Visitors Review

(2012-05-26 14:01)

Not the book, but good family fare

My 13 year old daughter loves all three of the latest Narnia movies. Not as good as the first two or the book, this one is still fun for the whole family (beware the sea monster scene near the end for younger kids - though it saves the movie for older boys). They added a storyline about gathering lost swords to stop an evil fog that is not in Lewis' book. But it works on two levels - it connects all the subplots into one (the book is too episodic to make into a movie as is) and emphasizes the theme of resisting temptation.

Kimberly (2012-05-25 20:44)

Narnia fan let down

I am a big fan of all the Chronicles of Narnia movies until this one. I was disappointed. The first 2 were great but this one was a little boreing at times. I don't think I will be buying the DVD. Not worth the money. I wish they would have done more with the movie, it could and should have been the best of the 3 thus far.

dutchs-1 (2012-05-23 22:01)

Nice Fantasy Yarn, But NOT the "Dawn Treader"

C.S. Lewis' Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a series of haunting,evocative, but separate vignettes. This movie ties them together withthe unifying theme of the return of the White Witch, and while I cansee dramatic justification for the strategy the writers took, it's NOTThe Voyage of the Dawn Treader. That said, it's still fun. The firstfew minutes are absolutely perfect and faithful to the book, but theliberties start flying thick and fast on the Lone Islands. In the book,Lord Berne is a noble on the island who helps Caspian stage a bold coupand overthrow the corrupt governor and slave traders. I can't think ofany good reason not to follow that line in the film. Thereafter, eventsare merged and shuffled out of order. Lucy has matured from a cutechild into an attractive young woman, and Laura Brown is ethereallybeautiful as Ramandu's daughter (and Caspian's future wife in thebook). The ship Dawn Treader is perfect and there are some breathtakingvisual scenes showing the ship under sail. The finale, the return toAslan's country, returns to the story line and captures the atmospherewonderfully. The final scene concludes with the children returning toEngland and Eustace's mother calling that Jill Pole has come to visit,foreshadowing the Silver Chair. Best called a fantasy tale inspired byVoyage of the Dawn Treader.

jennanoah (2012-05-23 07:16)

Dawn Treader is incredibly entertaining and deep in meaning!!

This is by far the best so far of the Narnia films! Loaded with actionand adventure, really funny scenes where Eustace's attitude and twistedface provide many laughs, and spiritual symbolism that is so rich --this film is a total winner! I loved Reepicheep's courage and dignity,and the virtue in spite of struggle of the Pevensies. Aslan comesthrough in the lives of those he loves in his perfect timing.Jam-packed with special effects, this movie is visually stunning andwill be an excellent film for families with tweens and teens! Myteenage daughter loved it too -- we went to a special preview screeninglast night. I'm definitely going to recommend this film to all of thefamilies I know, and I can't wait to see it again . . . already!

(2012-05-22 10:52)

Best movie ever!

Me and my 6 year old sister watched and loved this movie! Has many favorite parts from this movie. May be a little scary for young children. This is the best movie ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

paperback_wizard (2012-05-22 05:40)

Voyage of the Dawn Treader

This weekend, it was a rare treat for me to watch and review "TheChronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader". The Chroniclesof Narnia have always been a favorite of mine. It's a series comparableto all the great fantasy epics, both in classic and modern times, and"Voyage of the Dawn Treader" is my favorite chapter in the saga.A brief history, for those who aren't familiar with the series. Narniais a mystical kingdom in a magical world that can only be reached whenit is of the greatest need. It is watched over by Aslan the Lion, whocomes and goes as he pleases but always chooses champions who canprotect Narnia in the face of evil. In the first movie, two brothersand two sisters from our world are brought to Narnia to overthrow aterrifying Witch-Queen. In the second, they help a young prince namedCaspian ascend to the throne that his uncle had usurped. While onlyadolescents in our world, in Narnia these four young men and women hadbecome great heroes, kings and queens of legend.In this movie, the youngest two, Edmund and Lucy, travel to Narnia tofind there is (apparently) no great need for their help. No wars arecurrently being fought, and King Caspian is now sailing on his ship,the Dawn Treader, to find seven Lords of Narnia whom his uncle hadbanished years earlier. Accompanying Edmund and Lucy, unwilling, istheir cousin Eustace Scrubb, a thoroughly unpleasant boy who had nevereven read books about magical lands, let alone believed in them. Hisonly delight in life seemed to be annoying others. Naturally, hisattitude won him little friendship or sympathy when he found himselfdragged along on a magical voyage in a land he'd teased his cousins for"inventing".The ship's company sails to the east, following the last known courseof the seven Lords. Along their way, they battle slave traders,encounter an island full of invisible creatures and buildings, and dealwith all sorts of fantastical creatures and enchantments. They findthemselves tempted by their greatest desires and threatened by theirworst fears, even as they strive to discover the fate of the missingLords.The most valiant of the sailors is the brave Sir Reepicheep, a Mousegranted the gift of speech (and a new tail when his old was lost) byAslan himself. Never one to back away from a fight, Reepicheep has adifferent motivation for embarking on this journey. As a young Mouse,he was told that he would some day travel to Aslan's Country in person.Delighted to see King Edmund and Queen Lucy once more, he finds itparticularly difficult to tolerate Eustace. Reepicheep comments that,if Eustace hadn't been related to them by blood, he might have drawnhis sword on the lad more than once (and from a Mouse who has faceddragons, it is no idle threat). Eventually, though, as Eustace isforced to face the reality of life in this strange and dangerous world,the noble Mouse becomes something of a guide to him, and even, oddlyenough, a comfort from time to time.There's certainly enough adventure and danger to create an epic, andthe emotional and personal trials that each character faces make forinteresting moral and dramatic scenes. However, the main differencebetween the book and the movie is the nature of the voyage on which thecrew of the Dawn Treader embarks. In the movie, more than simplyfinding the lost Lords, the crew is told by a magician that they mustbring the swords of each Lord to Aslan's Table and lay them upon it.Doing so would mean the end to a terrible curse that plagues the islesof the east and threatens to spread to the shores of Narnia in time.Finding the seven swords grounds the movie more firmly in the epicfantasy genre, but it hardly seems necessary. Adding this element tothe quest actually changed the dynamic of it. Certainly, it sharpenedthe focus of the dangers they faced, making the encounters with spiritsand sea serpents seem less random; but it also called for changing theorder of certain events, such as the order in which they visited thevarious islands. Also, it takes the focus off the charactersthemselves, even as the movie tries to bring their personal battles tothe forefront, at times.These aren't major departures from the book. The same issues areaddressed, and the storyline is very similar. In the end, not much waschanged, especially not the messages delivered by the Great Lion.That's the important part. The books, written over half a century ago,endure in large part because of the author, C.S. Lewis, and the lessonshe hoped to teach through his characters. Like the fables of old, TheChronicles of Narnia have their share of talking animals, but that'sjust window dressing. What's important is what you can learn from thestory itself.(Originally appeared at http://fourthdayuniverse.com/reports/ )

Mark (2012-05-20 21:54)

Story, What story?

I hate to write bad reviews but boy does this one deserve it. No storyline continuity at all. It jumps from one section to the other. PLEASE DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY!

Fields201 (2012-05-20 07:46)

Shockingly Good

I wasn't a big fan of the first Narnia. I walked out of there thinkingit was purely average and the story has been done countless timesbefore in other films. Having said that, I skipped out on the secondNarnia. The previews didn't convince me that I would change my opinionso I never bothered with it. Then years later I see the previews of thethird installment and thought, "Wow, this actually looks pretty good."It reminded me of Pirates of the Caribbean in a way and some videogames that I played and decided to give it a go.The wifey and I had a date night with this and both of us walked out ofenjoying it very much. It didn't start out that way. The beginning ofthe movie, though okay, didn't exactly grab me. In fact, our heroes arewhisked away to Narnia quite early, and we are introduced to all themain characters of the movie right from the get go. The only ones thatstood out, to me, was that Useless character (at least that's what hisname sounds like) who, in spite of some rather bland characters andsometimes bland moments, sticks out among the rest. Even when a certainplot twist with his transformation occurs, he's still an interestingcharacter. He's really the best character in the movie, besides thatlion that I can think of. Maybe the swashbuckling rat and that humanbull would rank up there too.Between the drab moments, we get a lot of creative ideas like the landof invisible people and some mansion that can't be seen. Our heroeshave to go into some dangerous territory in search of seven lords thatcarry these swords that must be joined together to vanquish thedarkness and put balance into Narnia (I never knew what balanceactually means myself). Along the way, there are a lot of characters intheir party and some serious character development, especially withCaspian and Useless. There are a couple characters in the group that Ifelt was useless (pardon the pun) by the end of the movie. They havethis father join the group (with his stowaway daughter) that neverreally served much of a purpose. The fawn from the first one gets onboard but he's just there. He could have been left out and nothingwould be missed.One last thing I would like to mention is that I really enjoyed thisscore. Not too many movies (or video games) with an orchestratedsoundtrack have been noteworthy lately. The score isn't memorable byany means, but it was easy on the ears and it may be the firstsoundtrack in a while that I might just own.Oh, and I didn't see it in 3D. I hate 3D. I advise people to see thiswithout 3D, as well. Films should be enjoyed by their narrative andscope. They should draw you into the film by its storytelling, not witha gimmick. I hope filmmakers don't forget this. I'm afraid that will bethe Dawn Treader of movie-going.

cabuildings (2012-05-20 01:06)

I didn't know C.S. Lewis wrote and 8th Narnia Book!

If you've ever read the Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis doyourself a favor and don't go watch the movie! You will be sorelydisappointed Less than 20 minutes into the film you will find yourselflost and confused. The filmmakers butchered the story-line so badlythat I had no idea what was going to happen from one scene to the next.The bizarre plot is totally new and not even remotely close to thebook's. The story line is cut up, shifted around and, after the openingscene, not even remotely close to the book. Whole paragraphs of dialoghave been edited, dummied down or deleted entirely. Whole scenes andlocations have been eliminated or changed, almost as if they werepurposely trying to be as different as possible from the book. It feltlike the director didn't really like the original Voyage of the DawnTreader and was trying to make up his own Hollywood version. I'vealways loved the book so to me it's like someone trying to paint theMona Lisa in a dark room with Crayola's. On a positive note: If you haven't read the book this will probably bea very entertaining movie. The special effects and action were abovepar.

Connecticut (2012-05-19 14:22)

Garbage

I simply walked out. The plot was changed so much from the original story, the acting was so wooden, and the overall quality of the film was so poor that it seemed like a waste of time to sit through it.C.S.Lewis was a great story teller. Why change his plot?

(2012-05-19 09:39)

I wanted to like this movie, but just couldn't. :(

This review is from: The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader (Single-Disc Edition) (DVD) First, I am a fan of this genre. Second, I am not one of those folks that hates movies just because they don't slavishly follow the book. I was reasonably happy with both the HP and LOTR movies as movies. I was OK with Prince Caspian and even Eragon, but this? Not only was this movie barely recognizable from the book, the changes made no sense and were often inconsistent with the overall story. Seven magic swords? What had been the quest for seven friends of Caspian's father became a quest for seven swords of indeterminate origin and powers, and the men they went to find were totally irrelevant. The didn't even NOTICE the sleepers at Aslan's table! And when they found Octesian in the water as a gold statue, not even a brief second of compassion, just "Oooh, get the sword." And the swords makes no sense. Let us presume that I am a usurper and I want to exile seven lords who oppose me, do I gift them each with a powerful magic sword (completely ignoring that there was never a single magic sword in any of the Chronicles) as parting gifts? Maybe give them a nice hug too?Acting: Georgie Henley was head and shoulders above all the others and the only the thing that kept the movie from being an utter disaster. Skandar was not too bad, but his part was poorly written. Ben Barnes? I still can't tell if he dropped the ball or just wasn't given anything to work with but his performance was completely non-memorable, it has only been a couple days and I can barely remember that he was in the movie, and I generally like him as an actor. Will Poulter as Eustace... I am conflicted. Not sure if I didn't like his portrayal or just didn't like the character he portrayed. I would need to watch it again to be sure and not sure I want to watch it again.Scenery/cinematography: Clearly the strength of the movie (though I was disappointed with Ramandu's Island). Bright colors, sweeping vistas, the ship itself was clearly presented in a manner to appeal to children, and while this bothered me personally it was absolutely understandable to do in this type of movie.Bottom line: even if I was able to completely forget I had ever read the book, it would still only get three stars, as it is, two is generous. I hope if they do The Silver Chair they can do a lot better. I would even be OK with them bringing back the White Witch instead of the Green (because apparently it is impossible to make a Narnia movie without Tilda Swinton...) as long as they can maintain a logically consistent plot line and combine it with good acting. And wouldn't Gary Oldman be an awesome Puddleglum?

priyantha-bandara (2012-05-18 16:14)

Should have being better

Chronicles of Narnia has always being a movie franchise comes in thefore front of fantasy titles in the past recent years. Alongside itsmain rival Harry Potter which was bigger than life at some editions itstill managed to enchant a good load of fans around the globe. Startingfrom 'Lion, Witch & the Wardrobe' (2005) and getting better and betterwith the 'Prince Caspian' (2008) it had returned with its latestedition 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader' (2010). Thought to myamusement is a wee bit weaker than the first two movies I must say.Lucy and Edmund Pevensie are called back in to Narnia again and thistime with their annoyingly big mouthed cousin Eustace. They meet PrinceCaspian and join a trip across seas on the royal ship Dawn Treader. Inthis voyage of reaching the edge of the world they encounter variousthreats, dangers and creatures which at times amuse them and at timestesting their skills to the brim.The plot is well created yet it could have being more comparing withthe first two movies. For example the most colossus fantasy franchiseever 'Lord of the Rings' were capable of creating the most amazing 3rdedition with the 'Return of the king' and that's how a fantasy movieshould go down in history. Here I see lot of action but less potentialto be great.The animation and CG quality is at its best. Coming out in HD thethrill is spectacular if you are in a position to watch it that way.Even the smallest details are carefully given attention which is amust. This brings back some memories from movies like the Lord of therings and Clash of the Titans.Very good astonishing and loud score contributes to the thrills quite alot while the set department creating the wonderfully detailed sets foreach occasion.A good load of hard work is surely has gone in to creating 'The Voyageof the Dawn Treader' no doubt. But it's a question if that hard worktruly delivers something memorable once it finishes. Yes there are somethings unique about this movie but not as unique as there are manymovies which hit the screens with fantasy magnet in the back. And everyone of them is filled with eye popping special effects and that itselfwill not be good enough right now.read my reviews at flickshout.blogspot.com

(2012-05-17 19:20)

The Magic Of Narnia Is Back!

A few years back, I was absolutely transfixed as Hollywood magic brought to life my childhood recollections of Narnia's "Lion, Witch, & Wardrobe". Sadly, that effort was followed by the critically-panned "Prince Caspian" (which I did not even view due to all the poor reviews and word of mouth). Luckily, "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" brings back in the old Narnian magic in this grand installment!For a basic plot summary, "Voyage" sees the younger Pevensie siblings, Edmund (Skander Keynes) & Lucy (Georgie Henley), as well as their cousin Eustace (Will Poulter), once again drawn back into Narnia in order to help Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) defeat the last remaining threat to Narnian peace by sailing towards Aslan Country in search of lost citizens.I can think of nothing that this film really does wrong. The acting is superb, with Caspian & Lucy's portrayals standing out even above the rest. The action/adventure is breathtaking and should be viewed in HD if at all possible. Plus, the general storyline taken from what is considered to be one of the better Narnia novels, is filled with imaginative twists/turns/characters that will keep you in awe.Basically, this film really brought Narnia "alive" for me again, as the overall production is just so rich with allegory, emotion, and adventure. Though I once viewed this series as a sort of poor man's "Lord of the Rings", with this successful effort it has now carved out a niche fully its own.Thus, watch this one with the kiddies or just watch it alone with nostalgia...it really doesn't matter! I just hope that this installment will find success and allow the remaining four novels to also be translated onto the big screen.

(2012-05-17 08:45)

Love this movie

This review is from: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Two-Disc Edition) (DVD) I just want to say that I have loved all 3 Narnia movies. While The voyage of the Dawn Treader does stray a bit from the books I still thought it was a superb movie!!!But does anyone else find it odd that "prince caspian" isn't anywhere on the DVD cover or pictures??

NarniaRulesForever (2012-05-16 14:39)

The third time is a complete charm for the Narnia film series on the Dawn Treader!

The Chronicles of Narnia is back, bigger and better than ever before.This time, two of the Pevensies are away, but Lucy and Edmund returnalong with their cousin, Eustice.Lucy and Edmund are visiting their cousin Eustice in the Englishcountryside, he doesn't believe in Narnia or fairy tales in general,and then a small painting of a Narnian ship draws the three childrenback into the magical land of Narnia once again.Where the first film dealt with faith, the second dealt with trials andtribulations, the third film deals with temptation. Lucy doesn't havethe confidence of her older sister Susan and in one sequence comparesherself to the beauty of her older sister. Edmund feels jealousytowards his older brother.But it's Eustace who become the stand out character this time around,changing his view of Narnia from a self absorbed brat to a trulycompassionate person.Aslan, and Reepicheep both return as does King Caspian, and all I cansay is the Dragon sequence has to be seen on the big screen. Wow, Iwould say that this film was better than Prince Caspian by a long shot!

Darth Belo (2012-05-16 13:16)

Quite different from the book, but still magical!

I will start by saying that this movie was the most different from the book of any of the Narnia movies so far-but that is not necessarily a bad thing. The book never really had one solid underlying plot line. It was basically a collection of adventures to different magical islands. The movie took the evil one of these islands, and basically made it into an underlying existence of evil throughout the whole movie-adding IMO some urgency and sense of danger that the book didn't have. That said, this is one of those rare cases where I think the changes from the book are for the better. The movie feels quite different than the last two, but that is simply because that's how THIS part of the story is: a voyage at sea. It's very hard to compare this one to the others-it's like comparing Pirates of the Carribean to Lord of the Rings. Can't really compare.I was very impressed with the performance of Will Poulter as Eustace. I was nervous that he'd just come off as extremely annoying-that character is hard to play without it being overacted. But he does well. It was also nice to see the changes in the characters, especially Caspian-he truly acts as a Narnian king.I saw the movie in 3D. Although it was no Avatar, I did enjoy it. Everyone always complains about 3D. But I think no one's ever happy with it just cos they don't really KNOW what they're looking for. I thought it was fine.The ending was GREAT, the way I'd hoped it would be-but the only thing was there was no "song" playing right during the last shots, like in the other two. I miss that.I say to the Narnia book fanatics: BEWARE. This film is quite different from the book. But it STILL was very enjoyable.

alwayssmiilinu (2012-05-16 21:22)

A favorite.. :)

Although I have not read the books, I have found the films to be quiteenjoyable..this being one of my favorites of the three! It felt like agreat and fun adventure, that I could vicariously take part in! Exactlywhat a movie like this is supposed to do to you! Take you away into aworld that is not your own! Somewhat like Pirates of the Caribbean inregards to the adventures! The plot may have differentiated from theoriginal book, but most films based on novels do! I say, watch it, takeit for the adventure and fun that it is, and enjoy! The acting is verywell done, the colors and the scenery are like an exciting Disneyplace/ride! A fantasy land! :) I loved it! :)

(2012-05-16 07:00)

Narnia, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

This review is from: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Two-Disc Edition) (DVD) I have the collection of the Narnia DVD movies and every one is definelty 5 star rated in picture quality, sound and acting. Sincerely, Nancy.

(2012-05-15 19:03)

Fast shiping

Very fast shipping. The product was in the exact condition that they described and it was the product that I actually wanted!!!

(2012-05-15 04:31)

Best Movie yet!

I adored The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, was neutral with Prince Caspian (that's another story), and was jumping around in my seat about the Voyage. Why?The movie practically BREATHED the emotion, trust, and comradeship that is often lacking in other movies. It revealed the longing of the characters- Edmund's unavoidable fears of the White Witch and the kingship she tempts him with; Lucy's secret wish to be like Susan; Eustace's fear hidden behind his supercilious crust. There were several plot changes relevant to the book to accent this emotion but I was perfectly happy with the differences. The sea serpent scene was vivid and breathtaking- maybe too much so with younger kids but my 4&7 year old siblings seemed okay with it- and it was Important! I just loved the characters TOO much and had my eyes popping out of my sockets as I watched the battle.Eustace stayed a dragon longer than in the book, but in the movie, he had a purpose as a dragon, and I loved the comradeship and trust and loyalty that formed between him and Reepicheep. Entering into the cast is a young girl and her father. At first, they seem unnecessary, but then you realized how important they are in illustrating the need to destroy the green mist. The young girl also provides a comrade for Lucy, who probably would have felt slightly along in a crew of males.I've probably left many things unsaid but all and all, it's the BEST movie I've ever seen of it's kind.But then, that's coming from a biased fan who just loves these characters too much. :)