The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - 2 1/2 smiles

There are two reasons to see “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” and four reasons not to. On the positive side, there’s young Will Poulter who plays Lucy and Edmund’s insufferable cousin Eustace Scrubb, convincing both in his arrogance and in his reversal. Also compelling is the CGI-created swashbuckling Reepicheep (voiced by Simon Pegg), the gutsy mouse who’s the first to leap into danger. On the negative side, you’ll probably be forced to see this in 3D, which muddies much of what’s on the screen and adds a surcharge to the ticket price. The 2D version will be sharper, brighter and more colorful. Second, character development is nonexistent, except for the obnoxious Eustace who learns his lesson when he’s changed into a dragon. And a sequence involving a group of invisible creatures should be in a Monty Python movie because it certainly doesn’t fit in this one. Finally, what’s with the title? Is it the longest one or what?

Somewhere in the middle is the narrative, not as good as the first one, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but better than the second, Prince Caspian. This time out, the two younger Pevensie children, Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund (Skandar Keynes) have gone to live with their cousin, Eustace Scrubb (Poulter). While at the Scrubb house, gazing at a painting of a ship, the three children are magically transported to Narnia. The self-centered Eustace, refusing to believe in Narnia, becomes a constant irritant, whining all the while. Caspian (Ben Barnes), now king, captains The Dawn Treader and is on a mission to discover the whereabouts of seven lords and seven swords that have gone missing. This quest takes them to the Eastern Seas, beyond the Lone Islands, and possibly to Aslan’s Country. “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” is not quite a must-see, but if you have a free afternoon, it’s decent enough. 12/27/10