THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER

THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA:
THE VOYAGE OF THE
DAWN TREADER

rated PG

ART-->*1/2
HEART->**
MIND-->**
FUN--->**

When we last saw the four Pevensie children, the creatures of Narnia, with the help of Aslan, had conquered an evil army and returned Caspian to his rightful throne as king. For the elder siblings, this was their last trip to Narnia, and life back in England has returned to normal. Sort of.

With Peter away, and Susan attending school in America, Edmond and Lucy are forced to live with their petulant cousin Eustace. Stuck in a cramped guest room, they notice a painting of a very Narnian-looking boat. Before they know it, water cascades out of the picture and transports Lucy, Edmond, and Eustace to Narnia, where they meet up with now King Caspian and his majestic ship, The Dawn Treader.

But why are they here?

Taking a cue from the original WARDROBE film, THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER is a lot more light and breezy than (the I believe unfairly maligned) PRINCE CASPIAN. There is no imminent threat to the children, and everyone seems to be riding on the spirit of adventure.

Edmond is far more agreeable this time around, and Lucy, as always, is sweet and kind. Caspian, for reasons unexplained, has lost his Spanish accent, but his pretty face does sport a handsome beard, so he’s got that going for him. The only one not into all this derring-do is crabby cousin Eustace, who seems intent on making everyone’s life miserable, including his own.

The one fully fleshed-out character is the swashbuckling mouse Reepicheep, who, while not quite stealing the show, is the backbone for this fantasy. He is ripe for adventure and thoroughly enjoys being there. Will you?

At this point, I must reluctantly tell you to temper your expectations, as THE DAWN TREADER is on the shallow end of a truly satisfying experience. With a new studio, a different director, a rewritten script and millions of dollars slashed from the budget, something's got to give.

First and foremost, in many scenes, the film is poorly shot. For some reason, a choice was made to shoot handheld style with everything in focus. That does save production time, but it tends to give the film an amateur feel. Shots aren’t planned so much as arbitrarily arrived at, so that makes the composition sloppy, not cinematic.

Secondly, many performances were captured in long takes. That means the editor doesn't have much to work with, so some intensity and rhythm are lost. I suppose you could spin it that it heralded back to the glory days of classic Hollywood staging, but that’s being overly generous.

Third, there is a critical lack of foreshadowing. According to Aslan, each character is to be tempted and tested, revealing their personal flaws and tendencies that they ultimately need to reject. But with so many unfinished ideas and loose strands, what we are left with seems forced, random, or unsubstantiated. The spiritual themes also seemed a bit too earnest this time around.

To be fair, the through-line of Narnia is a bit disjointed. Each book is a distinctly different experience from the last. Magical places are discovered, battles are fought, victories won, and characters come and go. But there is no overarching plot to unify the stories, so it can be somewhat jarring to start a new Chronicle.

All that being said, there are many good moments in the film:

When Lucy enters the hidden mansion and finds the spell book,
there is a welcome sense of magic and wonder.

After the magician finally shows them the path, the excitement builds as their quest becomes clear.

When Eustace struggles as a dragon, we empathize with him.

The scenes at Aslan’s table and the final battle at the island are much more cinematic.

When Reepicheep’s destiny is fulfilled, it is fitting and wonderful.

In the end, the best I can say about THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER is that you are safe to bring your kids to see it. C.S. Lewis wrote these stories specifically for children, and in our coarsened culture, it’s nice to have an alternative to the crass media onslaught we are faced with every day. So if you want Hollywood to make more movies with spiritual themes, you've got to put your money down when they do.

Walden Media (a studio that makes Faith and Family films) is behind the Narnia series, so this tame fantasy does impart good lessons we can all use a reminder of. And Lord knows, we need more of that.

MILDLY RECOMMENDED

(Please note that THE DAWN TREADER is being presented in both Standard (2D) and “Digital 3D.” I chose Standard because the film wasn’t natively shot in 3D, so I couldn’t justify the extra four bucks. I may update this review later if I see it again in "Almost-But-Not-Quite-3D." It's your choice, so plan accordingly. Enjoy!)