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The
Narnia trilogy
was a decent
trilogy. The first
two movies didn't
feel like the Walden
Media productions
that they were. They
felt like the
perfect Disney
movies. The Narnia
trilogy felt like
the perfect Disney
trilogy.
Unfortunately the
source material
after C.S. Lewis'
first book wasn't as
good.
Prince Caspian
had a less than
riveting performance
at the box office
and Disney severed
ties with the
trilogy.
It wasn't a sure
deal that this movie
was even going to
get made after
Disney severed ties,
but then entered Fox
to save the day. The
third
Narnia got the
green light from Fox
with a smaller
budget but it was
still going to get
made.
In
The Chronicles of
Narnia: The Voyage
of the Dawn Treader,
Edmund and Lucy are
the youngest of the
four Pevensie
siblings but they're
a lot older than
they were during the
last two movies.
Susan and Peter are
now too old to go to
Narnia, so Edmund
and Lucy are now the
two kids being
followed in our
story. Mysteriously
they get transferred
into Narnia from
England with their
cousin Eustace. It
seems that all is
not right in the
world of Narnia.
Slave traders are in
control of an
inhabited island and
they are taking
people away from
their families and
selling them. The
people that they
can't sell, they
sacrifice to a
mysterious green
mist that surfaces
on the ocean.
Edmund, Lucy, Prince
Caspian, and Eustace
discover the land
and the problem with
the green mist. They
then discover the
origin of the green
mist and the way to
stop it, by putting
seven swords on
Asland's table. The
group goes on the
adventure to find
the seven swords,
and destroy the
green mist.
The first two
Narnia movies
looked beautiful.
They were flat-out
nothing short of
stunning. This third
Narnia movie
wasn't shot on the
same equipment and
it had a smaller
budget and you can
tell. Sure, there
are moments where
everything looks
brilliant, but there
are also moments
where it looks like
a made for TV BBC
movie instead of a
big-budget
blockbuster. They
did the best with
what they had, I get
that, but this movie
didn't look half as
brilliant as the
other two movies.
The best part of
The Dawn Treader
wasn't the story or
the look of the
film. It was its
three young stars.
Georgie Henley was
great as Lucy,
Skandar Keynes was
good as Edmund, and
Ben Barnes in the
role of Caspian were
all great. The on
lacking part was
Will Poulter as
Eustace. They had
him be too
over-the-top
annoying in the
film. Later on in
the movie he's fine,
early on it's tough
to watch him on
screen.
Other than the made
for TV look, and the
annoyances of the
Eustace character,
the other problem
was way too much
‘For Narnia!’
dialogue. It might
look good in a
script but it feels
awkward and out of
place in a movie.
Especially for as
many times as they
did it during this
movie.
As far as blu-ray
releases go, this
isn't a bad one. It
comes in a special
blu-ray, DVD,
digital copy combo
pack with a cool
booklet. There are
also plenty of
extras on the blu-ray
including some
behind the scenes
stuff, an animated
short, and a look at
the islands and
characters in
Narnia. It might not
be the best feature
but the blu-ray is
packed with extras.
The Chronicles of
Narnia: The Legend
of the Dawn Treader
isn't the perfect
send off for this
set of movies, but
it's still a send
off and that's more
than most thought it
would receive.
Although there are
some definite short
comings, a blu-ray
release filled with
extras and an
exciting adventure
makes up for that.
Not the best thing
out there but I'd
still recommend it.
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