The Chronicle of Narnia, Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
With this being the last two days of my holiday, and with my two and half year old recovering from a bout of Chicken pox I decided whilst he was asleep to catch up with the last of the big budget Christmas movies that so far I had avoided seeing. This was due to my not having enjoyed the previous instalment Prince Caspian.
Due to Tangled having just been released yesterday, and sharing the 3D screen with Tron, I saw this presentation in 2D. I find at the moment that I am very selective with regards to the 3D films I am prepared to pay extra to see. My main criteria being if it is made in 3D I will see it, if it is post conversion then unless the reviews are extremely positive I will settle for a presentation which is 2D as in this case.
Due to Tangled having just been released yesterday, and sharing the 3D screen with Tron, I saw this presentation in 2D. I find at the moment that I am very selective with regards to the 3D films I am prepared to pay extra to see. My main criteria being if it is made in 3D I will see it, if it is post conversion then unless the reviews are extremely positive I will settle for a presentation which is 2D as in this case.
This film has had a troubled history, Disney having abandoned it resulting in Fox studios taking over the franchise. Also this film has a new director in Mike Apted and it shows with a return to form. This being a much, lighter and thrilling family friendly instalment to the franchise. This is everything that the Clash of the Titans remake should have been with good doses of mystery, wonder right down to the climatic sea battle with a sea serpent that had this viewer wishing for the glory days of Harryhausen and his mythical adventures.
Liberties are taken with the story to make it more coherent and exciting and the special effects are top notch. There are a few noticeable changes from the last instalment Reep a cheep now being voiced by Simon Pegg replacing Prince Caspian’s Eddie Izzard and it works giving the character more gravitas and bring out his humour more.
This isn’t another Lord of the Rings, this is a more kid friendly exercise in fantasy adventure and on that level it worked for this viewer. Unfortunately this might be the swan song in this particular cinematic saga, but its underperformance is undeserved. A big step in the right direction but not an outright classic. I hope time will be kind to this film as it reflects the time in which it was written and it entertains in the right family friendly way you would expect.
No comments:
Post a Comment