So this is a kids fantasy adventure, similar in vein to the Disney movies of the eighties and nineties, escape to witch mountain etc being prime examples.
there is minimum set up to the story and plot. the two older kids have gone somewhere else and the younger two are living in the country with some distant relatives, they see a picture of the sea with a ship then they are sucked into the picture and into the sea and the ship (the dawn treader of the title). this is all within ten minutes. i felt at the time it was rushed, but looking back at the film as a whole it worked - it didnt need any more backstory, what it needed was to get to the sumptuous colourful world of Narnia with its amazing creatures as quickly as possible, from there on in its the kids adventure i mentioned earlier.
there is a very annoying character introduced in the first ten minutes and he is along for the ride. the character Eustace is supossed to be a horrid little brat, and is wonderfully played by Will Poulter - almost too well, as at points i wanted to smash him in the face and walk out the cinema.
and by the end the biblical and christian connotations were so amazingly obvious it was nauseating, laying it on with a spade, as i believe it was done in the books didnt really sit well with me or with a 21st century audience but the whole ending visually looked stunning. just stop going on about God and Aslan etc etc.
so not as good as the first Narnia film but better than the woeful 2nd part. i have a feeling Disney will be continuing this franchise for a few more yet, even they do go straight to DVD.
2 stars
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