Secondhand Reviews: The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader

Rated PG for some relatively mild action violence.

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The Narnia movies are something of an oddity among not just children's films but Hollywood franchises in general: they have actually been getting slowly but steadily better with each installment, and more faithful to their source material, in this case C.S. Lewis's classic series of Narnia novels (and remember, folks, however much this movie seems to bring closure to the series, there are still 4 Narnia book that haven't been filmed). In this respect (but not really any other) they are kind of like the Harry Potter films. They don't grab me in quite the direct, emotional way the Potter films do (though maybe that's just me), and even with this third installment the word for them that comes most readily to mind is "nice", but even that makes them leagues ahead of most movies for children.

In this third installment, the two older children have apparently learned all Narnia has to teach them and are no longer active participants in the story. But the two youngest members of the clan, along with their incredibly insufferable cousin (with whom they are staying), wind up in Narnia once again in order to aid King Caspian in his search for seven captive Lords, each of whom has in their possession a magical sword. It seems that strange forces on an Island known as Dark Island are about to take over Narnia, but if the seven swords are assembled the forces of good might just be able to stop them.

Sounds a bit like the plot of a video game, doesn't it? And it is, sort of, which might hamper the ability of older audiences to enjoy the story just a bit. But of course the younger crowd will eat it up, and the movie still has the welcome slower pace and comparative lack of meaningless flash and glitz that real video game movies have. In fact, one of the most welcome elements of the Narnia series to me is the fact that these 21st century movies set in the World War II era actually do have the unhurried, somewhat old-fashioned style of movies that were actually made in that era (makes it a little easier to believe that the events of the story are really taking place then, you know).

With a premise as inherently episodic as that, this could easily have been a movie that seemed like a series of short movies with only a thin thread to connect them, but director Michael Apted (the man who gave us such adult gems as "Coal Miner's Daughter", "Gorillas In The Mist" and the "Up" series of documentaries) is definitely a guy who know what he's doing, and the films ends up a very coherent tale that flows easily from start to finish. A welcome aspect of this installment is the fact that it manages to feature REALISTIC CGI effects, just to prove that it can be done. After the blatant phoniness of movies like "Clash Of The Titans", it's really welcome to see believable dragons, ghosts, and other strange creatures. And the acting is almost uniformly good considering the youth of the leading cast, with the exception of Will Poulter as Eustace, the cousin... I realize his character is supposed to be annoying, but it's possible to be annoying while giving a performance that seems natural instead of coming off like a grade school kid in the class play. Weirdly enough, though, as Poulter's character gradually adjusts to Narnia and becomes more likable, his performance becomes less artificial. I'm not sure how to account for that.

But the single most intriguing part of the film, for me, is the way the dark forces from Dark Island attempt to defeat the forces of good: by tempting them with their greatest desires. A lot of kids movies only want to give us young heroes who are more noble and incorruptible than any adults, and adults who are 100 percent pure in heart. Don't doubt for a second that the characters in the Narnia movies are fine role models, but they are human too... and that means that when faced with the chance to get whatever they want most in all the world instead of going on with their mission, they will at least pause to think about it, as many of us would. This is a welcome touch of realism among all the fantasy, and could spark some interesting post-movie discussions among families.

And speaking of families, I think that most parents will welcome the opportunity to take the kids to a movie that isn't full of Ipods and MP3 players and video games, that even with its action still has a relatively relaxed pace, that will result in some things to talk about afterwards, and that could even teach the kids some positive values. If you've read many of my other reviews you know I don't have any problem with adult-oriented movies containing material unsuited for younger audiences (I don't even have a family, myself), but I don't think the family audience should be ignored, either, and it's good to see a series being made with them in mind. It helps, of course, when the series in question is actually a good one.