The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – Review

If Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter films are the benchmarks in the fantasy genre recently, there doesn’t leave a lot of room for others trying to standout. There’s been many since and many have failed. Go to Barnes & Nobles and you can see a slew of fantasy books, filled with adventures, magic, dragons, you name, it has been written. Out of all of the adapted books to film, The Chronicles of Narnia has been the sweetest, but no less magical. After a stale second film in Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader has found a new home in Fox (as Disney dropped the franchise) and that new location seems to have helped restore so hope in Narnians.

I guess it didn’t take much. While Prince Caspian was everything right in terms of production scale, but out of all of the battles (and endless battles), CGI, and creatures, the film just felt like a lifeless imitator of Lord of the Rings, which is everything that a Narnia film shouldn’t be. It was too dark and violent. Narnia should be about magic and adventure, the foundation of any good fantasy film. C.S. Lewis has been a subject of interest. The books were written in the aftermath of WWII, and it’s apparent that the war and the devastation in England, seemed to fuel Lewis, into the subtext of Narnia: hope.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader picks up after Prince Caspian, as Aslan (Liam Neeson) has called upon the smaller Pevensie kids to once again help rid evil in the lands of Narnia. To tell you the truth, I’m not sure what the actual evil was or why it was there in the first place, but if anything, it’s the catalyst that brings back the magic that was in abundance in The Lion, The Witch, The Wardrobe, with wondrous special effects and swirling adventures.

Isn’t that what we enjoy about fantasy films? Special effects and adventures? Michael Apted might not be the type of director I’d expect for such a film, but it works, even if everything is too calculating in its execution. Of course, the Christian subtext returns, but it’s not as overbearing as maybe one would expect, and at its core, it’s a good added layer for the clean, family adventure that is and should be, Narnia films. Dragons, swashbuckling mice (voiced by Simon Pegg!), endless spectacle, makes this third trip to the lands of Narnia, a welcomed diversion.

Rating:

Jon Peters

I love film. That is all.

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