Film Review from Cath News

Film review - Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of Dawn Treader


Published: December 07, 2010This is the third film in the seven-part epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia, by C. S. Lewis and brings to the screen the book of the same name, published in 1952. Narnia is the fictional realm where animals talk, magic abounds, and good battles evil. The Dawn Treader is the ship captained by Caspian, who was the key character in the previous film, The Prince of Caspian.
Three children, Edmund (Skandar Keynes), Lucy (Georgie Henley), and Eustace Scrubb (Will Poulter) are drawn into a painting of an old ship, The Dawn Treader, which is a majestic sailing vessel, whose look is inspired by dragons.
The three children come up in the ocean near the ship, and are taken on board where they meet the new King of Narnia, King Caspian (Ben Barnes). The ship sails to mysterious islands with marvellous names and they are islands that are full of creatures, which convey the riches of children’s fertile imagination.
There is a new distribution company behind this movie, and a new visual effects supervisor (Jim Rygiel) and cinematographer (Dante Spinotti). All of them contribute to bringing a fresh look to the series that substitutes lightness for some of the darkness that was in Prince Caspian.
The film returns us to the magic of the first film, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which deserved its popular success. Here, the special effects never overreach the strong story line and the moral messages that lie behind it.
The movie successfully conveys optimism and hope, and as temptations are resisted, growth occurs and true character emerges. Laying aside its scary moments, and there are some, the movie is excellent fantasy-adventure fare for Christmas viewing - Peter Sheehan, Australian Catholic Office for Film and Broadcasting.
Starring Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Will Poulter, Ben Barnes, Liam Neeson (by voice), Simon Pegg (by voice) and Tilda Swinton. Rated PG (Mild violence and scary scenes). 112 min.