Reviews
The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader review
December 9 2010
Michael Apted’s fantasy adventure feels curiously stilted with its Jason and the Argonauts-style set up.
Jilted by Disney after a two-picture marriage, Walden Media and 20th Century Fox picked up CS Lewis’ much-loved Chronicles of Narnia and present this third outing, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
Michael Apted’s fantasy adventure feels curiously stilted with its Jason and the Argonauts-style set up. Call it Homeric if you want to, but this ship sails hither and thither with little gusto.
With the two oldest Pevensie kids – Peter and Susan – too old for Narnian adventures, we return to the magical land laden with Christian allegory with Lucy, Edmund and their exceedingly annoying cousin Eustace. This time the kiddiewinks are sent on a quest with Caspian (Ben Barnes again) to retrieve seven swords in order to defeat some CG sea-mist.
The actors playing the Pevensie clan were always a bit of a collective lead weight. It’s as if the original casting call read: “Wanted: posh kids with limited/no acting ability for fantasy adventure flick”. Throwing them into a world of green screen blankness and asking them to emote to a tennis ball on a stick doesn’t inspire strong performances from anybody, let alone, young performers.
Other noticeable weaknesses are present. Although original director Andrew Adamson Disneyfied the films they were at least consistent. Michael Apted belongs to that distinct British breed of filmmaker whom earned their stripes in television and documentary. He’s a true journeyman director.
In other words, Apted is such a safe pair of hands it’s hard to distinguish what he’s bringing to the table other than very safe and very polished experience of big productions.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader does benefit from Dante Spinotti’s golden-sunset photography, but falling back on the old ‘at least it looks nice’ excuse is indicative of somebody pressing hard to find positives.
This third instalment ensures the franchise will end with a whimper and not a bang. It’s very hard to see there being a screen outing for The Silver Chair – the next chronicle in the list. Cameos from Aslan (Liam Neeson) and The White Witch are obviously tacked on to provide a bit of audience recognition. Tilda Swinton’s role smacks of ‘back by contractual obligation’.
And where did the filmmaker find such an odd-looking child actor as Will Poulter to play Eustace? He’s a strange, prissy screen presence. Top marks for that.
Anticipation:
Enjoyment:
In Retrospect:
The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader (text) by Martyn Conterio is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
I am quite a Narnia-geek (fan of the books as a child) but the only thing I actually loved about the film was Will Poulter's performance! So thumbs up for marking that :)
Written by oanajinga on December 10th, 2010 at 14:56
This is also one of the silliest reviews I've ever read. Why do critics review films they either obviously haven't seen entirely or films based upon books they've obviously never read? This is yet another proof that it doesn't take as much to be considered a "film critic" as it used to.
Written by Jay Cumberland on December 10th, 2010 at 17:42
Sigh … I was hoping you'd help me figure out whether or not this movie was worth seeing. I still don't know the answer as you were so quick to slam the first two flicks (which I'd categorize as "good," with somewhat strong performances from young actors comparative to most Hollywood flicks).
Written by Robert on December 10th, 2010 at 17:49
Jay, I think Martyn's review suggests that he most definitely did see the film, and I'm not sure I fully understand your reasoning behind critics being required to first read the source material before reviewing an adaptation.
In this case CS Lewis' novel might be a useful point of reference, but whether or not Martyn has read the book(s) is entirely irrelevant to his construction of this review.
Written by Adam on December 11th, 2010 at 01:23
I think Martyn sums it up quite eloquently: "This third instalment ensures the franchise will end with a whimper and not a bang."
Written by Adam on December 11th, 2010 at 01:24
For what it's worth, I thoroughly enjoyed the film and felt like I was watching a different movie than many of the critics. While I was not pleased with all of the revisions and I also thought there were some missed opportunities to better reflect the book, overall, I thought it was very good and I will see it again.
Written by JTW_iC on December 11th, 2010 at 08:06
Christianity wrapped up in a shiny red bow.
Written by cx145 on December 12th, 2010 at 05:37
Here's teh little white lie Adam…there are more critics than you probably realize who don't see films in their entirety and review them anyway. This review could have easily been written after seing the trailer or the film. A good critique would include so much more than what this one offers. My problem is not that the critic didn' like the film…it's the fact that the critique is actually worse to read than most bad movies are to watch.
The truth is, Conterio wouldn't cut it at any first rate media outlet, nor would many of the so called critics you find here.
Let's all remember, that half of the critics disagree with this review and to suggest that the franchise is over is entirely arrogant and clearly shows this critics' disdain for Christian allegory.
Written by Jay Cumberland on December 12th, 2010 at 23:03
"Let's all remember, that half of the critics disagree with this review and to suggest that the franchise is over is entirely arrogant and clearly shows this critics' disdain for Christian allegory."
I have not seen the film, and therefore have no opinion on it whatsoever – but to argue against the validity of a critique on the basis that some other critics disagree gets us precisely nowhere. Critics, like any viewers, often disagree. I also fail entirely to see how Conterio's suggestion that the franchise has already run out of steam in any way shows the critic's disdain for Christian allegory (he – correctly – acknowledges the allegorical status of Narnia only once in the review, and without any hint of disdain that I am able to detect). Clearly he just doesn't think the film is much good (as a film) – that hardly constitutes an attack on Christian values. Perhaps you didn't read what he wrote…
Written by Anton Bitel on December 13th, 2010 at 09:51
Jay, the reason we offer readers the chance to comment is to encourage and stimulate debate about a film and its meaning, cinematic or other.
If you continue to personally attack our writers then your comments will be removed.
Thanks you.
Written by Adam on December 13th, 2010 at 10:01
What is wrong with disdain for Christian allegory?
Written by tomseymour on December 13th, 2010 at 11:13
Disdain for anything tends to blunt the tools of criticism.
Written by Anton Bitel on December 13th, 2010 at 13:02
Granted. Disdain the wrong word. What is wrong with interrogating Christian allegory?
Written by tomseymour on December 13th, 2010 at 14:00
Not one damned thing (you bring the pliers, I'll bring the blowtorch.) It is just that, as far as I can tell, the review above has, er, other fish to fry.
Written by Anton Bitel on December 13th, 2010 at 14:39
I might be able to help, if you're considering seeing it as a fan of the books. If you liked Dawn Treader for its ability to tell an engaging story through characters and vignettes without need of a threat to drive the plot, give this film a pass. Its attempts to add an epic quest to the story just detracts from the sense of exploration the book had. Eustace and Reepicheep are done well enough to shine, but for the rest, the changes to make it more cinematic just grate.
Written by Hyatt on December 16th, 2010 at 08:54
"The actors playing the Pevensie clan were always a bit of a collective lead weight. It’s as if the original casting call read: “Wanted: posh kids with limited/no acting ability for fantasy adventure flick”."
Far too true and exactly how I felt watching the last two. Thank god I worked at my local Odeon and got in without having to pay for them.
This one I will not be seeing
Written by Matthew Webb on December 21st, 2010 at 12:35