For someone who loves to read, I’m embarrassed to write
that I never read any of the Narnia books as a child. Don’t know how I missed those, but somehow it
happened? After watching the third movie
in C.S. Lewis’ installment, I think I’m going to have to hunt those down at the
library after all.
Brett had read the books nearly 20 years ago, but neither
of us had seen any of the films leading up to this one. Thankfully, we didn’t have any problems
catching on! (We did spend our time
waiting in the theatre reading the other film’s synopsis on Wikipedia though)
The
Voyage of the Dawn Treader follows King Caspian (Ben Barnes), along with the youngest of the Pevensie kids Edmund (Skandar Keynes), Lucy (Georgie Henley) and their bratty cousin Eustace (Will Poulter). Directed by Michael Apted, this Narnia journey adds the 3D element to the action packed adventure.
The kids end up in Narnia and on the high seas when a
life-life painting floods their room.
Picked up by the Dawn Treader,
they find three years have passed in Narnia time and Caspian in search of the
seven lords. The kids join the crew and
battle good over evil while testing their values and learning lessons.
The 3D element added some excitement to a few of the
battle scenes, but fell short throughout most of the movie. It was nice to see that even the Smoke
Monster from Lost found work after the
series ended.
Look for Poulter to steal the show in this film. His portrayal of obnoxious Eustace sets up
the Narnia film franchise for The Silver
Chair. Without knowing any of the
background of the Narnia books, it wasn’t hard to read the Christian parables
when Azlan showed up. The symbolism of
the pearly gates, Heaven being blocked from view, the Red Sea, a ‘higher being’
always around to protect and watch over…it was all easy to read.
Our favorite part was probably the fight sequence at the
end…you’ll notice a similarity to Ghostbusters
and the Stay Puff Marshmallow Man.
Kids who have read the book or watched the previous
movies will likely love another trip to Narnia.
We didn’t mind our first visit.
