The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

In the immortal words of Col. Kurtz, "The horror...the horror." Marlon Brando wasn't speaking of this film, of course, but rather the horrors of the Vietnam War. The sentiment remains applicable.

When I write reviews, I do try to give at least a modicum of context, be it a history of the film itself, predecessors to its place in cinema history, or my general feelings on the type of film. In this case, I've just referenced Francis Ford Coppola's classic take on Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness," Apocalypse Now. What does that have to do with Dawn Treader? Nothing, and I couldn't be happier. Why? Because it's distracted my mind with thoughts of a far, far better film. Allow me my few moments of happiness before I have to rifle through the dark filing cabinet of my mind to marshal my thoughts on this atrocity.\

What went so wrong here, you may ask? We'll start with the history of this franchise. I do not have the highest opinion of this series. We started out with the most famous of C. S. Lewis' Narnia cycle, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. I don't know...perhaps if we hadn't been in the middle of such a fantasy film renaissance, I would have found it more palatable. Instead, coming on the heels of Peter Jackson's generation-defining Lord of the Rings trilogy, and the high class and quality of the Harry Potter franchise, that weak take on a book series that didn't thrill me as a child struck me as a cheap, childish appetizer compared to the magnificent feasts audiences had already been served, their stories facile, their acting (aside from a typically great Tilda Swinton) either poor or phoned-in (Paging Mr. Neeson, your paycheck is waiting for you). SHREK co-director Andrew Adamson was the helmer of both Wardrobe and Caspian, and I had hoped those film's failings were due perhaps to his inexperience as a director of live-action. The first film of course wore its Christian allegory on its sleeve (Lewis, for all his writings, never managed to find the def...

Growing up in the Canada in the 70's and 80's, I fondly recall vastly enjoying an animated version of Lewis' 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' that was presented by Kraft on CTV. Now as a father of a son, I want to see with him the contemporary versions of the books I adored in my youth, though at present I greatly prefer the craftsmanship of cinema pre-1970.

It never bothers me in the slightest, to the ire of my more obsessive-compulsive cinephilic friends, seeing films of series with complete disregard to their order (one of my friends nearly had a heart attack, when he discovered I had watched 'Spider-Man 3' without having previously watched films 1 and 2--don't even get me started about the 'Harry Potter' series...), so, especially curious about how one of my favourite contemporary directors, Michael Apted, would do in the realm of big-budget, CGI-intensive fantasy filmmaking (I expected a fish-out-of-water, like Lord Richard Attenborough helming 'A Chorus Line'), I gave this a shot.

I enjoyed this more than 'Harry Potter' films I have seen, though it does stretch things from the literary works, but unfortunately, that seems to be the way things are, since film became less about artistry and more about business (just see at Toys R Us how many possible toys you can purchase, and similar commercial off-shoots, and I don't even consider this series a major player in this sort of area, because of its Christian undertones, which really doesn't mesh perfectly with selling tons of toys, though of course the realms aren't mutually exclusive, not by any stretch of the imagination). I think that Apted did a decent job, especially considering that yes, he is a fine director, but this isn't really his cup of tea. I distinctly feel that if these films are your comfort food, you won't be disappointed. I look forward to checking out the series' two preceding entries, and, though they left an opportunity for more films, which I believe wouldn't be from Lewis' works a...

I wouldn't class this as a good or bad film, it's in a weird sorta in-between to me.

'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader' is, comparatively, bad. It loses the vibe and all the intrigue that the first film has, as it continues the downward trajectory set by the other sequel. However, it's still just about got a decent adventure feel to it.

Only two of the youngsters reprise their roles 'properly', those being Georgie Henley (Lucy) and Skandar Keynes (Edmund). I'd always prefer a cast to remain the same, but if I'm honest this doesn't miss William Moseley (Peter) and Anna Popplewell (Susan) all that much. That argument is helped by the arrival of a young Will Poulter as Eustace. He's great.

Plot-wise is where it gets meh. I didn't care for it, even if I did like its swashbuckling nature. I can see many finding enjoyment with it, but for me it doesn't quite come out positively unfortunately - it's sluggish. The ship set also feels rather cheap.

Not at all a bad film; one that was interestingly made without the involvement of Disney, Walden Media joined up with Fox instead. I just couldn't find enough entertainment in it.

Whilst this third in the adaptations of CS Lewis' "Narnia" stories is still enjoyable to watch; it's fair to say that it bears little resemblance to the original book and that is a shame. We only have two "Pevensie" children ("Lucy" & "Edmund") summoned back in this film alongside, accidentally, their cowardly but loudmouthed cousin "Eustace" (Will Poulter). They arrive just in time to be rescued from the middle of the sea by a passing King "Caspian" (Ben Barnes) on his ship "The Dawn Treader" and wonder why they have been recalled. We soon find out that they must all get to the "Lone Islands" before a green mist envelops the whole kingdom. We've plenty of action, battles, some mysterious invisible dwarves and even a wee bit of excess testosterone en route to quite an exciting conclusion. Insofar as it goes, the kids - now, really young adults - do well (Poulter is quite entertaining as their whinging, spoilt relative) as do Barnes and this time Simon Pegg takes over as "Reepicheep". The effects are definitely better, but they do need to be - the story isn't so good and struggles at times to get up any decent head of steam. It is still colourful and fun, though - but sadly demonstrative that the franchise has now run out of oomph!

Nostalgia has a funny way of tricking us when we revisit things we loved when we were younger. Sitting down to watch the third chapter of the Narnia saga brought up this inevitable conflict for me: the fondness I have for that universe clashing with the totally real frustration over some questionable narrative choices. This voyage ends up showing not just what happens to the Pevensie siblings, but the structural limits of a franchise that fought hard not to lose its identity under commercial pressure. Watching the ship’s purple sails catch the wind, it’s clear that the magic we were promised swings between flashes of pure beauty and stumbles that are hard to ignore.

I noticed the main cast’s performances were really up and down throughout the trip, making things feel pretty disconnected on screen. Skandar Keynes (Edmund) and Georgie Henley (Lucy) just didn’t seem to have that same vibrant energy from the previous movies. During a lot of the exposition-heavy dialogue, their acting felt flat, almost like they were tired of playing these roles or just bored by the stiff script they were given. But there is a silver lining. I really liked seeing Lucy and Edmund leading the charge on their own. They knew how to carry the weight of that responsibility, dealing with their own insecurities without always being in their older siblings' shadows. I missed Peter and Susan, sure, and their brief magical cameos felt like forced fan service shoved into the script. The absolute saving grace, acting-wise, goes by the name of Will Poulter. I was completely blown away by his Eustace. At first, the kid annoyed me to no end—a very faithful recreation of what we read in the book. And his believable coming-of-age arc ended up being, by far, the biggest human triumph of the movie.

Bringing in a veteran like Michael Apted to direct didn’t save the day, and that’s one of the things that hurt the adaptation the most. I found his work incredibly bureaucratic and lacking that majestic vis...