Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The Chronicles of Narnia were books read and re-read during the Jesus House years.
The following review of the latest installment of the movie franchise is added here to reach as many people as possible. Yes, it's the same on I put on my Facebook page.
Hope you are planning to see the movie on December 10.
Blessings
Terry


The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The following is a brief summary of some reactions and reflections on the movie. I viewed the film November 18 with a theater full of pastors, pastor’s spouses, and employees of Zondervan. A few children were present but not many. I’m leaving out a lot of details because I do not want to spoil it for others. There are no spoilers.

I urge you to plan to see the movie December 10 or at least opening weekend. As with all long-term franchises, the next movie gets the green light based on the revenue of the most recent. A strong opening weekend will probably result in immediate filming of The Silver Chair, which really needs to be made if for no other reason than the one I provide below.

My opinion of the film in one sentence: Not as good as The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe but better than Prince Caspian.

Strength: It’s a better children’s movie than Prince Caspian. I still do not like the casting of an older actor, Ben Barnes, to play Prince Caspian. It seemed the producers were trying to produce a teen movie and attract the Twilight crowd.

Strength: Will Poulter, the actor playing Eustace. He is fabulous. He doesn’t look like I imagined Eustace during 36 years of reading these books. but I’m not disappointed. He is the right blend of comic relief, narcissism, and serious reflection. The quality of his performance is enough to green light The Silver Chair. His presence also gives me hope that The Silver Chair will be another children’s movie.

Strength: The relationship between Eustace & Reepicheep.

Strength: Ramandu’s daughter. Wish she had more screen time.

Disappointment: The magical, beautiful moments. There were a few, but they were too short. One of the best was the arrival of Ramandu’s daughter but even this one was too short. Another was the first glimpse of Aslan, but it too was brief. There was nothing to rival the best magical moments in LWW; Lucy’s first entrance into Narnia or the first look we have of Aslan. These books need magical moments.

Disappointment: The battle scenes were difficult to follow. This might be corrected by release date because it was explained that post-production work is still being done.

Changes from the book: A plot devise is added to provide a quest to the story in addition to that of finding the seven lords. It’s an okay change.

Nice surprise: Yes, Peter & Susan make cameo appearances as does the White Witch.

A change I wish they had made: I was hoping they would bring Trumpkin the Dwarf along so Peter Dinklage would be back. He is a great actor who was not given enough in Prince Caspian. If you question my assessment of his ability as a actor watch The Station Agent then compare it with the character he portrayed in Elf.

To all my friends who are hard-core Chronicles fans/geeks: I believe you’ll like the movie. You want to see it on the biggest screen in your area.