Plot Summary
Left in England while their parents and siblings settle in their new home in America, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie are restless and not interested in continuing to be under the same roof as their obnoxious cousin Eustace Scrubb. But it seems as though Aslan has other plans when he unexpectedly calls them back to Narnia, along with Eustance, for a unique mission—accompany King Caspian and the crew of the Narnia ship Dawn Treader in a quest to see what is beyond the Lone Islands and to retrieve lost friends of Caspian’s father. Edmund and Lucy are sure that their past Narnian experience will help them excel, but what they do not realize is that the mysterious enemy they face on the high seas is unlike any enemy they have ever faced before. In order to win, they must protect their minds and come to grips with who they really are as people.
Production Quality (3 points)
This movie franchise’s breakup with Disney was perhaps the best thing that ever happened to it. However, since they retained Walden Media for this installment, the production quality remains high and even improves. The video and sound quality are excellent. The camera work is masterful. Difficult action scenes are filmed with skill. The editing is flawless. The special effects are very professional and do not show any hints of being cheap. In short, there is nothing negative say about Dawn Treader’s production quality.
Plot and Storyline Quality (3 points)
The original plot of C. S. Lewis’ work of fiction was honestly not that great on its face, but this film adaptation dramatically improves upon the book without losing the original message. In fact, a more powerful message is provided. The same plot elements are used and are rearranged in a better order so that they each serve a better purpose. Another improvement from the both the book and the first two Narnia movies is that the character development is bettered through more creative and interesting dialogue. Too many fantasy stories treat the characters as pawns to move around with imaginary elements, but Dawn Treader defies this trend. There are plenty of plot twists in this film, along with cool psychological elements. The end is not exactly predictable, even if you have read the book. It is rare that you find a book adaptation film that actually improves upon the novel, but Dawn Treader changes up this narrative. In summary, we could not find anything negative here.
Acting Quality (3 points)
This is the best cast Narnia movie to date. Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, and Ben Barnes reprise as their former roles and are each better than in their previous films. Will Poulter is a masterful casting choice for Eustace; he becomes the very essence of the original character. Once again, there are no errors to point out.
Conclusion
This movie receives half of an x-factor point for having a meaningful and little-mentioned underlying worldview. Unfortunately, it cannot receive the full x-factor point because it is not explicitly Christian, even though there are plenty of redemptive elements. However, this is the only negative thing that can be mentioned about Dawn Treader. After a success and a misfire at the beginning of the new Narnia franchise, Douglas Gresham and company have finally arrived with their third installment. It brings the whole package and stands as a unique sort of movie that has the ability to reach many different types of audiences. Christian film-makers everywhere can learn a lesson from Dawn Treader about reaching multiple audiences at once, bridging new movie genres, and creating a high quality film that is worth elevating to Hall of Fame status.
Final Rating: 9.5 out of 10 points
Box Office Revolution 