Directed By: Michael Apted
Starring: Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Ben Barnes, Will Poulter, and Liam Neeson
MPAA Rating: PG
My Rating: 8 / 10
There has been a surprising level of consistency when it comes to the quality of the Narnia films, starting with 2005's utterly charming The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and continuing on to 2008's darker, but nonetheless delightful Prince Caspian. Now, we have arrived at the third entry in the franchise, which has quickly (and unfortunately) lost box-office clout following its mega-blockbuster first installment. It's too bad, since The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is every bit as magical and touching as its predecessors. While other family franchises have grown up and developed into more adult-focused, PG-13 fare and while there's nothing wrong with that, The Chronicles of Narnia has retained a certain childlike innocence, despite developing darker themes. It can be frightening, but never too frightening. It can be intense, but never too intense. It can be dark, but never too dark. This might not be beneficial when it goes toe-to-toe with the likes of Harry Potter at the box-office, but I certainly appreciate it. Movies like The Voyage of the Dawn Treader have a special place in cinema and in my heart, whether the public understands it or not.
Picking up after the events of Prince Caspian, the film opens with Lucy and Edmund Pevensie (Georgie Henley and Skandar Keynes, respectively) living with their cousin, Eustace Scrubb (Will Poulter), who is every bit the brat a name like "Eustace Scrubb" would suggest. Suddenly, all three of them are whisked back into the land of Narnia and aboard the Dawn Treader, the ship of King Caspian (Ben Barnes) and his men. Soon enough, a new adventure begins, in which Lucy, Edmund, Caspian, and the crew of the Dawn Treader must track down seven lost swords to defeat an evil mist that brings their worst nightmares to life and tempts them with their darkest desires.
Since 2005, we have watched the actors of Narnia grow up and, though William Moseley and Anne Popplewell (who play the eldest Pevensie children) only make brief appearances, the growth of Georgie Henley and Skandar Keynes is on full display here. Beginning as children, they have grown, throughout this series, into remarkably talented young adults. Henley, who is only fifteen, is especially noteworthy for her ability to assume what is arguably the film's leading role. Ben Barnes, who is one of his generation's most underappreciated talents, has grown more comfortable in his role as King of Narnia, ditching the questionable accent that hindered him in Prince Caspian and embracing a more rugged charm. In fact, the cast is really what makes these films work; this is especially true for The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which doesn't have a narrative that is as strongly-developed as its predecessors'. The narrative here is so abstract that no one, least of all the Pevensie children themselves, can figure out why they've been summoned to Narnia at all. None of it really matters, though. Like Lucy and Edmund, we're just too excited to be back in Narnia to care.
If they choose not to make another Narnia film, I will indeed be disappointed, but will at least have satisfaction in the fact that The Voyage of the Dawn Treader wraps the series up quite nicely, while leaving the door cracked ever so slightly for another sequel just in case. As C.S. Lewis intended his books to be a Biblical allegory, I can only assume that the island, to which the Dawn Treader must travel in order to defeat the evil mist, would be Narnia's version of Hell. And thus, it seems appropriate that the series would end only after our heroes have journeyed there and faced the most evil of all evils. And they do face such an evil, in a swashbuckling war against a sea creature so menacing, it makes the Pirates of the Caribbean monsters look positively tame. It's an impressive conclusion to an altogether impressive film. As Lucy, Edmund, and Eustace return to the real world at the end of the film, leaving Narnia behind, I still found myself growing sad. I don't know about you but, when I'm three movies into a franchise and still get a little sad when an installment ends, I consider that a success.
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