Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader

The third installment of the Chronicles of Narnia series finds Lucy, Edmund and their obnoxious cousin Eustace drawn back to Narnia where Caspian, now the established king of Narnia, is voyaging on the sea to find the seven lords who were loyal to his dethroned father. 

     The thing about the Chronicles of Narnia movies is that they take many liberties with the plot C.S. Lewis established in the books. However, the movies are true to the spirit of Narnia and have even added many character layers that C.S. Lewis didn't include. "The Dawn Treader"  is a strong example of this kind of tweaking and adding, but it works. 

      The character of Lucy is greatly expanded upon, who in the other movies was seen as the young, unquestioning youngest sister. With Susan gone, Lucy now takes center stage as the front female character. The actress has aged well, and is able to maintain that wide-eyed adoration of all things Aslan in combination with new doubts and fears that arise with maturation. The other character that stands out is Eustace, the newest addition to Narnia. The actor is very good for his young age, capturing perfectly the "priggish" nature that the book lays out. The only weakness is the lack of a good transition; the character experiences a lot of growth, and the movie simply ran out of space to include it. A small, but I believe, important note, is the fact that Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian) has lost his HORRENDOUS Spanish accent and stays true to his English heritage. Thank heaven. 

     The movie has a good script and includes most of Aslan's original lines, which are really the most important in the book. He isn't present in the movie much, but his spirit is very much alive, and the use of filming his shadow and hearing a distant roar constantly remind the audience that he is the most important figure in Narnia. This movie changes the plot more than in "Prince Caspian," but it is much better. The acting is better, the characters are less frustrating, and the movie is more beautiful. Where "Prince Caspian" was all wet grass and shadow, "Dawn Treader" is sunlight on water, exotic islands, and one heck of a sea monster that again proved how close to the PG/PG-13 line these movies dance on. I can't wait to see how they do the next one.