Dawn Treader opens with the two younger Pevensies—Edmund (Skandar
Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley)—being swallowed into a painting, transporting
them back to Narnia along with their cousin Eustace Scrubb (Will Poulter). They
join the new king of Narnia, Caspian (Ben Barnes) in his quest to find seven
lost lords to save Narnia from a corrupting evil that resides on a dark
island.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader more than holds its own to Prince
Caspian and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe as a fast-paced adventure with
special effects that tops its two predecessors. The first in the movie series in
3D, Dawn Treader makes good use of the technology with edge-of-your-seat
action that features swashbuckling sword fights, a fire-breathing dragon and
stomach-churning choppy seas.
Having read Dawn Treader to my three young boys,
Alex, Andrew and Chase, I was curious to see if the screenplay stayed true to
the book. Although there were several changes to the story, including the
elimination of some characters, the film adapted the book well.
Especially spot-on is the portrayal by Poulter as the whiny cousin Eustace,
who is literally transformed into an unlikely hero as the danger heightens. His
unusual hate-love relationship with braveheart mouse Reepicheep is funny and
touching.
Christians will be especially pleased that Dawn Treader does a better
job of communicating the spiritual themes in Lewis’ books than Prince
Caspian, which was criticized by some for its overuse of epic battles a la The
Lord of the Rings film series.
Dawn Treader carries several biblical messages about being content, fighting
temptation, and redemption as a result of repentance, as well as resisting envy,
pride and greed. Mirroring a line from the book, the movie even has Aslan
telling Edmund and Lucy that they will not return to Narnia, but the siblings
should learn to know him by another name in their own world.
Rated PG, Dawn Treader does feature some frightening images and
sequences of fantasy action. Parents will want to exercise caution in deciding
whether to take young children to see the movie, which has an intense climax
that rivals strong action scenes from the Pirates of the Caribbean film
series.
Overall, Dawn Treader may be the most enjoyable installment in the
famed fantasy series. “Eustace was annoying, but funny,” Alex, 9, points out.
“Dawn Treader was non-stop action.”
Andrew, 7, adds: “It was the most fun Narnia movie ever.”
Content Watch: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is rated PG.
Parents with young children, be advised: intense, strong action scenes
included.
Click here to purchase the DVD.
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