Finally, after waiting for two weeks, I was able to view the latest in the Chronicles of Narnia movies, "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader." With a new production company and a new director, I was curious to see whether this movie would compare favorably with C.S. Lewis' original manuscript or not.
When compared to the other two movies, the Dawn Treader is certainly better than Prince Caspian, but no where near as enjoyable as the first Chronicles of Narnia movie. In my opinion, this movie had extensive periods that seemed to drag, primarily because the action was forced to be limited to scenes on board the Dawn Treader ship. While Lewis used the ship time in his book to explore the character's thoughts and feelings and to lay the groundwork for the overall theme of temptation that underlies the original novel, this movie fought to find something entertaining to do, and I found myself glancing at my watch time and time again wondering when we would see some type of action.
The acting was similar to the other movies, in other words, it was passable, but nothing Oscar-worthy. The lone bright star in this movie was Will Poulter, who played the Pevensie's cousin, Eustace Scrubb. He completely immersed himself in his role, especially in the early scenes on board the ship, and literally stole the show. His performance alone makes this movie worth watching.
On a spiritual note, I was glad to see the director remained mostly faithful to Lewis' intent in the original novel, which was to explore the theme of temptation among the main characters on the ship. The director aptly showed how Lucy was tempted with envy of her sister's beauty, how Edmund was consumed with his desire for power and wealth, Eustace with his negative attitude and arrogance, and how Caspian struggled with self-worth and self-esteem in light of his father's opinions. The one thing that I thought was really not well displayed was how the Dawn Treader's voyage east, towards Aslan's land, was a picture of the Christian life and of how, although we struggle with temptation and sin, we continue on our voyage to heaven as we overcome these issues through the help of Christ.
The best moments of the film came at the end, when Aslan finally appears to all four of the main characters. How thrilling to hear Aslan pronounce to the four, "Well done" as they stand on the shore of His land. And, it was very moving when Aslan sent Lucy, Edmund, and Eustace back with the pronouncement that He would always be with them, even in our world, although He is known by another name here. "He means 'Jesus,' doesn't He?" my daughter whispered. And, that, more than anything, shows the value of this movie.
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