“The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” is the latest film in the Narnia series. I haven’t read this book so my review will focus on the movie.
This time around, Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund Pevensie (Skandar Keynes) are living at their aunt’s house with their wretched cousin Eustace (Will Poutler) in England. Their other siblings, Susan (Anna Popplewell) and Peter (William Moseley) are living with their father in America. Eustace is a piece of work!! Let’s just say that he doesn’t get along with his cousins very well. One day the three are arguing in Lucy’s room when a painting on the wall suddenly starts pouring out water and they are sucked back into Narnia, where they are fished out of the sea to climb aboard the Dawn Treader. At first, Eustace is in serious denial about everything and he is a right bloody git!! (I spent a lot of time wishing he would fall overboard).
Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) is now a king and is set about on a voyage to find his father’s lost crew believed to be on a hidden island. On their journey, they land on an island where an evil green mist is taking the people of his kingdom. Pirates have taken control of the island and are sacrificing the people to the evil green mist, and Caspian is not ok with that! They discover that they need to find seven swords (hmm, find seven things in order to defeat evil, sounds like another awesome movie series that we know and love), and place them upon Aslan’s table to conquer the evil mist.
The Dawn Treader and crew set out to find the seven swords and the source of the evil green mist. Along the way, they encounter a very large dragon, some interesting creatures that have one big giant foot each, and a giant, terrifying sea serpent. I want to say more about the very large dragon, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise for those who haven’t read the book.
Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson) is back in a small role, as is the White Witch (Tilda Swinton), she seems to never really go away. Susan and Peter’s roles are nearly nonexistent. They do not return to Narnia, as Aslan stated at the end of “Prince Caspian” because they have learned everything that they could from Narnia. So, they only appear in Lucy’s dreams.
As far as the 3D effects go, there weren’t many of them. I wouldn’t spend the extra money for the upgrade to 3D. In my opinion, 3D should be reserved for theme park attractions like “Captain EO” or “Muppetvision 3D” in Walt Disney World or even the Spider-man ride in Universal Studios Islands of Adventure. It seems like a waste to use 3D for a movie where there aren’t any other sensory effects. But that’s just my opinion!! If you prefer 3D films, then enjoy!! Overall, this was a good family film with action, adventure and fun.
