The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Movie Review
"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader"
Review by Eric D. Snider
Grade: B-
Rating: PG
Released: Friday, December 10, 2010
Directed by:
Cast:
After Disney gave up on distributing the "Chronicles of Narnia" films, disappointed that what should have been a gold-pooping goose had failed to poop sufficient piles of gold, Twentieth Century Fox stepped in to save the day. Not that you'll be able to tell the difference. Part 3, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," might be better than its predecessors, which were so-so, but only barely. Something about this series just isn't connecting, though that apparently isn't going to stop them from adapting all seven books.
World War II is still taking place in the real world, and the two youngest Pevensie children, Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley), are staying with relatives while their older siblings are in America. (Spoiler alert: If you, like me, have not read the C.S. Lewis book this is based on, and if you, like me, keep waiting for the big brother and sister to show up, then you, like me, will be disappointed.) It isn't long before the two are whisked away to Narnia again, this time accompanied by their unwilling cousin, Eustace (Will Poulter), a sour-faced brat who does not believe in all this Narnia nonsense even when he is standing in it.
You will soon be deeply concerned that bringing a petulant, irritating fellow such as Eustace on this journey was a mistake, but do not fear. This problem is dealt with in a magical fashion.
Edmund and Lucy are reunited with Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) on a ship, the Dawn Treader. Much of the film is set at sea, with appropriate swashbuckling and swordplay; if the first two films felt like "Lord of the Rings," this one is more like "Master and Commander." (Not "Pirates of the Caribbean." Not silly enough.) The whole gang embarks on a mission to find out where legions of innocent Narnians have been taken, daring to sail where no one has sailed before, perhaps even to where Aslan the Christianity-lion lives!
Also: seven swords, seven lords, you have to put all the swords on a table, evil forces are after them, there's a mouse that can talk and a dragon that can't, et cetera.
The messages are basic and unobjectionable. Lucy, fast developing into a bright young lady, wishes she were prettier. Edmund, eager to prove his worth as a soldier, desires more power. Both are tempted by evil (Tilda Swinton makes a brief cameo as the White Witch) before learning to appreciate what they have and love themselves for who they are.
There's a new director this time around, Michael Apted ("The World Is Not Enough"), and a new writer, Michael Petroni (with rewrites by former "Narnia" scribes Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely). The film is a half-hour shorter than "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and "Prince Caspian." I doubt that's an accident. What begins to feel sluggish and repetitive at 145 minutes can seem much zippier at 115. A few of the action sequences are fairly exciting and energetically produced.
What's more, "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" isn't as convinced of its own epic importance as the other two were. It is far more unassuming and direct, content with telling a good-enough story in a good-enough fashion. Where the others aimed for greatness and missed, this one aims for middle-of-the-road and basically hits it. I still don't feel much connection to the characters, but maybe this is as good as we're going to get in that department.
Grade: B-
Rated PG, modest fantasy violence and action
1 hr., 55 min.
Copyright © Eric D. Snider.
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This item has 9 comments
December 10, 2010 at 3:58 pm
Disney did a silly thing by releasing Prince Caspian right in the middle of May 2008 where the movie got sandwiched by the likes Indiana Jones and Iron Man. It was no surprise that the movie was box office disappointment. These movies typically do better during the holiday season. The Narnia books are not all that movie friendly either. Unlike Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings, these stories jump around a lot with different characters taking the lead. The only constant is Narnia and Aslan. The fact that these films take so long to make doesn't help matters either. I think the film will do well for families wanting a big release movie they can all watch and be entertained.
December 10, 2010 at 5:28 pm
This is my favorite of the Narnia books. I think it would be hard to make it into a movie as wonderful as the book. Eric, I wonder where you were when the rest of us were sitting around reading The Chronicles of Narnia, back when you were a teenager? I feel like such a failure as a mother.
December 14, 2010 at 2:16 am
Since the next book in the series stars Eustace, I was glad that his actor indicated at the end of the movie that he had the ability to not be irritating. He made the first half of the movie unenjoyable for me, and I was beginning to think that it was the actor rather than the character.
December 21, 2010 at 9:52 pm
Aw, this was always my favourite book of the series. I've delayed seeing the movie for this very reason, worried that it would fail on so many levels. In the book Eustace is one of the funniest characters, though he is a brat. Now I'm debating whether or not to see the movie at all . . . I trust your reviews.
December 22, 2010 at 9:41 am
A good film but a rather disappointing ending in which the fate of the 7 lords & a romance between Caspian & Ramandu's daughter were barely touched upon. The fate of the Dufflepuds was rushed & the spell book section could have been enlarged upon. There are some excellent parts but I felt some of the book's continuity and best bits were omitted or watered down.
The green mist and the seven swords were unnecessary additions - probably 7/10 for the film at most which is a shame as it is probably in the top three of the seven books.
December 27, 2010 at 12:53 am
@Stacy: That seems like a positive to the movie to me, seeing as that's exactly what his character is supposed to be in the book. Annoying and bratty until he Learns A Lesson.
I can't believe you've never read all the books, Eric! Shame! As a kid I read all of these at least 5 or 6 times.
It's very exciting that they're all finally being made into real, high budget movies. I didn't know that Disney had dropped production, but hopefully as you say that won't stop them from releasing all 7!
And I agree with Seasider, these are very definitely "holiday" movies in the same spirit as Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings. Not suited to summer/spring releases at all.
There really are a LOT of movies piling up that I have to see. I'm glad to hear from you that this movie isn't a complete failure though, they've been injecting small "hollywood" elements deviating from the books recently (like that Susan and Caspian romance story in Prince Caspian), and I think if they give into that these movies will turn out to be completely terrible before they're all done.
Hopefully they don't!
December 30, 2010 at 9:04 pm
I had a much easier time understanding the Christian symbolic characters and events in THE LION,THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE. Where can i find a good explanation of this story. Were the seven swords, that were given by Aslan to protect Narnia, supposed to represent the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit?
January 8, 2011 at 5:38 pm
Merry,
You'll need to read the book to get the Christian symbolism. It was largely stripped out of this movie. The seven-swords thing and the green mist were invented by the scriptwriters; they're not in the book. The book is vastly different from this movie.
January 11, 2011 at 11:25 pm
@Russ An annoying character is supposed to grate on the nerves of the other characters, not the reader or watcher. A good example is Donkey in the original Shrek. Perhaps he does get a little annoying at times, but overall it's just funny to see how much he bothers Shrek.