THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER Review

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GRADE: 2 out of 5

A passable ending to an already weak and fading franchise. THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER may work well with fans of the book or families and audiences that come for some heroics and adventure and good ol fashion hybrid (mix of CG and live action) but for the rest of us.. I lost interest the minute Lucy, Eustace, and Edmund swim Narnian ocean. Frankly, I had little motivation to even write this review, that’s how boring this movie was…

This time around – Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, along with their pesky cousin Eustace Scrubb – find themselves swallowed into a painting and on to a fantastic Narnian ship headed for the very edges of the world.
Joining forces once again with their royal friend Prince Caspian and the warrior mouse Reepicheep, they are whisked away on a mysterious mission to the Lone Islands, and beyond. On this bewitching voyage that will test their hearts and spirits, the trio will face magical Dufflepuds, sinister slave traders, roaring dragons and enchanted merfolk. Only an entirely uncharted journey to Aslan’s Country – a voyage of destiny and transformation for each of those aboard the Dawn Treader – can save Narnia, and all the astonishing creatures in it, from an unfathomable fate.

I’ve never read any of C.S. Lewis’ books so I can’t make the comparison but if you have and you think THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER adaptation is faithful to the material, then I have no choice but to take your word for it. But the fact remains, anybody who’s seen many movies would be able to tell when a movie has terrible dialogue, poor acting and average directing and sadly this movie carries all that and more. It’s one of those movies that will be regarded highly by many not because of its filmmaking qualities but because of the themes which I do admit, once again, still hold all those good Christian values of appreciating yourself, resisting the temptations of this world, and understanding what it means to live selflessly with no complaining, plus the matter of entering heaven next to the option of completing your life first.

You know a franchise is dying when you enter the theaters in the evening hour of showtime only to find that you’re just one of 20 people in that room. And I’d like to believe that the guys behind the franchise themselves are aware of this.
I was told that there are actually 7 Narnia books, I’m glad that this ends right here, here’s to hoping that it ends right here.
What I think is one of this installment’s biggest mistakes is that the story doesn’t grab hold of your attention.
It has all the sea monster and the dragon (I’m not denying that the VFX work is excellent) and decent swordfights but other than occasional bumper sticker lines “we have nothing, if not belief”, it lacks the drama that you can actually care about.
Edmund is again that same angry boy who desires more, who wishes to be respected, tempted by the White Witch, didn’t we already go through that round in the first movie?! I looked at my ticket stub to see if I bought the right one.
On top of which, there’s too many things going on, it’s all over the place.. it suffers similar cinematic disease that attacked such sequels as Dead Man’s Chest and At World’s End where they’ve gotten too big, they even made themselves confused and disoriented.
Watching THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER can be exhausting, the only monumental part is when the movie’s finally over.