Movie Review: 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Starring Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Ben Barnes Directed by Michael Apted Rated PG

I can't help but feel nostalgic whenever I see a movie based on one of the Narnia books. Even more so than Lord of the Rings, both which I read as a child, these movies really take me back. I need to make time to re-read the books, if only to see how true the movies are to the books, and to see if the special effects out-do my imagination.

In The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, we find Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund (Skandar Keynes) living with their spoiled and selfish cousin, Eustace (Will Poulter). It goes without saying that they hate it there, which only makes them long for Narnia even more. During an argument between Edmund and Eustace, Lucy notices a painting of a ship in the ocean coming to life, and the trio are whisked back to Narnia.

They are rescued from the sea by their old friend Caspian (Ben Barnes), and are recruited into his quest to find the seven lost Lords of Narnia, especially their swords. In their journey, we are treated to several locations; a city under control of slavers, an island of invisible foes, a volcanic land filled with gold. The visuals and effects are breathtaking, and being in the sea really benefits from 3D.

The common theme in the Narnia books of the children coming of age is clear in this story as well. Caspian fears he would be a failure in the eyes of his father. Edmund feels secondary to his brother. Lucy is afraid she'll never be as pretty as her sister. And Eustace needs to realize he isn't the only person in the world. All these subplots are explored with just enough depth, except for Caspian's. We never quite realize why he thinks he's a bad king. Or maybe that's the point, because he really isn't a bad king? We never see him in kingly action, so we're never quite sure.

The movie struggles between progressing the story, or displaying character interaction. Both feel so rushed that we never feel like there was time to get comfortable with either. It seems the story is in a hurry to get to the next piece; we're tugged from a story about slavery back onto the Dawn Treader, then from an island of gnomish people with one giant foot back to the Dawn Treader. Considering its target audience, I'm not surprised at this storytelling tactic, but as an adult, many things were missing just a tad more substance.

Director Michael Apted does an excellent job with what's given to him. None of the performances are found lacking, and the movie flows along at a reasonable, steady pace. He definitely takes his budget farther; having approxmiately $150 million to work with, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader looks much more impressive than The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. Both movies before Dawn Treader had $180 million and $225 million respectively to work with. So my hats off to you, Michael Apted.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is an excellent family movie. Clocking in at just under two hours, none of the kids in the theater seemed to be getting ansty. Also, if you're itching for more well-done 3D effects, or want your nostalgic trip back to Narnia, this movie is for you. I also wish this one box office success; the kid in me wants the next four movies made.

Comments

[Matt]

So how come this gets only two abiding dudes if it is such an excellent family movie?

[Jen]

This is a great movie by itself, but it strays way too much from the book for my taste. The book is my favorite of the series, and I was looking forward to seeing it on the big screen. I was disappointed that the plot of the movie went from finding men to finding swords and one island that was featured in the book became the main focus in the movie. That said, as a stand alone film it was pretty good. I especially liked the way each character's inner demons were portrayed, particularly Edmund's.

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