Two of the four Pevensie children are absent in this movie, leaving only Edmund and Lucy to make the magical journey -- this time via a painting that comes alive at the house they're staying at. Man, wherever they go, Narnia seems to find them -- I wish they'd hint that the whole thing is some sort of collective Peven-psychosis, but this time their sourpuss cousin is dragged along, and his refusal to accept their situation is played for maximum comedy, because clearly this world of minotaurs and fauns and mermaids is real, durrr. Conveniently dropped in the path of the Dawn Treader, the ship of now-King of Narnia Caspian X (Ben Barnes), the trio join up with him in his quest to find the seven exiled lords of Telmar in the Eastern Islands. The islands each have their problems, from kidnappers to a thieving green mist to magic watering holes to cursed jewelry to invisible wizards, but luck and the occasional guidance of magic lion Aslan (Liam Neeson) keeps them coming out on top, like some sort of trippy sequel to Taken.

The two older Pevensies have small cameos, but the two younger ones are the stars, with Lucy longing to be noticed like her hotter sister in a variety of creepy ways, and Edmund longing to be in charge like his older brother, or like Caspian himself. The cousin, Eustace, starts out being insufferable, but is actually pretty hilarious once you get used to him, and has a pretty standard redemption arc. Simon Pegg returns takes over from Eddie Izzard to voice mouse warrior Reepicheep, and he has a pretty major role this time around, acting as the fifth lead, while Tilda Swinton only pops up a few times as a specter of the White Witch. Neeson's Aslan, however, is preachier than ever, trying to make the Pevensies see their inner self-worth and explaining that he goes by another name in their world, and they must get to know him over there. It's the film franchise's most overt explanation of the Aslan-Jesus connection yet, and it comes off as a pretty heavy-handed way of catering to Christian audiences. I almost wished I was a Christian, so I could enjoy the movie on that other level, but mostly I just felt like I was being preached at. By a cartoon character, which is the worst. [Luckily, I was too young when I read the books to pick up on it.]

All told, the action is light and fun, and the occasional preachiness couldn't keep me from enjoying the film's grand finale, a pretty scary sea battle involving a dragon and a giant sea serpent. I don't know if it's enough to get the fourth movie made, or if they'll ever get around to all seven, but it's hard to wish such a positive-minded film series ill.

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