As a child, I fondly remember reading C.S. Lewis “The Chronicles of Narnia” with my father. Most memorable was the first book, “The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe.” The rest is admittedly a blur.  So, while no doubt many of you who read this will share contentment and discontentment with the adaptation of Lewis’ world to the big screen, my objective in viewing it was how the film worked…as a film. For Walden Media’s third outing (and its first without Disney), I had a mainly great experience with it.

The story in “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” is themed around temptation. A mysterious green smoke is swallowing people whole and transporting them to a place called “Dark Island” where they mainly have…just disappeared. Our heroes are led into the journey by the King “formerly known as Prince” Caspian, who has thankfully dropped his Spanish style accent and stuck with an English accent. The heroes – now Lucy and Edmund – have entered Narnia through a painting that happened to also take their annoying cousin Eustace with them.

As the story progresses, more unique Narnians are introduced as the heroes journey through their new obstacles. Some show up and go away with little consequence or narrative impact. In a weird sort of way, the film sort of looks like it borrows visually a bit from a Nintendo Zelda game called “The Wind Waker” where the hero sails from island to island facing foes along the way. That’s essentially the journey and pacing of the film.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader works well for a few reasons. In age where making everything as dark as possible is all the rage, it was refreshing to see a film that was much lighter. The Narnia films work incredibly well as children’s fantasy films that are made for children. There isn’t an over-sexualized tween hero, pointlessly suspenseful scares and characters, or needless dabbling in gore. True, the final sequence of the film utilizes an incredibly designed, but quite scary creature. However, it is not demonic or gory. It comes across as a believable part of the fantasy world. In addition, the 3D effects are utilized quite well. It does not appear to have been made with 3D as an afterthought. Depth looks great, and nearly all of the effects look beautiful in the format. While I am still not a fan of 3D generally, I can appreciate that an effects laden film like this one can benefit from a 3D viewing.

In addition to the great effects and refreshing tone, the acting has some highs. I am a huge fan of the film “Son Of Rambow” which stars Will Poulter (Rent it!).  He is perfectly cast/directed/acted in the film as Eustace. His range is impressive and his development as a character is great. Even better is a transformation he experiences – the effects and animation of which are most impressive in communicating certain aspects of the characters emotions. Also great is hearing Simon Pegg voice Reepicheep. While Eddie Izzard did wonderfully in the first, Pegg’s knowledge and love of the comic book and fantasy world seemed to go with him in inhabiting Reepicheep’s character.

Last, Aslan rocks. The Narnia films have done such an amazing job keeping Aslan distant and powerful enough that when he shows up and speaks, the goosebumps are in full effect. The parallel of course is obvious of who he represents, and the feeling derived when on screen was most potent for me.

Now the not so great. Dialogue definitely took a back seat to effects in this film. There are several cringe worthy lines spoken by the characters throughout the film.  Some of the attempts at humor are moderately effective (a sequence involving one footed half men comes to mind), but it is in the more dramatic sequences where dialogue is most grating. Also, for all of the incredible special effects used for sea creatures, secret castles, and magic spells, some of the production design feels a little hokey. The ship itself has a bright purple sail and carved out dragon faces that look a tad too clean and nice.

But perhaps most frustrating was that there was never a real sense of peril or danger in the film, except maybe in the final sequence. Characters would in one scene be complaining about a raging sea storm, and in the next be relaxing in the captains quarters while the storm was supposedly close to sinking the ship. It feels a tad soulless. I didn’t ever worry about what would happen next in terms of a conflict that occurred on screen.

In spite of my complaints, this is a solid entry into the series and fantasy films in general. The themes of temptation and sin are most obvious and far more for the better. I left the film thinking about how I experience temptation and finding victory over it. Kids will love the film, while adults may have a harder time buying in – at least until the second half. I am glad I saw the film and enjoyed the big budgeted spectacle that it was. In terms of the series, I actually like the Caspian film the most, perhaps because my expectations were quite low going into it. Regardless, if you are looking for an adventuresome and action packed film that the whole family can enjoy, give this one a spin.