Geekscape Movie Review – The Voyage of the Dawntreader
Opening this weekend was Walden Media and 20th Century Fox’s, “The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” the third movie in the CS Lewis series of seven. Say that title three times and make a wish as Walden and Fox are betting big on this film and hope it holds up over the holidays even with a lackluster opening weekend.
After Disney dropped the series, citing any future installment would be a bad investment, Walden/Fox picked up the rights and revamped the story by incorporating characters from “The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe,” that were not prominent in the original Dawn Treader/CS Lewis story.
“The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” is fast paced and action filled, which keeps you enthralled enough that you may forget to chomp down on that $10 popcorn. Of the three movies, I found that this one is the strongest to date.
Lucy and Peter return, along with newcomer and quite annoying cousin “Eustace,” brilliantly played by Will Poulter, who is known for “Son of Rambo”. Poulter was nominated by the British Independent Film Awards as Most Promising Newcomer and plays Eustace so well that I actually found myself getting irritated with him, as if he was a real boy and not a character in a movie.
“Treader” has some fantastic action sequences, opening with Lucy, Peter, and Eustace becoming swallowed by a painting that transports them to Narnia. Though the effects are nothing that I haven’t seen before they are well done and help transport you to the fantasy world of Narnia where ghost-like mermaids swim along side of the Dawn Treader, and Minotaurs muscle the ship through dead waves. The action sequences are well paced and keep you entertained throughout, but because the movies runs on them there’s a lull in meaningful dialogue which blocks you from having any meaningful connection with the characters.
The character of Lucy, played by Georgie Henley, feels inadequate in her looks and wishes for beauty. I would have liked to see this subject explored in more depth, as it could have given her character a stronger edge. While all of the characters have viable motivations, the movie still runs on action and the balance between the two, though uneven, makes sense and didn’t leave me totally unfulfilled.
Actual proof that the actors adapted the book to the screen themselves…
Cameos from returning Tilda Swinton as “The White Witch” and Liam Neeson as “Aslan”, both key characters from the first two films, package this third installment with A-list talent and maintain that parallel between God and Satan / White Witch and Aslan that Lewis wrote throughout his novels and generated big revenue for Disney in “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe”. Christians will be happy to see that the movie follows in the religious overtones that were minimized by Disney’s “Prince Caspian” and incidentally may have resulted in fewer revenue dollars. As for me, I’d appreciate the less obvious religious overtones, especially at the end, when Aslan explains to Lucy, that “he will always be with her”, even when she is back on our side of the universe. That line would have been enough for me, but “Aslan” goes on to say that “Lucy knows him in our world”, just as another name.
Ding Ding. Yes, I got the picture. Now let me get back to the fantasy and not your religious agenda; aka, let’s make money from the Christian movie-goer.
While CS Lewis fans will forgive some story changes, as they work well and help to create continuity in a franchise that may go the distance, I was glad to see that Ben Barnes, the original Prince Caspian continued his role in this film.
I enjoyed the previous two movies, and find this one filled with more of what works: action and stunning visuals. Skip the 3D as it was converted after production and not worth the extra $3.
I rate this movie a medium popcorn. You’ll probably have some left over at the end and that’s a good thing.
