The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)

There were reasons to be both excited and nervous about this third instalment of the "Narnia" series, but luckily Michael Apted has made a fun, swashbucking family film.

Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) are stuck in Cambridge, England, living with their bratty and selfish cousin Eustace Scrubb (Will Poulter). Edmund and Lucy long to return to Narnia; Peter has been rejected by the army for his age and Lucy, like many teenage girls, starts to have doubts about her looks. Through a magic painting the three youngsters are teleported to the oceans of Narnia and found by King Caspian X (Ben Barnes), leading a voyage to the Lone Islands. After freeing the people from a slave trader, Caspian, Lucy, Edmund and co. have to go eastward to find the seven lost lords and stop a mysterious green mist.

Everything you would want or expect from a fantasy is here: sword fights, dragons, magic, legends, strange creatures, wizards and a quest into an unknown territory. The adventure was light-hearted and there is a great amount of humour. Poulter was excellent as the butt of the jokes as a spoiled child who is overwhelmed by his surroundings. He had a particularly good acting relationship with Keynes and Simon Pegg, the voice of Reepicheep. Pegg was able to inject some really comic energy as Eddie Izzard did with the role.

The action was well handled and the special effects were decent. Because of the smaller forces involved and the sea-faring adventure there are no massive battles between large armies but more smaller, quicker skirmishes. The final battle was very much like the final action scene in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, a small group of people fighting a sea creature. The costumes were very similar to the "Pirates of the Caribbean" films and the filmmakers seem to be influenced by the "Harry Potter" series and the glowing sword from Lord of the Rings.

Apted paces the film quickly with no moments of boredom to settle in. The voyage to a number of strangle desert-like islands was very similar to classic adventure films like Jason and the Argonauts. The dry islands were very similar to the Greek islands. It has an old-fashioned style and feel, but that is not necessarily bad -- in fact it's pretty good. The cinematography and set designs are bright and colourful and this is a perfect film to take children to.

Whilst Keynes and Henley are a little unsteady at first in the film, they grow into their roles and becoming more assured. Barnes drops the Spanish accent from Prince Caspian and it helps him improve his performance. He was much more comfortable in the role and Caspian has grown up as character. He was more believable as a king then as a young prince.

A problem with "Voyage" is there is a lack of a compelling antagonist. This film is more about the "quest" than The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian and there is a fresh amount of mystery, but the mystery has a lacklustre conclusion.

Fmovies: It's been five years from "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" debuted on theaters. The Pevensies have grown up. The first movie would see a very young Lucy still with a cute face like a first-grader. In this movie, she looks like she's in seventh grade or eight grade. Seems like time flows like Narnian time here.

"Voyage of the Dawn Treader" marks the third film in the Narnia franchise. It follows King Caspian in a journey to find the seven lost lords of Narnia whom King Miraz banished during his reign in the previous film with his ship, the Dawn Treader. On the way, he met Edmund, Lucy and their pathetic cousin, Eustace Scrubb who turned out to have a change in the movie. However, there's this horrifying green mist that can tempt you to do things that can lead up to bad things and the whereabouts of these lost lords are unknown. So, these people take on a journey that passes the beyond the Silver Sea (which must be really somewhere very east) and to the "End of the World". END of the world not those doomsday things.

"Voyage" is actually a very enjoyable film for both kids and adults alike. The adventures were really great and breathtaking and should be a good way to take people's spare time. Its story is understandable for young kids and its characters are enjoyable and fun to befriend with especially the mouse, Reepicheep.

"Voyage" will actually give good laughs to its audience with its jokes especially with the appearance of the Pevensies' coward, pathetic Eustace Scrubb who actually changed ever since he visited Narnia. His actions are the main source of laughs here. His acting also maximized the laughs in this film and I think comedy is what strengthens this movie.

"Voyage" is also powerful in exciting action scenes. This is what seems to be lacking in the previous films even in the climax where it doesn't seem that exciting. "Voyage's" climax is very exciting and deserves to be called a climax. The setting of the scene was well-suited and the scene was shot beautifully. Definitely awesome. But, this movie is quite dark for very young children especially in the climax part. It has grown quite scarier than the previous ones.

"Voyage" also has a new director allowing the series to turn into a quite different style of film. While the previous ones were really too childish, this third one puts on several scenes to attract an older audience. Michael Apted replacing Andrew Adamson is definitely an advance in the Narnia film series.

However, Narnian fans will miss Peter and Susan Pevensie as they would not return as main characters but rather just as cameos. The reason in the story why they didn't return is that they're now too old to return to Narnia. This movie will only see two Pevensies plus their cousin, Eustace Scrubb. What a pity.

The 3D effects of the film were actually acceptable. They are actually quite conspicuous and are good. 3D or 2D would be OK in watching this movie.

You might notice that the Pevensies have grown a lot over the five years gap between the first film and this third film. Compared to the Harry Potter series which had a 3-year gap between the first and third film, Narnia had a longer gap. As it is also a seven-book series, I'm quite worried how it will end up in the final film(even though some of the installments don't include the Pevensies). Let's just hope they have no problem encountering this situation

Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader

It has been a few years now and a studio, director, and production team change since we last had a Narnia film but finally the third film in the series, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, has finally come to screen and what can I say? It is well worth your money for you and your entire family to see it. The film is made by 20th Century Fox and Walden Media, directed by Michael Apted, still with actors Ben Barnes as Prince Caspian, Liam Neesan as the voice of Aslan the Lion, Skander Keynes again as Edmund, Georgie Henley as Lucy, with Will Poulter (Son of Rambow) as their cousin Eustace.

The story centers around Edmund and Lucy returning to Narnia this time with their whiny cousin Eustace where they meet up with Prince Caspian, now King Caspian, onboard the Narnia ship the Dawn Treader. With years of peace enjoyed in Narnia, they are unsure why they are there but soon find themselves on an adventure to battle a mysterious force that threatened Narnia where they face slavers, dragons, temptation, serpents, and learn to become greater than they ever thought they could be. The film follows the plot of the book very well expanding in order to make it flow as a proper story. The additions are perfectly plausible and make the story more cohesive and unlike the changes in Prince Caspian, improve the story. Flowing along quickly, this is by far the shortest in runtime of the series yet also the most powerful and magical, it starts well and ends on a such a high emotional note there are few that will escape unaffected from any screening.

Special effects stand out, with the absence of WETA in the production and special effects I was anxious to see if the new team, actually a fairly large group of small companies, could match what WETA was able to create I am here to tell you YES and in some ways they have surprassed their creations. The dragon and a sea serpent in the film alone are well worth admission, both created with much care and love and really the magic of a fantasy world involved. Other characters from Reepicheep the mouse, a Minotaur, and other creatures are beautiful to behold. The only one that seemed a little down was Aslan who though looking good seems a step down from what WETA created in Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian but the rest is so vivid with color and imagination there is little doubt that it will not just capture the imagination of the young but the entire family and keep them from first shot to last frame.

Music is another powerful entry, the strong Narnia theme running through this film giving it wonder and magic that belongs in this type of film. The strongest song though involves the arrival of a dragon, a piece with great power and a pulse that gives one of the most powerful scenes in the film even greater amazement and magic. Do you want to capture the imagination of a child and your childhood, an escapist film that will be great entertainment for the entire family? THIS IS THAT FILM!

Acting has been hit but this one features better acting and character moments than the other films. With fewer characters than the other two films this one can focus more on the characters and each of the main characters get multiple character building moments that give us greater love and really infuses the film with such emotional power that its hard not to be moved, especially by the climax. Everyone from Edmund to Lucy, to Caspian, to Reepicheep, to Eustace, get powerful scenes that culimate in the strongest ending to a Nar

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader fmovies. This film is about the Pevensies and their cousin entering Narnia again, in order to help Prince Caspian gather all seven swords of the lords to fight against dark forces.

"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" is a good film. It has elements for everyone to enjoy, such as clean humour, excitement, dangers and also psychological elements. The plot is straightforward and easy to understand. It is also filled with excitement, especially the battle with the dragon is quite breathtaking. The plot and the characters engage me a lot. This time, the Pevensies have matured, and hence are a lot less annoying. They even become interesting characters as they battle to overcome their own inadequacies. This subplot is aimed at adults, but it still can be understood by children at face value.

The 3D though, is a lot less thrilling than the film. Most scenes do not have noticeable 3D effects. The scenes that do have 3D are quite underwhelming. There are little scenes in the film that makes use of the 3D technology. I can safely say that watching the 2D version would be just as enjoyable than the 3D version, and you can save a few dollars by doing so.

Today, I checked out the latest entry of the Chronicles of Narnia film franchise based on the books by C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

In this film, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie are currently taking shelter in a home owned by their uncle. But, through the magic of a mysterious painting, they're suddenly brought back into Narnia, and brought aboard the Dawn Treader, the strongest ship of the Narnia armada, but they also bring along their cousin, Eustace. With the help of Caspian, they seek seven legendary swords that can destroy a mysterious new enemy, a deadly green mist.

The film makes good use of its cast, and their performances are fine, and do their best to carry the film. Just like the first two films, Dawn Treader is handsomely produced, boasting impressive production design, costumes, makeup, sound design, and special effects, and some great battle sequences, such as a daring escape from slave traders, and a nail biting final battle with ferocious sea serpents.

But you know what? Those things can't save the film from it's pretty big faults. Most of the magic that seemed to make the first film, and to a lesser extent the second film, so special seems to have been lost through the film's unfocused narrative. This time around the magic feels kind of generic. I also found the editing by Rick Shaine to be inconsistent, as the pace of the film tends to hop infrequently between slow and developmental, to fast and offbeat.

As for David Arnold's score, not only was it a big no no to fire Harry Gregson-Williams, but his score also gets a little derivative at times. I couldn't help but be reminded of Pirates of the Caribbean and Edward Scissorhands at points. There's also a somewhat distracting end credits country tune performed by Carrie Underwood, which by itself is quite lovely, but in the context of the film, feels out of place to the fantasy of Narnia.

It really does seem like the series has gotten worse with each new film. Either the film makers need to get their acts together (And hire a new editor), or they need to hand it to more capable hands.

I give Voyage of the Dawn Treader ** out of ****

I have watched this film in 3d at a preview screening in London.

First of all, I do not recommend anyone watching this in 3d. It is too dark and the action is just a motion blur. It's dreadful.

As for the film, there is much to enjoy with excellent visual effects, action set pieces (though ruined for me by the 3D) and a couple of stand out characters. But unfortunately there is also much to cringe at in some bouts of terrible dialogue.

The characters of Reepicheep (the kick-ass warrior mouse) and Eustace, (the obnoxious brat cousin) were the most fun with the actor playing Eustace demonstrating excellent comic timing. The relationship between them was funny and touching. And they even brought much needed zest to the action.

But alarmingly, Edmund and Lucy seem to have deteriorated as actors. Some of their emotions are too forced which is a pity. Not sure why, as I would expect them to improve with each film as did the young cast of the Harry Potter movies.

Overall, the story has surprisingly been well adapted considering not a great deal actually happens in the book. But the pacing is good, even though a little episodic. There are much more Christian analogies once again which would please many and irritate others. But I rather like all of the analogies.

I do feel however, that amongst adults, mostly those who enjoyed the Narnia books will enjoy this more than non readers of the books because the story is too bizarre even for a fantasy! But I think most children will enjoy this immensely, regardless if they read the books or not.

With better written dialogue and better handling of the child performances (namely Lucy and Edmund), this could have been a much better film but as its stands its an enjoyable enough entry in this series.

Oh and I will say it again, do not watch this in 3d.