I have been Narnia-fied over the past couple of weeks here on the site. More so than ever in my life before. In mid-November, I was lucky enough to interview the cast at a Christmas event in London’s West End, and then just last week attend the third film, this, THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER‘s glittering Royal Premiere in the pouring snow in Leicester Square. Before the first event, I have to admit to not actually seeing any, yes any of the Narnia films at all. I felt like a bit of a fraud actually, blending in with the crown and actually pretending to know what I was talking about. However, prior to the premiere I did actually revisit the first two films in the franchise to swot up on my Narnia knowledge, and to make sure that I knew just indeed what I was talking about.
Now, I have not purposely avoided the Narnia films; they just have not popped up on my radar before, through other people covering them on the site, completely missing them on the home formats or whatever… So, here in 2010 in my thirty-third year on the planet, I revisted my childhood and the firstly, the two Disney housed Narnia films from 2006 and 2008 respectively. Now, while I am not here to comment on or review those films, I will quickly say that I kind of enjoyed both. I found the first one magical, mystical and well crafted, and the second also so, despite it no quite matching the heights of the original. I was looking forward to third after my marathon viewing, and on this past Sunday morning, along with 500+ sugar-fuelled kids in the Empire, Leicester Square, I was treated to the first 3D film in the series, which as no switched studios to 20th Century Fox.
Also gone from the helmer’s seat is director Adam Adamson, who while still donning the producer’s hat, leaves directorial duties to veteran filmmaker Michael Apted. This is also Apted’s first 3D epic, and indeed his first effects laden feature (despite him helming the James Bond film THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH). The story takes place just three years after PRINCE CASPIAN, and see’s the Prince (Ben Barnes), now a King sailing the seas of Narnia to search for seven lords who disappeared along with seven magical swords which when brought together will unleash a spell to make gone a toxic mysterious fog which have claimed hundred of Narnian’s across the land. The story opens with the Pevensey children Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgia Henley), who are now living with their Aunt and Uncle, along with cousin Eustace (payed by newcomer Will Poulter) in mid-1940’s England. Upon discovering a mysterious painting in their bedroom, Edmund, Lucy and Eustace are transported back to Narnia to assist Caspian in his new quest. The three are united with Caspian, Reepicheep (this time voiced by Simon Pegg) and a bunch over fellow Narnia seaman aboard the magnificent Dawn Treader, the ship that will take them across the land to find the seven lords with the seven swords.
So, what’s it like? Well, it’s a film on a massive, grand scale. If the first Narnia was the magical children’s fantasy, and the second the big-budget actioner, then this is the adventure that probably has more in common with PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN or CLASH OF THE TITANS rather than say Harry Potter. We have seas monsters, magical spells, dragons, swords, sorcery and more in this story, which while it obviously helps if you’ve seen The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and Prince Caspian, it actually works as a stand alone movie too (two of the other people that I attended the screening with hadn’t seen the first two films or were familiar with the story at all).
I will sum up the film by listing the positive aspects and the negative aspects in my own humble opinion, and please this is just my own opinion. Okay, so the plusses. I am pleased that the have tried to steer the film in a ‘Pirates’ kind of direction and I love the way that it could play as a stand alone flick, the character of Eustace, played by Will Poulter is very well acted and Ben Barnes delivers as a believable Caspian (but what on Earth happened with that accent from the last film- it is absent here). The action in the film moves along very quickly, and it’s very well paced, and certainly all of the kids in the screenings that I was in happened to love what they were seeing, that is, up until the final scenes; which moves us onto the negatives. Those final scenes. These scenes, along with the second part of the Pirates trilogy, which these climactic scenes are very similar to, are just horrific, and are perhaps way too much for a young audience. I say that this is a negative point for the movie, but this was the first sequence that I was actually thrilled during. So from a male adult POV, it’s great, but the problem with that is that I am so not the target audience. The previous action sequences seemed a bit hollow and empty (bar the ‘dragon’ sequence), but perfectly fitting for the kids; so I guess that’s a plus. It’s just that final monster battle,which was just horrifying — even for the two twenty-something ladies that I was sat next to. In places I found the acting a little bit hollow from certain actors and the ending a little drawn out and empty. In terms of the 3D? Well, it’s another post-production effort rather than the thing being shot with 3D cameras, and well it’s up to you if you want to pay out the extra bucks for the 3D version. I actually saw this version in a huge London cinema at a massive event but without checking out the 2D version couldn’t comment.
In all, I think that Michael Apted and Fox have delivered a decent adaptation and I walked away with a positive feeling (bar the above). It’s a worthy addition to the already established franchise and I am sure that fans will lap it up.
A step above the last movie, and I feel that in all the series is now back on track. I’m curious to see how it fares at the box-office, and actually I do hope that it does well now that we are on our way to being done with the Harry Potter series.
Grade: B-
