Lacking almost all of author C.S. Lewis’ metaphysical depth and fantastical breadth, “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” is a middling fairy tale posing as genuine mythology. Tedious, bland and shockingly bereft of any sort of enchantment, “The Dawn Treader” is one sinking ship you’ll want to avoid.

Their older siblings having outgrown Narnia and decamped in America for the war, Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund Pevensie (Skandar Keynes) find themselves back in Narnia for another adventure, this time with their bratty cousin Eustace (Will Poulter). They hook up with Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) aboard the ship, The Dawn Treader, in search of seven imperial swords capable of destroying a gathering evil that is kidnapping Narnia’s inhabitants.

“The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” is mechanical and strictly by the numbers, a disjointed and episodic script that seems to confuse arbitrariness with plot, incorporating entire scenes and characters that have nothing whatsoever to do with the larger narrative. The film feels like a glossy theme park ride, immaculately rendered but having nothing whatsoever in common with anything remotely dramatic.

Instead, the muddled action of bloodless battles eventually leads to a silly sci-fi island on which a green cousin of the “Lost” monster lives, though, even after it is bested by our heroes and the day saved, we’re still not sure exactly what it was up to or why.

Compounding the problem, I half expected the final showdown to take place between the intrepid crew of the Dawn Treader and the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from “Ghostbusters.” Trust me, should you ignore my warnings, you’ll see.

“The Chronicles of Narnia” was conceived in the fantasy-charged years following the advent of “The Lord of the Rings” and “Harry Potter.” But despite its beloved literary pedigree, the “Narnia” films have never felt more serious than kids play-acting in the back yard. “Narnia” never settled into its own mythology, instead borrowing wholesale from others and hoping desperately that something might stick.

“Narnia” lacks more than just the former films’ richness — it also lacks their compelling lead characters. (What does it say when the two most interesting characters in the film are an irritating, whiny boy and a CGI mouse?) Disney saw the writing on the wall after the disastrous second film and jettisoned the property. Now with Fox, there is a palpable feeling that the wind has gone out of the wannabe franchise’s sail, a sense all but confirmed at the end of this least spectacular entry. If this is our final visit to Narnia (and it desperately needs to be), I doubt many people will care and even fewer notice.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Cast: Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Ben Barnes, Will Poulter, Tilda Swinton, Liam Neeson, Simon Pegg

Director: Michael Apted

Rated: PG (for some frightening images and sequences of fantasy action)

Running time: 1 hour, 55 minutes

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