The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010)

Having enjoyed the first two films, I had high expectations for this installation of The Chronicles of Narnia series; I was highly disappointed. The film moved at a slow pace and while there was a plot, it wasn’t as clearly established as the plots in the first two films. Not being able to follow the story as easily as I would have liked made the film less enjoyable. While I enjoy films that make me think, I don’t appreciate when the film is unintentionally confusing as a result of poor writing/directing. As the cast was a bit shaken up from the previous films (with the exclusion of Anna Popplewell’s Susan Pevensie and William Moseley’s Peter Pevensie throughout the majority of the film) this film certainly had an odd feel. However, the introduction of Will Poulter’s Eustace Scrubb and Simon Pegg’s Reepicheep having a larger role in this film made up for the older Pevensies’ absence. I actually believe that, despite his whiney personality, Eustace Scrubb was one of the best and most enjoyable characters of the franchise. Something I found to be equally enjoyable and annoying was Ben Barnes’ acting. His acting improved immensely since the previous film, which, while that’s a good thing, it’s makes his acting that much more annoying in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008). While I understand and appreciate the extended metaphor of Aslan playing the role of Jesus, I have come to the realization that Aslan is quite possibly the most annoying character in the franchise. He possesses the power to solve almost any issue, however, he waits until the last possible minute to show up every time. Surely, Aslan stepping in and fixing problems as they arose would have severely shortened the film franchise (and books), this certainly causes a terribly frustrating plot hole throughout the course of the series. The film, as a whole, was a disappointing end to the franchise (at least until the next installment is released—if it, in fact, is ever released). With that being said, Carrie Underwood’s “There’s A Place for Us” during the end credits was a nice conclusion. https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0980970/