Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (B- or 2.5/4 stars)
'Narnia 3' (as I'll call it) - directed by Michael Apted - is not awful, & not great - it's basically somewhere in the middle. And I think its stellar children's entertainment. For me, though I enjoyed many of its parts, 'Narnia 3' is the weakest film of the franchise (Lion, Witch, Wardrobe & Prince Caspian), & I wonder if this movie will mark said franchise's end. The film begins, just like Caspian did, in reality, with England struggling in WWII. The 2 younger Pevensie siblings, Edmund & Lucy (Skandar Keynes, Georgie Henley), are living with their obnoxious cousin, Eustace (Will Pouter). It's at his house, while staring at a painting of a ship, that the 3 kids are magically transported to Narnia (great scene!). For Edmund & Lucy, this is their 3rd trip.
For the skeptical, somewhat-nasty Eustace, it's his 1st journey to the fantasy world. Caspian (Ben Barnes), once prince & now king, and warrior mouse, Reepicheep (Simon Pegg), are present to pull the 3 cousins from the sea. They all find themselves aboard the Dawn Treader, Narnia's royal vessel. King Caspian is on a mission to find the whereabouts of 7 lords & 7 swords that have gone missing - THAT is the plot drive of this movie. Moving on. The ship has set-off to explore the mysterious Eastern Seas beyond the Lone Islands & possibly discover Aslan's Country (aka, Heaven). Along the way they encounter a dragon, one-legged dwarves, merfolk, serpents, & lost warriors (under a sleeping spell). Can our courageous protagonists reach the end of the world & defeat their foes?
So this 3rd film entry is basically a quest. The characters gather, learn information that can help save their world, set-out on a journey, encounter many strange & wonderful things, fight evil, & come out relatively unscathed. It's an adventure film; fairly drama-free. And more than the others, it's geared towards smaller children. I don't know ... to me, the 1st 2 films could be appreciated by people of all ages. The main question here is: is this film a good one for kids to watch? My answer: absolutely. It's big, beautiful, broadly sketched, has oodles of visual effects, & contains some cute creatures. I think they'll eat it up. But for me, I can't see myself popping this into my DVD player 6 months from now. It just doesn't provide enough sophisticated material or narrative energy for my 30 yr. old liking.
Let me try to run down the highlights of the film: 1) watching the 3 kids submerge in their room & swim INTO the painting on the wall was a great visual trick to see. 2) I enjoyed all of the one-legged dwarves; bouncing & bounding across one of the mysterious isles. That said, such great characters - and they're given minimal screen time -- bummer. 3) Loved the temptation pond that turns everything to gold. 4) Was in awe of the extended climactic sequence with the enormous sea serpent. That creature design would have both fascinated & scared the crap out of me when I was young. 5) I loved the reunion at the end with Aslan. And teared-up at chivalrous Reepicheep's emotional declaration/decision, as well. These highlights brought a smile to my face, but there weren't enough of them.
Acting-wise, Skandar Keynes & Georgie Henley are pretty weak, but they grow on you by the end. Ben Barnes? Well, he's fine. I'm just confounded by the fact that the filmmakers ditched his Spanish accent from the last film & gave the character a British accent (I guess Barnes couldn't handle it consistently, haha). The star performer in the film is Will Pouter as Eustace; that kid's got one nasty-sounding voice, & it fits the character's persona perfectly. I also enjoyed his acute character arc by the end. And so, 'Narnia 3' may mark the end of a fantasy trilogy that I've enjoyed; though decreasingly so. I've always liked C.S. Lewis' Christian philosophy/allegories in these stories. I love the Narnians. And even though the Pevensies have never been given justice by more able child actors, I'll still miss 'em. 'Narnia 3' is a mixed bag of the "good", & the "disappointing" (lacking an intangible sense of wonder & magic), but I maintain that kids should love it.
For the skeptical, somewhat-nasty Eustace, it's his 1st journey to the fantasy world. Caspian (Ben Barnes), once prince & now king, and warrior mouse, Reepicheep (Simon Pegg), are present to pull the 3 cousins from the sea. They all find themselves aboard the Dawn Treader, Narnia's royal vessel. King Caspian is on a mission to find the whereabouts of 7 lords & 7 swords that have gone missing - THAT is the plot drive of this movie. Moving on. The ship has set-off to explore the mysterious Eastern Seas beyond the Lone Islands & possibly discover Aslan's Country (aka, Heaven). Along the way they encounter a dragon, one-legged dwarves, merfolk, serpents, & lost warriors (under a sleeping spell). Can our courageous protagonists reach the end of the world & defeat their foes?
So this 3rd film entry is basically a quest. The characters gather, learn information that can help save their world, set-out on a journey, encounter many strange & wonderful things, fight evil, & come out relatively unscathed. It's an adventure film; fairly drama-free. And more than the others, it's geared towards smaller children. I don't know ... to me, the 1st 2 films could be appreciated by people of all ages. The main question here is: is this film a good one for kids to watch? My answer: absolutely. It's big, beautiful, broadly sketched, has oodles of visual effects, & contains some cute creatures. I think they'll eat it up. But for me, I can't see myself popping this into my DVD player 6 months from now. It just doesn't provide enough sophisticated material or narrative energy for my 30 yr. old liking.
Let me try to run down the highlights of the film: 1) watching the 3 kids submerge in their room & swim INTO the painting on the wall was a great visual trick to see. 2) I enjoyed all of the one-legged dwarves; bouncing & bounding across one of the mysterious isles. That said, such great characters - and they're given minimal screen time -- bummer. 3) Loved the temptation pond that turns everything to gold. 4) Was in awe of the extended climactic sequence with the enormous sea serpent. That creature design would have both fascinated & scared the crap out of me when I was young. 5) I loved the reunion at the end with Aslan. And teared-up at chivalrous Reepicheep's emotional declaration/decision, as well. These highlights brought a smile to my face, but there weren't enough of them.
Acting-wise, Skandar Keynes & Georgie Henley are pretty weak, but they grow on you by the end. Ben Barnes? Well, he's fine. I'm just confounded by the fact that the filmmakers ditched his Spanish accent from the last film & gave the character a British accent (I guess Barnes couldn't handle it consistently, haha). The star performer in the film is Will Pouter as Eustace; that kid's got one nasty-sounding voice, & it fits the character's persona perfectly. I also enjoyed his acute character arc by the end. And so, 'Narnia 3' may mark the end of a fantasy trilogy that I've enjoyed; though decreasingly so. I've always liked C.S. Lewis' Christian philosophy/allegories in these stories. I love the Narnians. And even though the Pevensies have never been given justice by more able child actors, I'll still miss 'em. 'Narnia 3' is a mixed bag of the "good", & the "disappointing" (lacking an intangible sense of wonder & magic), but I maintain that kids should love it.