Escape to the Movies: The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader

[PunkRex]

Wait. They cut the line that was in EVERY BIT OF PROMOTION for the movie?

Why would they do that? Why would they be THAT STUPID?

Thinking about it, the scene where they (the ninjas) show up, Davi Jones is not even there! Hes around the corner so WHY they even thought it was a good idea to film it should be the question.

 

[DannibalG36]

Well... The Magician's Nephew was the best of the Narnia series. I'd like to see it as a film.

 

[PunkRex]

Warriors way rubbish? But there's geoffrey rush in it! He's always worth watching even if it's utter rubbish.... Like house on hunted hill. That's entertainingly bad.... Geoffrey being the entertainingly bit.


Oh is there a new lion, witch and wardrobe film out?

I wouldnt say it was rubbish myself but they spend way to much time setting him up as a changed man and it kind of came out of no where. Theres still some fun in the film and some of the action scenes are quite good, it just could have been so much better. Kind of sad to think about actually.

 

[Herr Wozzeck]

I didn't much care for Prince Caspian; I thought it came across as more of a special effects showcase than anything else, and I really thought that it was a dull movie. Which is a shame, because that's about the point I got to with reading the Narnia series. (I didn't read anything from Dawn Treader to the end of the series, so...)

So I think I'll pass on this, thanks.

Besides, I'm still trying to go see Black Swan...

 

[PunkRex]

No "Ninjas... dam"? Dam you, we could of had an internet meme!

As for Narnia, I saw it yesterday and while visually pleasing, some of the characters really annoyed me. The final stand off at the end is very epic though.

In the case of the religious aspect, I quickly thought Alsan is God for both realities? Either that or as my friend joked afterwards, what he meant was:

Aslan: "You will know me in your world... as Liam Neeson."

Well yeah, who do you pray to?
By Neeson "Taken" rocked the hizzhey.

 

[snd_dsgnr]

I fail to see where it having Chrisian elements to it should be an issue at all. I find it kind of ironic that when something similar to this comes along with a focus on non-Christian religion or philsophy, or that is critical of christianity and/or organized religion in general it's presented as a good thing, but here it's not. I don't think you have to be a believer to appreciate the messages or the analogies, and really I find something rather disturbing with the implication that there is something wrong with being a believer.

Someone whips out "The Matrix", or movies based on "Journey To The West" which is heavily religious (involving gods and the like), and I notice people don't feel the need to make quite the same issue of it. To be honest I actually thought "The Matrix" had just as many analogies as Narnia did in it's own way.

I'm not going to shoot off a list of movies here, or anything, I just don't see why this even needs to come up as a major talking point in regards to the movie.

There's a pretty simple answer to this, namely that most of those other religions and/or philosophies don't have the same reputation for proselytizing that Christianity has. At least in this country anyway. So when a movie includes elements from a religion that the viewer isn't particularly familiar with, it can come across as something fresh and unique.

When it becomes an allegory for Christianity on the other hand, those of us that aren't in the flock are often reminded of the people knocking on our door handing out pamphlets. Or of the awkward conversations with believers at parties or at work. It becomes somehow intrusive, despite almost always being well intentioned.

 

[KefkaCultist]

I really liked the Narnia books even though I'm atheist and understood what they are, but I haven't seen a single one of the movies because I always assumed that they sucked (at least I was told that) but after your review I'm gonna have to check them out. Especially since now I know Simon Pegg is the voice Reepicheep

EDIT: Movie sucked?... damn

 

[Unesh52]

Warriors way sucked? But! but.... aw.......

 

[Vorocano]

For those confused about the book order, here's how it is. The comparison with the Star Wars preguels is pretty apt, but it bounces around a bit. Some collections order them in the order in which they were published, which is:
1)The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
2)Prince Caspian
3)Voyage of the Dawn Treader
4)The Silver Chair
5)The Horse and His Boy
6)The Magician's Nephew
7)The Last Battle.

Others arrange them chronologically, which would be:
1)The Magician's Nephew
2)The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
3)The Horse and His Boy
4)Prince Caspian
5)Voyage of the Dawn Treader
6)The Silver Chair
7)The Last Battle.

For me, I'm definitely going to see this one. A big part of it is nostalgia; I read and loved the Narnia books when I was a kid.

 

[AngelSword]

Oh, that fucking trite line isn't actually in "The Warrior's Way?" I might be able to watch it, then.

 

[Weaver]

BoB I just want to correct you on a small technicality:
Lewis was born a christian, converted to atheism in university and later in life became a christian once again.

Good to know my Philosophy minor actually has some kind of use

 

[kael013]

I fail to see where it having Chrisian elements to it should be an issue at all. I find it kind of ironic that when something similar to this comes along with a focus on non-Christian religion or philsophy, or that is critical of christianity and/or organized religion in general it's presented as a good thing, but here it's not. I don't think you have to be a believer to appreciate the messages or the analogies, and really I find something rather disturbing with the implication that there is something wrong with being a believer.

Someone whips out "The Matrix", or movies based on "Journey To The West" which is heavily religious (involving gods and the like), and I notice people don't feel the need to make quite the same issue of it. To be honest I actually thought "The Matrix" had just as many analogies as Narnia did in it's own way.

I'm not going to shoot off a list of movies here, or anything, I just don't see why this even needs to come up as a major talking point in regards to the movie.

I've noticed that too. For some reason the general public don't seem to make a big deal about movies that advocate a degree of animism (Avatar) or atheism (The Golden Compass). In fact, The Golden Compass is based off the first book of the series His Dark materials (which the author explained as being the antithesis to The Chronicles of Narnia) and in which[Spoiler/] the protagonists, who are kids like in tCoN, end the series by killing god [/Spoiler] and people are ok with that, but suddenly we get a film series with Christian undertones and people freaks out. I just don't understand it. I think that people are sensitive about belief and think it should stay private, so things like this upset them on a subconscious level,but that doesn't explain why it's mostly directed at Christian stuff.

Oh, and nice catch with The Matrix. The trilogy does have Gnostic Christian undertones mixed with Eastern philosophy, but most people I know have only noticed the Eastern philosophy part, so I think that's why it didn't get criticized.

 

[MasterRahl]

Man, I hate Narnia. Ok, with that out of the way.

Bob mentioned that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was the first one... it was publication wise, that's true, but it's not the first in the series. The Magician's Nephew was the first part of the story.

I guess he was just a weird guy.

 

[Semi-Human]

good review.

never been in to narnia to much or most fantasy movies are they seem mostly writen for kids or lack the writing or budget to make it worth while

to bad about "the warriors way" was excited about that one but kinda saw it coming. The way the ninjas just popped up in the trailer screamed bad quality to me

 

[Therumancer]

I fail to see where it having Chrisian elements to it should be an issue at all. I find it kind of ironic that when something similar to this comes along with a focus on non-Christian religion or philsophy,

In the case of the Narnia series it wouldn't really be a problem if it was only elements. Up until the Dawn Treader yeah, elements are all there is but afterwards the series takes a very steep dive into preachy territory (and also, by way of the Silver Chair, generally sucking). It's really quite hard to fully convey the problems in The Last Battle to someone who hasn't read it, and to anyone who has read it their impression of it is going to seriously colour their perceptions of the earlier books as they can now see what all those 'christian elements' were leading to. To describe the implications of that book as being unfortuante is a bit of an understatement, considering they include equating Islam to worshipping Satan and the way Susan is explicitly excluded from 'heaven' for the unforgiveable sin of prefering adult life to childhood.

.

I don't see how there is anything wrong with any religion having it's own standards on who comes to a good end, and who doesn't. In the end that's the basis of pretty much every religion out there.

As far as Islam being considered akin to Satanism by Christians, the same can be said in reverse. The same can ultimatly be said of pretty much every religion out there, even if they don't use Satan specifically.

The bottom line of a religion is that it's a path to salvation, which may or may not involve the intercession of a higher power (some Eastern philsophies take an approach involving ascension, or becoming your own god). The bottom line is that you follow that set of beliefs, or bad things happen. This could be anything from being stuck in a limbo-like plane of nothingness waiting for a divine being to take you (either to heaven or hell) which will never happen because there is no such being (a belief of Buddhism in brief), to being cast into some form of eternal torment, erased from existance entirely, or reincarnated as a lower form of life from which you must earn your way back up. The idea being that anyone who does not follow that path is by definition wrong, and going to suffer from it. Some religions are more aggressive in trying to benevolently save people though by spreading the word.

Christianity and Islam both take a tact that there is only one truth, and anything besides that truth is wrong. What's more there is a malicious force (The Devil) who tries to steer people away from that truth so they can suffer eternal torment. Any belief other than the one truth is the work of The Devil. As The Devil only needs to distract someone from The Truth to win, he doesn't nessicarly need to lead people into profaning the almighty or doing anything evil. If he can get people to follow other, benevolent seeming religions, or similar religions that have details wrong, he ALSO wins just as much if he turned you into a baby killer.

Viewed that way, it's just like any other religious or cultural story, that deals with the rewarding of those who kept the faith. You also see it in non-religious contexts with stories about people who say remain loyal to an old, missing ruler, despite the terrible cost of doing so, only to see it pay off in the end when he returns to power. Some versions of "Robin Hood" very much have that as a theme and depending on who is telling the story it can be taken as "good, clean English values, as opposed to French decadence".

-

At any rate on the subject of Narnia itself, I would point out that you may or may not be correct in what you think. Indeed the end of Narnia deals with those who remained loyal to Aslan travelling on to the true Narnia, where those who did not are banished, however at the same time also understand that it's revealed that everyone in the story is already dead EXCEPT for the one girl who wasn't there because she "no longer believed". Susan wasn't omitted for her beliefs, she's still alive!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Battle

 

[maninahat]

I wansn't so big on the first movie. I felt it was trying too hard to fit the Lord of the Rings epic mould (and failing). If I remember correctly, Aslan prior to the battle in the book said something like "Let us be quick to battle, so we can get home in time for tea!" That doesn't sit very well with the massive, serious 3rd act conflict they wanted for the movie.

I'm really worried about Magician's Nephew (if they get to do it). It was by far my favourite book (it sure as hell was the scariest), and if it is anything like what thy did withthe first movie, I don't expect them to capture the mood or spirit of the book at all.

 

[ucciolord1]

Hmm... I hated the other movies, but I might give this one a try, just for the experience. I have to read the books again, though. It's been like five years, which for me is a significant chunk of time.

 

[The Cheezy One]

Having faith makes the world far more interesting. Well, it's that, or trust in the idea that we are just insects on a ball of water and earth flying through space. Personally, I'd rather believe in a dude coming from above doing magic tricks

And at least Lewis doesn't get preachy. Even I don't like people that get too preachy

 

[BrunDeign]

The final Narnia movie will either be dumbed down to a really annoying level or it will be, like, PG-13. Seriously things get really creepy in that book.

 

[angel85]

I personally am an atheist, but I still love the Narnia movies, because I'm a fan of mythology, and I respect someone who has the guts to call the bible what it is, mythology. I had only one problem with Prince Caspian, at the end Aslan is offering the humans a chance to go back to their own world and time if they want, and a guy steps up with his wife and kid. Aslan tells them since they stepped up first their "lives will be good" and breathes pixie dust on them before they walk through the magical crack in the wall...what the hell?! Does that mean any of the people who were nervous and didn't step up right away, but still ultimately choose to go back to earth will have crappy lives? Dick move Aslan...