"The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader" is the thirdfilm in the latest adaptation of C.S. Lewis' novels. It is third insequence and third in order of worthy acclaim. This film seemsconfused, it doesn't know whether it is a movie for adults and childrenalike, or a children's film. Some of it can seem like a film foreveryone, but it can seem extremely simple and a little too light.Almost like it is was made especially for children under 10. If it wasmade to be a film primarily for young children, this would be fine andit would be critiqued as a children's film, but it is not so will becritiqued as a film for families and singles alike. .....which isunfortunate for the film makers. "The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader" seesLucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund Pevensie (Skandar Keynes) return toNarnia with their cousin, Eustace (Will Poulter). They once again meetup with Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) as they try to defeat the new evilin Narnia.

"The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader" is a beautiful film visually to watch.The visual effects are very impressive and the fantasy segments arehighly realistic. The special effects are perhaps the best thing aboutthe film. However, while watching the film you cannot help but thinkthat you are watching a cross between "Lord Of The Rings" and "PiratesOf The Caribbean". As impressive as the visuals are, it feels as if ithas been seen before. The Narnia chronicles, with this film, just seemto have outdone they stay this time around. It doesn't feel suspensefulat all and can seem to drag throughout the film. The simplicity of thefilm seems out of place at this stage of the series. Yes, it is basedon the book and the film makers are staying true to the book so theycan't be blamed too much, but with the right script, editing andacting, this could have been avoided.

Simply, the acting isn't to write home about in this film. Ben Barnesdoes not give a bad performance in his second film as the courageousPrince Caspian. It is not an Oscar winning performance, but brings allthe can be bought into the role as a fantasy prince. Skandar Keynes isalso not altogether bad as Edmund and is probably the best out of theyounger actors in his role. Georgie Henley's performance seems forcedand completely lacks emotion. In the earlier Narnia films, she wasadorable as youngest Lucy, but it seems as if it may have been herchildish cuteness which made her successful in the role previously.Henley is in that awkward stage of being between the child and adultactor and it is actually painful to watch. Will Poulter's Eustace issupposed to seem completely painful, but his performance is one whichyou would expect to see on stage in school theater. It is harsh, buthis acting in the film is completely amateur and more stage acting thanfilm acting. Of course, this cannot just be blamed on the actors, butalso on Michael Apted's direction. It is so obvious that there was achange of director from the first two films to this film and Apted isdefinitely not a bad director, but maybe he is just not accustomed tohow he should be directing younger actors in a fantasy film. However,its not a talent which one would normally have.

It is hard for a film which is part of a series of films to be reviewedas a stand alone film. It is harder to do so when as a stand alone filmit fails more than as a film in a series. "The Voyage Of The DawnTreader" seems like a mess on screen and would definitely not besuccessful if it weren't part of "The Chronicles Of Narnia". As it ispart of the chronicles, it will still be successful at the box officeas no one can resist the charms of C.S. Lewis.

'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader' is the third film in the Chronicles ofNarnia series. The plot revolves around Lucy (Georgie Henley) andEdmund (Skandar Keyes) returning to Narnia for a nautical adventure.They rejoin their friends King Caspian (Ben Barnes) and Reepicheep (atalking mouse who fortunately doesn't try nearly as hard to be funny ashe has been known to). They are on a quest to find seven Narnian lordswho fled the power-hungry King Miraz. Also joining them is Eustace(Will Poulter), cousin to Edmund and Lucy and all-around wet blanket.Well he is at first... it's kinda one of the main points of the filmthat he improves.

One thing I noticed in VoDT is that the generation-Y knowall-ism thatstarted making its way in to 'Prince Caspian' is now gone, and anattempt is made to recapture the naivety and wonderment that made 'TheLion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' such a wonderful film. The level ofsuccess to which this is done varies, with one or two scenes notringing true to the age and/or experience of those involved (though itseems likely that the various production delays would have contributedto this). Still, it was a good move that ultimately paid off andprevented the series from descending in to cynically self-awareclaptrap.

Also variable is the acting, and not simply insofar as some actors arebetter than others. Will Poulter's acting seems to run a parallel withhis character, being cringeworthy at first but improving over thecourse of the film. Then there are times when Georgie Henley delivers athoroughly competent performance, and others when she seems to have hadher arms nailed to her side and her (possibly prosthetic) lips bent into a permanent smile.

While on the topic of permanent smiles, Aslan (talking lion and Narniangod to boot) seems rather more :3 this time around. Not that that'snecessarily a bad thing, and I certainly wouldn't want him to be >:{all the time, but it's something I noticed.

Anyway, there is much for the eyes in this film, like the Dawn Treaderitself, the humorous one-legged dufflepuds and the spectacular dragonvs. sea-serpent battle, and a lot for the heart too, in particular thefinal scene before the children left Narnia where against all odds Ifound myself feeling for Eustace. The humour is well handled, flowingnaturally from the characters and never at odds with the tone of thefilm. Of course, VoDT is more about adventure than comedy, but themishandling of such elements in PC (and LWW to a lesser extent) make itworth noting.

In the end, VoDT never did quite recapture the magic of LWW, but itcame damn close and there wasn't a sarcastic dwarf to be seen, whichputs it head and shoulders above PC. It's not perfect, but it'sdefinitely one of the better films to come out of 2010.

I thought this film was much better than I expected it to be. Itbasically stayed true to the spirit of C.S. Lewis's work – much morethan the first two films did. There were no stupid battles (trying tomake the film like LOTR).

Reepicheep was brilliant, and I particularly liked Eustace, the DawnTreader itself, the dragon, the picture/sea and the bit at the endabout Aslan's country.

Didn't like the insertion of the witch, who I actually thought wascompletely wrong in the first film, and very badly played by aninsipid-looking actress.

Also thought the acknowledgment to Pauline Baynes at the end was a goodidea - what a pity she did not live to see her work so recognized.

Lucy and Edmund Pevensie return to Narnia with their cousin Eustacewhere they meet up with Prince Caspian for a trip across the sea aboardthe royal ship The Dawn Treader. I thought the sets looked fantasticand the characters of Reepicheep and Eustace were the fun to watch. Theactor playing Eustace had, I think, excellent comic timing. Therelationship between them was funny and touching. In my mind, the onlythings I will say are that the dialogue could have been better writtenand the music didn't make the film feel quite as epic as it could havedone. Having said that, I did think this film was better than The Lion,The Witch and the Wardrobe, which I am not keen on. I can't comment onthe 3D version of this film, because I haven't seen it, but I hear it'snot worth seeing

Dawn Treader, in my opinion was a great disappointment. The scenery wasnice but the story was VERY altered and weak. The main characters hadvery few lines. Caspian although the same actor had a different accent,and Reepicheep a new voice. The movie doesn't focus on the real reasonEustace became a dragon, a type of punishment for being such a meanperson, but simply for picking up gold. The new plot of searching forseven magic swords, that all the MAD seven lords conveniently have waslame. If you, like I, thought Prince Caspian was better then the book,and feel you must see this third movie to, wait and see it at a dollartheater.

I enjoyed the third movie only because I'm a big fan of the books andthe previous ones. Although I have to say that I was as sad as Edmundand Lucy at the end because just as them, I don't think we will becoming back to Narnia anymore. The special effects and make up lackedthe magic of the first two movies, the dialogs were almost too teenagerat points losing the wittiness and greatness of the kings and queenswe've learned to love and admire. Eustace was at points irritating. AndI couldn't stop having the feeling that there was no turning back.We're going to have to learn to love the name of Aslan in our world,because I have serious doubts we will be back anytime soon. To Aslan,Narnia and the Kings and Queens of old. Farewell...

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I shall begin…

Once upon a time, a band named Narnia is exiled from Disneyland as amember of theirs, Prince Caspian, doesn't cast enough spells to impressthe king there. So, they travel far and wide, until one day, theemperor from Fox provides them shelter. Right on time for his 75thbirthday and fascinated with the band's achievements, he gifts ourfriends with the Dawn Treader, a ship that has been purposed totraverse uncharted waters that, as legend has it, have more magic than10 David Copperfields can conjure. While we're all happy because thisthird installment is returning to the bright side, this adventure doesnot have the quality that the Mickey treatment delivered.

ACTING: The voyage is strictly for the Pevensie children, Lucy (GeorgieHenley) and Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and not Susan and Peter (yes, thetrailers lie…again). While these young actors' physicality has grownconsiderably, their acting skills improve marginally. I expected a tadmore complexity in their performances, more emotions to be displayed atcertain points i.e. when Ed is angry, he *sounds* angry but does not*look* like he is due to lack of facial variation. However, it is fromthis only little change that makes them the Edmund and Lucy that madesuch a memorable impression on the audience the first time. The samecan be said for Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes). Eustace (Will Poulter)perhaps outshines everybody else, executing perfect comedic timing anddelivering his lines professionally. Every time he speaks, the audiencehas great laughs. As for the voices, Liam Neeson *is* Aslan but imo,Simon Pegg is trying to imitate Eddie Izzard so he doesn't sweep me offmy feet like I have expected (and like the first time in PrinceCaspian). Coriakin and the Blue Star are bland and pretty muchexpendable, yet without them the magic will be lacking. In general,mediocre. Period. Exclamation mark.

SCRIPT: There are so many production changes made that I was beginningto delete this franchise out of my head. Thankfully, Fox still has thedecency to keep the original scriptwriters so the dialog retains theNarnia atmosphere that the film's devotees have been familiarized with.As per usual, it's one event after the other, with a nice set up and aclean finale. Light but captivating. Great work!

DIRECTION: Michael Apted is a pro with pacing in his action scenes. Seehow thrilling the chase sequences are 007: TWINE? Well, he brings thesame flavor to the Narnia universe by giving us what has got to be oneof the finest set pieces in 2010: the sea serpent battle. There's thisclassic creepy build-up, things go haywire and it's done; when it'sdone, stage 2 begins in an even more freaky awesome way. However, allthe goodness is in the third act, while the first two are a drag(unlike the first Narnia). On a whole, Michael distinguishes himselffrom Andrew Adamson by making things eerier (in some truly memorablesequences) and lets the film runs faster so that the film doesn't feeltoo childish. Not too grim but not too light.

MUSIC: David Arnold for Narnia = no, no, no, no and no. I'm not sayingthat he's a bad composer (the Bond series couldn't get its longevity ifnot for his scores) but why the hell didn't they keep Harry Gregson-Williams? David has a lot of gap to fill as the score only comes tolife in bursts i.e. snowing around Lucy and not through the whole filmlike how Disney does it. As for the music itself: it's boring.

CINEMATOGRAPHY: Like the music, Dante Spinotti is another no no. Ithought that the photography is magnificent in the last two Narniaswith mainly large-scale tracking and static shots. Dante takes adifferent approach with shoulder cam and mostly close tracking shots,making the images really un-fantasy and more of a documentary (and theblur that the digital camera produces is ARRGHHH). However, when theframing is done right and thankfully there's plenty - the shots areastounding to behold e.g. the Flower Sea and many wide shots of theship against the ocean/sky. Again, not a bad person, just a wrongchoice.

VISUAL EFFECTS: This is the saving grace for the whole film. I dare saythat the CGI, for 90% of the film, is even better than the two Disney'sNarnias. Characters are more detailed i.e. Reepichep and Aslan atclose- ups and the mist effects are outstanding. The remaining 10%?Some characters look a bit off and don't blend in to the environmentwell, case in point: the mermaids and the one-foot thingies.

For sure, the magic is back and the audience will return. However, theoverall effect may just be disappointing as so many elements that havemade Narnia a recognizable name at the movies today are replaced. Youcould go see it, but remember there are plenty of other cinematicescapes to take for Christmas.

From Vietnam, Denisvn93-1