I'm back with another film review and this time it is for The Chronicles of Narnia, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.....
Lucy and Edward have been sent to live with their Aunt and cousin Eustace during the war and they are not happy about it. They dream of being able to return home or to Narnia. Their wish gets granted when one of the paintings comes to life and the three children find themselves in the sea.
They are all rescued by the Dawn Treader which is being captained by Prince Caspian. He is sailing to find out what has happened to the peace in his Kingdom when he suddenly discovers a green mist which takes people away.
Prince Caspian, Lucy, Edward and Eustace now face the task of solving the mystery of the mist and returning peace to Narnia but can they do it? Also can Eustace actually believe that he is in Narnia and it is not all a dream?
I was really looking forward to watching this film as I have liked both of the two previous film, unfortunately I did feel slightly let down by this one, maybe as the full cast was not returned and we had only 2 of the children and also a new addition. I felt the story was good but it did get a little dark at times and I thought it was not suitable for the whole family as the previous film have been. I did find the story was very easy to follow though and we did have a few very good characters and creatures to help tell it to us.
The acting from the majority in the film was to a high standard. The roles of Lucy and Edward were played by Georgie Henley and Skandar Keynes. I found they were both very good and made their roles believable. There was a good connection between them both and I felt they genuinely got along which showed on screen. I did at times feel Lucy became a little too posh but thinking back to the year this was set in then it did actually make sense with the way she acted and spoke at times. I did think children may not get the things she says at times and will think she is very snobby though. I also felt the role of Caspian was a strong one, he was played by Ben Barnes. He showed strength and courage throughout and he delivered all of his lines with ease. I felt I got to know a lot about him in this film, more so than in the previous one.
There was one outstanding role in the film for me and that was Eustace. He was superb and I felt so many different emotions towards him. At the start of the film he was very spoilt and stuck up and I enjoyed watching him grow as the film moved on. He delivered all of his lines with good conviction and ease and he did actually bring a lot of humour to the film. The young actor, Will Poulter who played him was excellent and I hope he has a bright future ahead of him as I would love to see him in other films. We also had a lot of support role including, Gary Sweet, Tilda Swinton, Billie Brown and Laura Brent. They all played quite different characters and I felt that they helped to bring some difference and depth to the story.
There is a lot of magic and mythical themes in the film and therefore it is packed with special effects. I felt they were all made to a very high standard and fitted into the storyline very well. The appearance of some of the creatures was also very good despite some of them being a little strange and I loved how it had a very storybook feel all the way through. I think this aspect of the film is what will make it appeal to children and the brightness of the clothes and characters will help to keep them interested for the running time. I enjoyed the setting and felt it worked well with the whole theme and idea of what we were watching and there is no way this would have worked so well had their been a different setting.
I did have some issues with the film and these were mainly to do with how dark it got at times. There really isn’t many scary parts and they certainly did not scare either me or hubby but I feel that the PG rate for the film is appropriate. Children over the age of 8 will be fine watching this but I do advise that if you want younger children to watch then give it a watch yourself first. There is some mild threat and fantasy violence which may be a little too much for the very young.
The music throughout the film is very well produced and fitted effortlessly into the film. I loved the classical and orchestral feel it all had and felt it helped to keep the story light and enjoyable. There were a few parts when I thought the music also got a little ark and maybe this made the tension a little too much for children. Overall though it is an enjoyable and excellent soundtrack.
The running time of the film is 107 minutes and I did think this was a good length with the story moving at a good steady pace from start to finish and I do think there is enough to keep children entertained throughout. The rate is a PG and as I said before I would advise caution for children under the age of 8. The DVD can be bought in all good stores now. We paid just under £10 for ours from Tesco and I do feel this is slightly too high. I would suggest waiting for the price to drop before buying. There are bonus features on the DVD but I have no interest in watching them so this is a film only review.
I am happy to give this film 4 stars, I was thinking about 3 as there is a lot of threat and fantasy violence which I think should see this film having a slightly higher rate. I went for the 4 stars as taking everything into account it did merit them. I did enjoy it and the story was easy to follow but for both me and hubby it was lacking some of the magic the previous 2 films had. This is certainly a film to watch but wait for the price to drop first.
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