Review 15: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a rousing, rip-roaring adventure that continues The Chronicles of Narnia's winning streak fabulously.
Based on the third book The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C. S. Lewis, Edmund (Skander Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) are staying with their idiotic, irritating, bookish cousin Eustace Scrubb (Will Poulter) when a magical painting of a ship on the ocean in Lucy's bedroom transports the trio to Narnia three years after the events of Price Caspian.
They are rescued by the ship called the Dawn Treader. Their old friend Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) is aboard and they join him in his quest to rescue seven lost lords and to save Narnia from a corrupting evil that resides on a dark island. Each character is tested as they journey to the home of the great lion Aslan at the far end of the world.
Of all the Narnia films to date, this is one to take the most liberties with the book which has a looser, more episodic and disconnected nature than the previous two books and is more of a series of short stories tied together but the eponymous boat, the characters and their mission to find the seven missing lords and wouldn't lend itself well to a film adaptation and would probably feel more like a travelogue.
The film also adds an antagonist with the dark island, which is essentially an amalgamation of The Island Where Dreams Come True and the sea serpent (a very minor character in the book that basically acts as a obstacle for our heroes to overcomes)
Director Michael Apted's direction is taught, the special effects are tremendous, the production design is fabulous giving each location a beautiful but distinct look, the Dawn Treader is truly a sight to behold. The cinematography is gorgeous and captures the beauty of Narnia's Eastern Oceans and the various islands the crew visit, the costumes are fabulous, the scenery is breathtaking, the score by David Arnold is magnificent, the action scenes are exciting, energy-filled and fun to watch. The props are terrific, the locations for all the different isles the characters meet all have very distinct looks
The film also adds an antagonist with the dark island, which is essentially an amalgamation of The Island Where Dreams Come True and the sea serpent (a very minor character in the book that basically acts as a obstacle for our heroes to overcomes)
Director Michael Apted's direction is taught, the special effects are tremendous, the production design is fabulous giving each location a beautiful but distinct look, the Dawn Treader is truly a sight to behold. The cinematography is gorgeous and captures the beauty of Narnia's Eastern Oceans and the various islands the crew visit, the costumes are fabulous, the scenery is breathtaking, the score by David Arnold is magnificent, the action scenes are exciting, energy-filled and fun to watch. The props are terrific, the locations for all the different isles the characters meet all have very distinct looks
The acting is great a third time, Skander Keynes and Georgie Henley are growing up giving them plenty of new direction to go. One minute they're stuck in Cambridge with their annoying cousin Eustace the next, they're back in Narnia for another
Particular praise has to go to Henley as Lucy, watching this film it's easy to see how far they've come, Henley as an actress and Lucy as a character. Lucy has gone from the wide-eyed, optimistic, to a headstrong, independent woman.
Will Poulter is superbly cast as Edmund & Lucy's cousin Eustace. Eustace starts out as the typical character you love to hate. A whiny, self-centred, stuck up twit who doesn't believe in all of this Narnia mumbo jumbo, so it's no surprise that Edmund & Lucy hate being stuck with him for the summer. As a result of his scepticism, his introduction to Narnia is thrust upon him, he just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when, he, Edmund & Lucy are transported to Narnia.
Much like his cousins,
Ben Barnes is once again terrific as King Caspian. In the three years since overthrowing Miraz, he's grown and matured greatly from a young man who was an outcast among the "Old Narnians" to a much respected and wise King.
Simon Pegg shows to be a terrific replacement Eddie Izzard as Reepicheep, he expertly captures the characters sense of nobility and how he's a thousand times bigger than he look thanks to his bravery and sense of honour. He's also on his own quest of self-discovery to get to Aslan's Country and see it. As much as he loves being a swachbuckler, what he really wants to do is travel to the Utter East.
There were also a couple of side character that whilst not important to the overall story where fun to have around nonetheless i.g. Gael a
Particular praise has to go to Henley as Lucy, watching this film it's easy to see how far they've come, Henley as an actress and Lucy as a character. Lucy has gone from the wide-eyed, optimistic, to a headstrong, independent woman.
Will Poulter is superbly cast as Edmund & Lucy's cousin Eustace. Eustace starts out as the typical character you love to hate. A whiny, self-centred, stuck up twit who doesn't believe in all of this Narnia mumbo jumbo, so it's no surprise that Edmund & Lucy hate being stuck with him for the summer. As a result of his scepticism, his introduction to Narnia is thrust upon him, he just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when, he, Edmund & Lucy are transported to Narnia.
Much like his cousins,
Ben Barnes is once again terrific as King Caspian. In the three years since overthrowing Miraz, he's grown and matured greatly from a young man who was an outcast among the "Old Narnians" to a much respected and wise King.
Simon Pegg shows to be a terrific replacement Eddie Izzard as Reepicheep, he expertly captures the characters sense of nobility and how he's a thousand times bigger than he look thanks to his bravery and sense of honour. He's also on his own quest of self-discovery to get to Aslan's Country and see it. As much as he loves being a swachbuckler, what he really wants to do is travel to the Utter East.
There were also a couple of side character that whilst not important to the overall story where fun to have around nonetheless i.g. Gael a
The Narnia series succeeds once again with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and I wish They'd just hurry up and get on the next four adaptations, 5/5
The Anonymous Critic
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