Le Monde de Narnia : L'Odyssée du Passeur d'Aurore

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 was SO looking forward to the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and was sorely disappointed.

The film felt like they took the original story, chopped it up, then threw it in a blender with seven magical swords and some ridiculous green mist!

While the film stayed true to main themes of the story, much of the character development and purpose to each of the minor island stories was lost. Unfortunately this meant that most of the magic of the story was lost as well.

I gave the film 6 stars due to the redeeming qualities that were the stunning visuals, some excellent acting (notably by Will Poulter as Eustace), and a beautifully executed final scene.

If you haven't read the book, then you may enjoy this film immensely, but if you are a true Narnia fan, don't go in with very high expectations.

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 Narnia films and one of the most poignant scenes I have seen in a film in a very long time.

Christians out there, do you fear that the Christian themes are stripped out of this movie? Do not fear, this film is as powerfully religious as it is in magic. All of the religious undertones are not covered but are out in the open for all to see. There is no fear, like what Disney had, when it comes to hitting these themes and the director displays them in all their glory with as much power as C.S. Lewis wrote them to be.

The 3D of the film was fine, it does not detract now does it really add. I believe one would be fine seeing it or not seeing it in 3D, whatever you prefer.

Overall, Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a powerful entry in the fantasy genre, a great film for the entire family, and the type of film that belongs in December and should be watched time and time again by young and old alike! I give this film an 8.5/10.

The third installment in the big budget Narnian films gives us a more or less solid film with impressive special effects wasted on a hackneyed script and mediocre acting. There are a couple of exceptions in the acting department. The boy playing Eustace hits his mark and the voice work for Reepicheep is handled well. The special effects are dazzling; merging reality with digital almost seamlessly. But my critique of this film is exactly the same as the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe film (I never saw Prince Caspian): The atmosphere is all wrong.

Lighthearted whimsy is exchanged for somberness. A slow paced voyage is traded for a rapid fire adventure that moves so fast, we cannot enjoy the characters nor the moment. This isn't fantasy, it is a special effects reel. Added negatives include the actors, none of whom (Reepicheep excepted) capture any semblance of the royalty they attempt to portray. The actor playing Caspian is especially dimwitted in playing a king. He seems more like a befuddled commoner who learned a few royal gestures at school somewhere. At no time do you feel nor do his men feel like they are in the presence of a great king (which was the case in the book). The movie takes great liberties with the plot of the book, opting instead for a silly new plot about an evil mist which sucks away slaves in boats. This brings about a couple of new side characters (a father and daughter), neither of whom make much of an impression.

What this movie series need is to RECAPTURE THE MOOD OF THE BOOKS and avoid throwing out the plot for a newer one. They can keep the special effects, but temper them with a story that takes its time and is as entranced with its surroundings as the passengers aboard the Dawn Treader were. Are the producers afraid to elevate the material up to the audience, instead of pandering down to short attention spans? It sure seems so. While taken on its own terms the movie is professionally handled, I guarantee the movie would have stuck in the minds of the audience more if greater pains were taken on a good script and good acting. As it is, you watch the film, leave, and then don't remember much afterward.

This weekend, it was a rare treat for me to watch and review "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader". The Chronicles of Narnia have always been a favorite of mine. It's a series comparable to all the great fantasy epics, both in classic and modern times, and "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" is my favorite chapter in the saga.

A brief history, for those who aren't familiar with the series. Narnia is a mystical kingdom in a magical world that can only be reached when it is of the greatest need. It is watched over by Aslan the Lion, who comes and goes as he pleases but always chooses champions who can protect Narnia in the face of evil. In the first movie, two brothers and two sisters from our world are brought to Narnia to overthrow a terrifying Witch-Queen. In the second, they help a young prince named Caspian ascend to the throne that his uncle had usurped. While only adolescents in our world, in Narnia these four young men and women had become great heroes, kings and queens of legend.

In this movie, the youngest two, Edmund and Lucy, travel to Narnia to find there is (apparently) no great need for their help. No wars are currently being fought, and King Caspian is now sailing on his ship, the Dawn Treader, to find seven Lords of Narnia whom his uncle had banished years earlier. Accompanying Edmund and Lucy, unwilling, is their cousin Eustace Scrubb, a thoroughly unpleasant boy who had never even read books about magical lands, let alone believed in them. His only delight in life seemed to be annoying others. Naturally, his attitude won him little friendship or sympathy when he found himself dragged along on a magical voyage in a land he'd teased his cousins for "inventing".

The ship's company sails to the east, following the last known course of the seven Lords. Along their way, they battle slave traders, encounter an island full of invisible creatures and buildings, and deal with all sorts of fantastical creatures and enchantments. They find themselves tempted by their greatest desires and threatened by their worst fears, even as they strive to discover the fate of the missing Lords.

The most valiant of the sailors is the brave Sir Reepicheep, a Mouse granted the gift of speech (and a new tail when his old was lost) by Aslan himself. Never one to back away from a fight, Reepicheep has a different motivation for embarking on this journey. As a young Mouse, he was told that he would some day travel to Aslan's Country in person. Delighted to see King Edmund and Queen Lucy once more, he finds it particularly difficult to tolerate Eustace. Reepicheep comments that, if Eustace hadn't been related to them by blood, he might have drawn his sword on the lad more than once (and from a Mouse who has faced dragons, it is no idle threat). Eventually, though, as Eustace is forced to face the reality of life in this strange and dangerous world, the noble Mouse becomes something of a guide to him, and even, oddly enough, a comfort from time to time.

There's certainly enough adventure and danger to create an epic, and the emotional and personal trials that each character faces make for interesting moral and dramatic scenes. However, the main difference between the book and the movie is the nature of the voyage on which the crew of the Dawn Treader embarks. In the movie, more than simply finding the lost Lords, the crew is told by a magician that they must bring the swords of each Lord to Aslan's Table and lay them upon it. Doing so would mean the end to a terrible curse that plagues the isles of the east and threatens to spread to the shores of Narnia in time.

Finding the seven swords grounds the movie more firmly in the epic fantasy genre, but it hardly seems necessary. Adding this element to the quest actually changed the dynamic of it. Certainly, it sharpened the focus of the dangers they faced, making the encounters with spirits and sea serpents seem less random; but it also called for changing the order of certain events, such as the order in which they visited the various islands. Also, it takes the focus off the characters themselves, even as the movie tries to bring their personal battles to the forefront, at times.

These aren't major departures from the book. The same issues are addressed, and the storyline is very similar. In the end, not much was changed, especially not the messages delivered by the Great Lion. That's the important part. The books, written over half a century ago, endure in large part because of the author, C.S. Lewis, and the lessons he hoped to teach through his characters. Like the fables of old, The Chronicles of Narnia have their share of talking animals, but that's just window dressing. What's important is what you can learn from the story itself.

(Originally appeared at http://fourthdayuniverse.com/reports/ )