 Tagline: Return to magic. Return to hope. Return to Narnia. When Lucy and Edmund Pensive, along with their cousin Eustace, are swallowed into a painting and transported back to Narnia, they join King Caspian and a noble mouse named Reepicheep aboard the magnificent ship The Dawn Treader. The courageous voyagers travel to mysterious islands, confront mystical creatures, and reunite with the Great Lion Aslan and a mission that will determine the fate of Narnia itself! Storyline: Lucy and Edmund Pevensie are stranded in Cambridge, living in the house of their obnoxious cousin Eustace, while the grown-ups Susan and Peter are living in the USA with their parents. When a painting of a ship sailing on the sea of Narnia overflows water in their room, Lucy, Edmund and Eustace are transported to the ocean of Narnia and rescued by King Caspian and the crew of the ship The Dawn Treader. Caspian explains that Narnia has been in peace for three years but before he took his throne back, his uncle tried to kill the seven lords of Telmar, who were the closest and most loyal friends of his father. They fled to The Lone Island and no one has ever heard anything about them. Now Caspian is seeking out the lords of Telmar with his Captain Drinian, the talking mouse Reepicheep and his loyal men. Soon, they discover that an evil form of green mist is threatening Narnia and the siblings and their cousin join Caspian in a quest to retrieve the seven swords of the seven lords of ... Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Casey Broadwater, April 2, 2011 -- The Chronicles of Narnia film series has always been viewed as Lord of the Rings lite—that is, epic fantasy in a more kid-friendly dosage—and fans of C.S. Lewis' adventurous allegorical novels have been decidedly divided on the semi-faithful book-to-screen adaptations. The films' defenders are sometimes, well, defensive—"Hey, at least they didn't reset the stories in Los Angeles and cast them with American kids," is a line I've often heard—and the detractors tend to point out how glossy and lightweight the movies feel, and how far removed they are from the quiet magic, wonder, and majesty of Lewis' novels. Both have valid arguments. The films are admittedly fun diversions and they could be far, far worse, but they pale in comparison to the best contemporary fantasy movies—the Harry Potter franchise, say—and they seem too plasticky and over-processed for a series of books that sprung from the musty, mouldy English countryside. (Which is why I've always preferred the creaky low-budget live-action BBC adaptations from the 1980s.) For this third entry, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, a splash of diet Pirates of the Caribbean has been added to the mix as well, but the film seems less waterborne than watered down. Still, we're lucky to even have a third Narnia film. After Price Caspian's relatively poor box-office performance and a dispute with production company Walden Media—over budgetary concerns and the oft-cited "creative differences"—Disney announced in 2008 that it would no longer co-produce Dawn Treader, essentially leaving the future of the franchise in the lurch. Just one month later, however, 20th Century Fox stepped in as distributor. The deal was not without its drawbacks. Prince Caspian could afford photo-realistic CGI and a truly epic scale on its $225 million budget, but its sequel would only be given $140 million to work with. Unfortunately, the cost-cutting measures do show up in the finished film. Where the previous movies were shot on 35mm and had a filmic, poeticized look, Dawn Treader was shot digitally and has an occasionally harsh, distinctly video-ish appearance that just doesn't jive with what you expect from big-budget fantasy. Some digital rigs to a great job of emulating the rich look and feel of film—the Red One camera, for example—but Dawn Treader's cinematography at times has a made-for-TV quality that's hard to ignore. Likewise, the CGI just isn't up to snuff. While the computer rendered characters tend to look fine—like Reepicheep the mouse and lumbering lion Aslan, both of which have impressively animated features—the digital creations often stand out awkwardly from their environs, and there are a few particle effects that look immediately dated. I'm thinking specifically of a green mist that's featured prominently in the plot; it looks like its been artificially inserted into the footage, which is always a sure sign of bad CGI. Will the film's target kiddie audience know the difference? Maybe not, but adult viewers will. The story is also a step back from Prince Caspian's violent, battle-driven, teen-friendly action, and an attempt at returning to the first film's childlike sense of awe and wonder. (I say "attempt" because the film is not entirely successful at achieving this end.) As usual, we open in war-torn Britain, where the two youngest Pevensie children, Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund (Skandar Keynes), are staying with their obnoxious cousin, Eustace Scrubb (Will Poulter), a bratty bug-collector and know-it-all naysayer who doesn't believe in Narnia. Yet. Up in Eustace's room, a seascape painting on the wall suddenly comes to life and the three children are swept into it, emerging on the other end of this portal in a Narnian ocean, where they're promptly rescued by the crew of the Dawn Treader, an eastward-bound vessel commanded by none other than Edmund and Lucy's old friend Caspian (Ben Barnes), who has since traded in his princely title for the kingship. Why have the children been summoned to Narnia this time? That's a good question, and one that the film has trouble answering. As Caspian explains, he's looking for the seven missing lords his evil uncle Miraz banished from the kingdom, and we later learn there are seven corresponding swords that need to be gathered in order to repel a foul green mist that has been gobbling up Narnians left and right. "Wait a minute," I can hear the C.S. Lewis-literate among you say, "there are no swords to collect in Dawn Treader, and certainly no verdant, all-devouring fog!" Ding, ding, ding! What we have here are two useless additions that have been shoehorned into the story to give motivation and menace where none is required. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a fan-favorite amongst Lewis' novels, and for good reason; it's a voyage on the high seas that takes its characters to several strange and wonderful island locales, each with its own mysterious backstory. For the most part, the film does capture this adventurous, wind in your face, salt air on your lips spirit. Caspian and the kids fight slave traders on the Lone Islands and encounter hopping, one-footed "Dufflepods" on an islet ruled by a powerful magician. On Goldwater they discover a pool that gives everyday objects the Midas touch, and on the isle of Ramandu they find the seven lords in a spell-induced slumber around a glorified picnic table overgrown with brambles and briars. In between stops, the ship rolls in unsteady waters, storms whip up, and—off the coast of the dreaded Dark Island, the source of all evil—our heroes face a sea monster who appears to be a close cousin to Cthulu. (Correct, Lewis-loyals, this ship versus serpent battle never happens in the book.) Of course, in true allegorical fashion, all of these encounters, battles, and escapades serve a symbolic purpose, and the true thrust of the story —what, you thought this film was actually about finding seven lost lords?—is the transformations in the characters lives thanks to their Aslan-given faith. Lucy struggles with doubt and vanity. Edmund powers through the temptations of greed, his jealousy of Caspian, and his hunger for power. As for Eustace—who, at one point, gets turned into a fire-breathing dragon—let's just say that he finally realizes that he's been an insufferable ass for the bulk of the journey. Redemption, naturally, is in order. None of this has much weight or consequence. The script, by series newcomer Michael Petroni—with help from regulars Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely—plays out like a series of fetch-quests from a particularly repetitive RPG. The video game-like plot structure—go here, get that item, go there, use item—leaves little room for genuine character development. The three penitent children learn their lessons quickly and dutifully, and off we go to find the next sword. At least the movie is briskly paced; at only 113 minutes Dawn Treader is at least a half-hour shorter than either of its predecessors, and this expediency keeps the film from seeming tedious. Director Michael Apted—best known for his Up series of documentaries—has taken over for Andrew Adamson, and although he keeps the story moving and even stages a few crackling action sequences, he never gives Dawn Treader any dramatic or creative urgency. Prince Caspian may have been a wrong step in a darker direction for the series, but you can't say it didn't take that step confidently. Apted's approach is certainly much more timid. The result is a fantasy film that is what no fantasy film should be—predictable. Nonetheless, Dawn Treader will probably capture kids' attentions, which is what matters most for this kind of oversized production. The child-empowering action rarely ceases, there's a cuddly animal sidekick in Simon Pegg's furry pint-sized warrior Reepicheep, and there's just enough of the scary stuff to keep wee ones on the edge of their seats. Presiding over it all is Liam Neeson's Aslan, the King of the Jungle-slash-Lord of Lords who delivers the film's parting, proselytizing message: "In your world I have another name. You must learn to know me by it. That was the very reason you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there." Obviously, Narnia completists will want to add Voyage of the Dawn Treader to their collections, but the average viewer may want to think twice. This is the weakest entry in the series, in my opinion; its story is more diffuse and it even looks cheaper than its lavish predecessors, which were shot on film rather than digital. Still, considering the circumstances, Dawn Treader makes a fairly strong audio/video showing on Blu- ray, and it comes with enough special features to keep fans occupied for at least an hour or two—more if you include the audio commentary. As I always say with potentially divisive releases, a try-before-you-buy rental might be the best course of action. Cast Notes: Georgie Henley (Lucy Pevensie), Skandar Keynes (Edmund Pevensie), Ben Barnes (Caspian), Will Poulter (Eustace Clarence Scrubb), Gary Sweet (Drinian), Terry Norris (Lord Bern), Bruce Spence (Lord Rhoop), Bille Brown (Coriakin), Laura Brent (Liliandil), Colin Moody (Auctioneer), Tilda Swinton (The White Witch), Anna Popplewell (Susan Pevensie), William Moseley (Peter Pevensie), Shane Rangi (Tavros), Arthur Angel (Rhince). IMDb Rating (04/18/11): 6.5/10 from 15,588 users
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