Review of "The Chronicles of Narnia: "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader"

In The Chronicles of Narnia , acclaimed author C.S. Lewis created one of the best-loved children's series in all of literature. In its most recent adaptation of the series, The Chronicles of Narnia; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Walden Media has managed to capture the essential spirit of the novel while also rendering it into an exciting tale of good vs. evil and the struggle to come to terms with oneself.

In this film, Edmund, Lucy, and their obnoxious son Eustace find themselves transported to Narnia, where Prince Caspian is on a quest to find the Seven Lords loyal to his father that fled upon the accession of his evil uncle Miraz. Along the way they encounter a number of fantastic creatures-including a dragon and a wizard-and eventually must do battle with their own demons within the Dark Island, before finally coming to the very brink of Aslan's Country, where the great lion himself puts in his first and only extended scene in the film.

Although it has so far not been nearly as successful as its predecessors, in many ways this film is the best since The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Although it makes some very substantial changes to the novel itself (reorganizing the order of events, adding in an element of a quest), these changes make sense when one considers the rather rambling and jumpy nature of the novel, in which the only goal is to recover the Seven Lords. The narrative in this film is very clear and easy to follow, and we want them to succeed on their quest to destroy the darkness that threatens to steal the very soul of Narnia.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader also stays close to C.S. Lewis's vision of his masterpiece as a form of Christian apologetics. The last scene, in which Aslan tells Edmund and Lucy that they cannot return but must learn his name in their world, is a subtle suggestion of the Christian presence in the novel, without beating the audience over the head with it. Just as importantly, the mellifluous voiced of Liam Neeson continues to succeed when it comes to bringing the venerable Aslan to life.

The film's greatest strength, however, comes from its effective use of emotion. Although Eustace begins the film as a perfectly detestable young prig (much as he was in the novel) by the end we cannot help but feel a lump in our throat at his farewell speech to the brave mouse Reepicheep. It is truly one of the most emotionally powerful scenes that the film series has yet produced, and it acts as a fitting end to this film.

All in all, this was a successful addition to the Chronicles of Narnia franchise. Perhaps it does not have the epic power of the first film, but we were once again treated to the joy of Tilda Swinton as the shade of the White Witch (a deviation from the novel), but it does have a great deal of emotive power and the action sequences are well-done. Overall, a film well worth watching.

Grade: B+