Post by Rob W. Case on Dec 17, 2010 6:35:36 GMT -6
It is the third film installment of the Chronicles of Narnia series. The film begins in England, where Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund (Skandar Keynes) are staying with their “personality deficient” Uncle, Aunt, and trouble-maker, cousin Eustace (Will Poulter). Eustace is very snotty, spoiled, loud, and hates his cousins. Eustace’s hatred for his cousins causes him to torment them. None too soon, when a painting of a ship on the wall starts “moving,” suddenly water starts filling up the room and Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace are from that water, transported into the seas of Narnia.
Upon arriving in Narnia, a very large, dragon shaped ship approaches them. It is the Dawn Treader, and the captain aboard that ship is King Caspian (Ben Barnes). Yet, the purpose which brings Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace to Narnia is unknown to them. Caspian didn’t call them. There is peace throughout the land. There is no solid villain to defeat (like there was in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and Prince Caspian). But there is something within themselves that they take into Narnia, and a powerful evil force, in the form of a “green mist” if you will, exploits these flawed personal attributes. Lucy envies the beauty in her older sister. Edmund desires power and a Kingdom of his own (just as he did in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe), and Eustace is faced with the manifestations of his arrogance, selfishness, and greed in a sort of “fire-breathing” type way. Yet throughout this journey, King Caspian, Lucy, Edmund, Eustace, and the rest of the Dawn Treader crew are given the task to travel to multiple islands, to recover 7 lost swords, and lay them at Aslan’s Table so that the power within each one can be consolidated into a single force that, when released, will break the spell that allows the presence of evil to move around freely. Until they complete their task, this evil can, for the time being anyway, be put in its proper place.
"To defeat the darkness out there, you must defeat the darkness inside yourself."
--Coriakin the Magician
All in all, this film is about temptation, and trying to keep one’s focus on “accomplishing the bigger mission.” It brilliantly chronicles the struggle between the forces of evil, and the very human nature of the self (as there are very serious relational aspects between the two). That said, Lucy, Edmund, Eustace, and Caspian battle the internal pull of their own personal vices, the forces of evil trying to exploit those vices (by trying to get them to give in to their personal desires of the moment), to distract them and threaten the completion of their task at hand, handling "monsters" of their own fears and making (which, in effect, inflicts real damage), and staying diligent and persistent in fulfilling the greater mission assigned to them. All in all, with the help of Aslan (Liam Neeson), a work is done to assist them in overcoming their internal moral obstacles and making sure that the main priority is accomplished. There are many more meaningful, positive, and insightful aspects to this film that touch on courage, perseverance, endurance, clear-mindedness, etc. And that still isn't all.
C.S. Lewis intended Narnia to be a setting where deep and meaningful truths could be conveyed in an epic fantasy series. In this adventure, we see how we are unable to overcome our vices alone, especially as the forces of evil tries to draw us to act on them. Yet in Narnia, the only power that can help, lies beyond Narnia itself.
"In your world, I have another name. You must learn to know me by it. That was the very reason you were brought to Narnia. That by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there."
--Aslan, the Lion
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader also has more of a “magical” element at play than the previous two films. It is special-effects heavy, and is really a great movie for kids and adults. Kids will no doubt love the magical elements within this film, and the adults will be more prone to see the overall message behind the symbolism.
I give The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 4 stars.
The film is rated PG and runs 1 hour and 52 minutes.
To view a trailer for the film visit:
Trailer 4:
Trailer 3:
Trailer 2:
Trailer 1:
For some insight of the more Christian-related aspects of this film, visit….
www.cbn.com/special/voyageofthedawntreader/
The Official Webpage for all things Narnia:
www.narnia.com
Upon arriving in Narnia, a very large, dragon shaped ship approaches them. It is the Dawn Treader, and the captain aboard that ship is King Caspian (Ben Barnes). Yet, the purpose which brings Edmund, Lucy, and Eustace to Narnia is unknown to them. Caspian didn’t call them. There is peace throughout the land. There is no solid villain to defeat (like there was in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and Prince Caspian). But there is something within themselves that they take into Narnia, and a powerful evil force, in the form of a “green mist” if you will, exploits these flawed personal attributes. Lucy envies the beauty in her older sister. Edmund desires power and a Kingdom of his own (just as he did in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe), and Eustace is faced with the manifestations of his arrogance, selfishness, and greed in a sort of “fire-breathing” type way. Yet throughout this journey, King Caspian, Lucy, Edmund, Eustace, and the rest of the Dawn Treader crew are given the task to travel to multiple islands, to recover 7 lost swords, and lay them at Aslan’s Table so that the power within each one can be consolidated into a single force that, when released, will break the spell that allows the presence of evil to move around freely. Until they complete their task, this evil can, for the time being anyway, be put in its proper place.
"To defeat the darkness out there, you must defeat the darkness inside yourself."
--Coriakin the Magician
All in all, this film is about temptation, and trying to keep one’s focus on “accomplishing the bigger mission.” It brilliantly chronicles the struggle between the forces of evil, and the very human nature of the self (as there are very serious relational aspects between the two). That said, Lucy, Edmund, Eustace, and Caspian battle the internal pull of their own personal vices, the forces of evil trying to exploit those vices (by trying to get them to give in to their personal desires of the moment), to distract them and threaten the completion of their task at hand, handling "monsters" of their own fears and making (which, in effect, inflicts real damage), and staying diligent and persistent in fulfilling the greater mission assigned to them. All in all, with the help of Aslan (Liam Neeson), a work is done to assist them in overcoming their internal moral obstacles and making sure that the main priority is accomplished. There are many more meaningful, positive, and insightful aspects to this film that touch on courage, perseverance, endurance, clear-mindedness, etc. And that still isn't all.
C.S. Lewis intended Narnia to be a setting where deep and meaningful truths could be conveyed in an epic fantasy series. In this adventure, we see how we are unable to overcome our vices alone, especially as the forces of evil tries to draw us to act on them. Yet in Narnia, the only power that can help, lies beyond Narnia itself.
"In your world, I have another name. You must learn to know me by it. That was the very reason you were brought to Narnia. That by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there."
--Aslan, the Lion
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader also has more of a “magical” element at play than the previous two films. It is special-effects heavy, and is really a great movie for kids and adults. Kids will no doubt love the magical elements within this film, and the adults will be more prone to see the overall message behind the symbolism.
I give The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader 4 stars.
The film is rated PG and runs 1 hour and 52 minutes.
To view a trailer for the film visit:
Trailer 4:
Trailer 3:
Trailer 2:
Trailer 1:
For some insight of the more Christian-related aspects of this film, visit….
www.cbn.com/special/voyageofthedawntreader/
The Official Webpage for all things Narnia:
www.narnia.com