Redemption was tough, but the folks behind The Chronicles of Narnia did a great job with redeeming their lackluster efforts from Prince Caspian. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a good film, but it does have its share of problems.
Starting with the positive, it was nice to see the cast return for another adventure. Georgie Henley (Lucy) and Skandar Keynes (Edmund) did a superb job reprising their roles in this latest adventure. In comparison to the first film, the pair certainly did a great job playing two kids who were about to ‘grow up’ per say. Much like the Harry Potter crew, Georgie and Skandar’s acting ability has grown with them. They seem to embed themselves in their respective roles a heck of a lot better with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader than they did previously. For example, Georgie’s Lucy isn’t that small kid anymore spouting out very rough lines, rather she puts emotion behind her character and by the end of the film you feel bad for her and Skandar. I can’t say that I connected with their respective characters prior to this film, but that might have been because the focus was so much on Susan and Peter.
Anyway, they did a great job leading the film and developing their characters.
Now for the bad, the story seemed incredibly rushed. With little rhyme or reason the movie seems to go warp ten through important plot points that were covered in the book without apologizing for the lack of solid explanation. For example, when Will Poulter’s annoying as hell Eustace turns into a dragon they don’t really explain why he turns into a dragon. He just becomes a dragon. I think they mention something about magic, but they don’t go into it too much, which is how a lot of things go in the movie. People who are hardcore Narnia fans will probably turn a blind eye to this because they know why the things happen the way they do, but for us folk who rather see a movie tell the story it’s a bit jarring.
That’s my biggest complaint with the film, though. It’s a huge issue, but not enough to keep the movie down.
At the end of the day the movie has enough action, great dialogue and beautiful special effects to keep the younger folks in the household thrilled. For us older folks you will find this somewhat entertaining, but it’s still better than Prince Caspian.
As for the Blu-ray part of the film, it’s one of Fox’s more gorgeous releases. Set in fullscreen (though in widescreen), you get a very richly color-filled adventure that looks positively smashing in HD. For example, when you get towards the end of the film in one of the last fight scenes, you’ll find some of the most detailed CG work that looks just positively smashing when it’s upgraded to high-def. This is one of the few films where I didn’t feel like the effects were cheap (TRON is the other). The only thing that is better than HD visuals is the fantastic audio that comes to you in 5.1 DTS HD. I found the mastering of the audio (both music and effects) to be a better treat than the visuals, which surprised me.
As for the special features, here’s what you’re looking at:
Disc 1 – Blu-ray
● The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of The Dawn Treader in High Definition
● “The Untold Adventures of The Dawn Treader” Animated Short
● King Caspian’s Guide to the Dawn Treader: Legends and Lore of the Great Ship
● 4 Deleted Scenes
● 5 Islands Explorations
● Narnian Discoveries: Friends and Foes of Narnia (7 featurettes)
● 3 Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes including Battle on the Sea
● Sword Game
● 4 Fox Movie Channel Presents Behind The Scenes Featurettes
● Audio Commentary by Director Michael Apted and Producer Mark Johnson
Disc 2 – DVD
● The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of The Dawn Treader in Standard Definition
● Deleted Scenes
● Audio Commentary by Director Michael Apted and Producer Mark Johnson
Disc 3
● The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of The Dawn Treader Digital Copy
Taking a great page from Disney releases, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader did a fantastic job in delivering worthwhile features that will extend the life of the original film. Knowing intentions and what went into the production is so vital, especially for movies converted from books. You get a nice animated short with this one, a great guide to the ship and some other nice featurettes that will make the purchase worthwhile.