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Last night I got a chance to bring my family to a press screening of the new Narnia film, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, coming to theatres December 10th.
They loved it! The theatre loved it. My friend and fellow movie reviewer Todd loved it…
I, on the other hand, thought it was very mediocre.
I have to save my official review until we post our review on the release date (Todd and I will be chiming in together for this one), but I’ll do two things:
1. I’ll post the trailer here so you can get a taste. It’s definitely worth bringing the family to.
2. Allow me to share a few quick thoughts, good and bad, without giving anything away:
THE GOOD:
- Reepicheep (voiced by the hilarious Simon Pegg) was awesome once again. By far the best character in the film!
- Kids in the theatre loved the film. They were laughing throughout.
- Narnia fans will once again love seeing this beloved story transformed to the silver screen.
- The movie offered several great scenes for discussion– a scene where Lucy struggles with self esteem, one where Eustace struggles with greed, and a moving moment where Reepicheep cheers up Eustace. We’ll be posting some great discussion questions for you when we post the official review, like we’ve been doing with all the films on our MOVIE REVIEWS & QUICK Q’s page on both TheSource4YM.com and TheSource4Parents.com
- Note: Interlinc also has a free 16 page “Behind the Scenes Youthworker Guide” (PDF) for the film that they’re giving away to anyone who fills out their form, providing them with all your info.
THE BAD:
- Our screening was in 3D. If there is any way you can avoid that, AVOID IT! This whole 3D trend is annoying. This movie was obviously not made for 3D! The 3D did not help it in any way– it just made the visuals look worse.
- The film makers completely changed my favorite scene in the book (saving any spoilers, I’ll describe it like this- Aslan helping Eustace out of his “predicament”). Sooooooo disappointing.
- The overall delivery and effects were about as “fair” as the past films… in other words… this is no Lord of the Rings… which is a shame, because the original story is so strong!
Audiences will enjoy the film despite my small criticisms and adults will have some great springboards for discussion with kids as they exit the movie.
Posted in Entertainment Media, Movies, Personal | | Leave A Comment
Oh man, so sad! I know exactly what scene you’re referring to, Jonathan, and the scene btween Eustace and Aslan was the one scene I truly wanted to see how it was handled — talk about springboard for a discussion.
Well, thanks for the review…our group is going to see it in the theatre next Friday. We’ll kep your suggestions in mind and try to miss the 3-D aspect. I look forward to the tag-team review next weekend!
Hello, I am have not been too excited about them, and I hate to be the book guy, but the books are just so flipping awesome.
As far as 3D, is it filmed in 3D or was it converted? and if the projector is not DLP it will look like garbage.
For example, Clash of the Titans was converted and it looked like doo doo, while Avatar was filmed in 3D and it was Epic!!!
I only know this because my brother is in the film industry. I am kinda jeal that you saw it sooner than me! lol
Thanks Man
Dude somebody SERIOUSLY needs to do Pilgrim’s Progress! If it were done well, wouldn’t that be awesome???? I’m trying to plan a living Pilgrim’s Progress (along the lines of the haunted houses or “Hellstop” type events you can go to in October) to do this coming October of 2011!