Whilst this third in the adaptations of CS Lewis' "Narnia" stories is still enjoyable to watch; it's fair to say that it bears little resemblance to the original book and that is a shame. We only have two "Pevensie" children ("Lucy" & "Edmund") summoned back in this film alongside, accidentally, their cowardly but loudmouthed cousin "Eustace" (Will Poulter). They arrive just in time to be rescued from the middle of the sea by a passing King "Caspian" (Ben Barnes) on his ship "The Dawn Treader" and wonder why they have been recalled. We soon find out that they must all get to the "Lone Islands" before a green mist envelops the whole kingdom. We've plenty of action, battles, some mysterious invisible dwarves and even a wee bit of excess testosterone en route to quite an exciting conclusion. Insofar as it goes, the kids - now, really young adults - do well (Poulter is quite entertaining as their whinging, spoilt relative) as do Barnes and this time Simon Pegg takes over as "Reepicheep". The effects are definitely better, but they do need to be - the story isn't so good and struggles at times to get up any decent head of steam. It is still colourful and fun, though - but sadly demonstrative that the franchise has now run out of oomph!
