Susan Granger’s review of “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” (20th Century-Fox)
With their older Pevensie siblings – Peter (William Moseley) and Susan (Anna Popplewell) – gone, hot-tempered Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and self-doubting Lucy (Georgia Henley) are placed in the care of their uncle in Cambridge during World War II, much to the dismay of their nasty cousin Eustace Scrubb (Will Poulter). One afternoon, as the three youngsters gaze at a painting of a galleon in Lucy’s bedroom, they’re suddenly engulfed by water and swept by the roiling sea into a fantastical world. As it turns out, the galleon is the Dawn Treader, the finest ship in Narnia’s navy and it’s under the command of Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes). It seems a sinister, mysterious green mist has been engulfing islands beyond the Silver Sea, causing the fearful to send off shiploads of their fellow townsfolk as ‘sacrifices.’ As instructed by various visions, the Dawn Treader sets off on a treacherous quest to acquire seven swords belonging to the Lost Lords which must be placed on Aslan’s table. Each character is tempted and tested: “To defeat the darkness out there, you must defeat the darkness inside yourself.”
Directed by Michael Apted, this installment is based on the third novel in C.S. Lewis’ series of fantastical adventures and it’s the first in 3-D. There’s a cameo by the White Witch (Tilda Swinton) and the mighty lion Aslan, voiced by Liam Neeson, eventually tells Lucy and Edmund that they will no longer be able to visit Narnia and they must know him as someone else in their world. Here, the allusion to Jesus Christ becomes quite clear.
While plot details remain as murky as the 3-D, the characters are engaging and colorful, particularly sardonic Eustace, who turns into a fierce, fire-breathing dragon, mentored by the courageous mouse Reepicheep (voiced by Simon Pegg) – and their climactic battle with a monstrous sea serpent is truly exciting.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” is a swashbuckling if shallow 7. Sail on!
