poulter, was obnoxiously fascinating and proved that you could be an English child actor and really, really nasty.

My grandson Max thought the movie was just "OK." You may be looking for a film to take the kiddies to in this holiday season devoid of worthwhile children's movies, and this one won't bore you to tears. It is a bit intense for younger children, however.

Nonna's Ratings:

$$$$ = Worth paying the Friday evening price
$$$= Worth paying the Matinee price

$$= Worth a rental
$ = Wait for cable
# = Skip it