The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader [Review]

Christians everywhere were excited to hear that the beloved Narnia book of C.S. Lewis would be made into blockbuster movies. After seeing the magic Hollywood worked with the Lord of the Rings franchise, we had high hopes they could pull it off.

The results have been a decidedly mixed bag. The first film was okay, with some not-great special effects, and odd choices on what was included, excluded, and enhanced. Prince Caspian was a better film, despite less character development, a diminished role for Aslan, and even more neutering of the Christian allegory. This was troubling. The third film is a step in the right direction, with the highs outweighing the lows.

There’s trouble again in Narnia, and Lucy and Edmund are called back—this time to assist Caspian in finding the seven swords of seven lords and laying them on Aslan’s table. They never adequately explain the purpose of this MacGuffin, but it drives the entire plot forward. So the search for the swords turns the film into a series of episodes, where you’re traveling here, having this adventure, overcoming this obstacle, getting that sword, and moving along. That makes for a cram-packed and varied film.

Along for the ride is the siblings' annoying cousin Eustace. Played by a scene-stealing Will Poulter, Eustace is entirely endearing as the grumpy doubter who wants nothing to do with adventure, which makes his predicaments that much funnier. I wish the script had utilized him more.

Skandar Keynes’ Edmund is once again fighting his feelings of playing second fiddle. We’ve been here before, so this struggle feels like a rehash, rather than real character development. Georgie Hensley plays a realistic Lucy, who is delighted to be out of older sister Susan’s shadow, but who still can’t stop comparing herself to her “beautiful” sibling.

The heroic mouse Reepicheep is back, but the filmmakers inexplicably replaced Eddie Izzard with Simon Pegg as the voice this time around. Izzard’s voice in Prince Caspian was sly and strong and full of character. Pegg’s voice is fine, but lacks life. I had to check imdb.com to find out Pegg was Reepicheep; his voice had nothing to distinguish itself from any other capable British actor.

The studio downplayed most of the explicitly Christian aspects of the book, but the lessons are still there. Edmund’s struggle with contentment, Lucy coming to accept herself as she is, and Eustace having his (literal and figurative) scaly exterior removed are just a few of the lessons bubbling under the surface.

This is a fine adventure that will thrill kids with its special effects and set-pieces. This far along, you hope the film franchise has the momentum to finish out the books. I look forward to the next installment.