The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

If the recent cinematic version of C.S. Lewis's fantasy land Narnia were a real place, I'd probably think twice about planning a trip there. Not because of the danger involved, of which there is plenty, but because this imaginary world of talking animals and thinly veiled religious symbolism is losing its magic. Following the engaging and worthy 2005 version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, this contemporary movie franchise grew awkward and boring with the derivative 2008 sequel Prince Caspian. Now a third trip to Narnia has been charted on the high seas with the mostly dull, but slightly improved flick The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

Taking over the reins of this franchise (once at home with Disney, now in the hands of Fox) from previous director Andrew Adamson is Michael Apted, who has managed to make this kid-friendly world feel a little closer to the subject matter once again. Adamson's first journey to Narnia was quite sweetly fantastical and true to series author C.S. Lewis's tone, but his second effort felt like a bland rip-off of The Lord of the Rings and reeked of sophomore arrogance. Apted's first trip to Narnia recaptures a small glint of the magic that Lewis's literary series promises on the page, but it still ends up offering a pretty soggy adventure.

Adapted from the third book in the series (based on publishing dates, which is the only chronology that doesn't incite confusion), The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader follows siblings Edmund (Skandar Keynes) and Lucy (Georgie Henley) as they are swallowed up by a suddenly flooding painting and sent back to Narnia. As the younger siblings in the royally honoured Pevensie clan, Edmund and Lucy are still eligible for a return trip to the magical fantasy land (older siblings Peter and Susan mostly sit this one out). They're also joined by their bratty cousin Eustace (a confident Will Poulter, fully embracing the eccentricities of his unlikable character).

Upon arriving in Narnia, the trio are scooped up by Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes, somewhat more believable in the role than last time) and the crew of the Dawn Treader, a great ship that has been designed to resemble a fairly fantastical dragon. From there, it's time for adventure(!), which should be a good thing, except that the movie stumbles almost instantly with some stiffly unimaginative action sequences and a curious interpretation of narrative momentum. Before it can find its footing, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is suddenly surrendering to its rigidly episodic nature.

For most of our time in Narnia, we watch as the heroes sail the high seas, stop off at a mysterious island, enjoy a mostly mediocre mini adventure, and then take to the high seas again in time to repeat the process. This happens several times throughout the movie and, well, that's pretty much it. If a cinematic sense of déjà vu hits at any point, it's probably because you're practically watching the same sequence on a loop. Of course, this episodic issue stems from Lewis's book, which may be one of the better entries in the series, but still suffers from a constantly stalling narrative.

Many adventure movies are episodic by design, but the good ones find a cohesive glue to tie the episodes together in a manner that feels complete and inseparable. Under Apted's direction, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader springs a leak and then tries to stay afloat by spinning in circles and throwing a lot of special effects in our faces. It's a flailing attempt to keep us entertained and Apted's lack of ambition makes this journey a bit of a bore at times. Again, much of the narrative's simplicity (the conflict is weak and obvious from start to finish) can be traced back to Lewis's novel, so it's not entirely fair to put all the blame on Apted.

I'll still hoist most of the blame on him, but he does execute a rather enjoyable finale for the movie, which is the main reason it manages to barely best the previous instalment. A thrilling showdown with a gargantuan sea monster is more an excuse to display a digital effects extravaganza than an attempt to strengthen the consequences of the conflict (okay, it's a bit of that, too), but it is fun to watch and it's the one truly exciting sequence in the movie. Beyond that, there's another inevitable meeting with Aslan and a few moments intended to wrap things up neatly and smoothly. Here, Apted reveals a talent for staging a somewhat touching finish in Narnia terms as the movie finally finds an authentic shred of that Narnia magic.

If only the rest of the movie could be as flavourful as the ending, which at least feels like it belongs in Lewis's created world. Overall, it's a rather dull adventure (or bunch of adventures, really) and it never fully overcomes the dry and dusty detriments of its episodic narrative. On the positive side, the effects are solid and the attractively earthy tangibility of the Dawn Treader as both a set and a prop offers some additionally enjoyable visuals. But the negatives win the battle long before the positives can make a considerable impression and so the movie ultimately sinks when it needs to sail (or swim, at the very least).

Unsurprisingly, when it comes to Narnia, the best of the book series has produced the best of this particular movie series. As a book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a classic allegory and a fascinating story of sacrifice, honour, and betrayal. The movie captures enough of that imagination and energy to work quite well. On the other hand, both Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader deserve better movies, but that's not likely to happen anytime soon. Apted has at least provided a sweet and heartfelt conclusion to this chapter in the series, which may be a closing chapter entirely (only box office can tell if another Narnia movie is in the cards). Either way, this adaptation could be worse (how's that for positive thinking?), so I'm at least thankful that this Voyage is far from being a total shipwreck. But I'm certainly less eager to return to this version of Narnia again anytime soon. As a vacation spot, this place is losing its lustre (has been for a while, actually) and is now considerably less magical than when I previously walked through the Wardrobe and rediscovered Lewis's land.