The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - Blu-ray Review

4.5 Stars (out of 5)

Synopsis

With their dour, bookish cousin Eustace (Will Poulter) in tow, the youngest Pevensie offspring -- Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund (Skandar Keynes) -- take an unexpected trip back to Narnia and join noble King Caspian (Ben Barnes) for an epic high-seas adventure. Setting sail aboard the Dawn Treader, the young heroes head for the end of the world, determined to rescue seven once-powerful lords banished by Caspian's evil uncle. (Buy Now $22.99)

Starring:

Will Poulter, Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Ben Barnes, Gary Sweet, Terry Norris, Bruce Spence, Liam Neeson, Tilda Swinton, Simon Pegg

Director:

Michael Apted

Blu-ray Release Date:

April 8, 2011

Subtitles:

English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese

Rating

Overall rating weighted as follows:
Audio 40%, Video 40%, Special Features 20%, Movie - its just our opinion so take it with a grain of salt

Audio 4.6 Stars (out of 5)

Dolby and DTS Demo Discs used as basis for comparison
●        Subwoofer - 4.0 Stars
●        Dialog - 5.0 Stars
●        Surround Effects - 5.0 Stars
●        Dynamic Range - 4.5 Stars

English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1, Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1

This Blu-ray's DTS-HD Master Audio presentation has a lot to offer. Ambient sounds are always present, fill the room and rear speakers. Waves crashing against the ship, one-footed Dufflepuds hopping around the room, wood creaking of the Dawn Treader, rain storms, and flying dragons all sound great and help bring the fantasy world of Narnia right into your home. If I had to make one gripe I would have to say that the bass seems a little muted compared to the rest of the mix. However, I have noticed that on some family films this seems to be the norm, maybe it's done this way to stop the kids from getting scared.

Video  4.7 Stars (out of 5)

Spears & Munsil Benchmark Blu-ray Edition used as basis for comparison
●        Color Accuracy  - 4.0 Stars
●        Shadow detail - 4.5 Stars
●        Clarity - 5.0 Stars
●        Skin tones - 5.0 Stars
●        Compression - 5.0 Stars

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC, Resolution: 1080p, Aspect ratio: 1.78:1, Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1

This films budget was lower than the first two Narnia movies. However, the special effects and clarity of the film show no signs of cheapness. Clothing textures, dragon scales, waves in the dark ocean water all show in great detail and color. Some the scenes in the daylight are a little washed out, compared to the rest of the film. Dark scenes and shadows all have display perfectly without signs of blocking or color loss. Skin tones are of the young actors show with detail and have lifelike colors.

Bonus Features 4.0 Stars (out of 5)

●        Goldwater Island
○        Explore Goldwater Island (1080p, 00:50)
○        Dragon Discovery (1080p, 00:56)
○        Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:12)
●        Lone Islands
○        Explore Narrowhaven (1080p, 00:42)
○        Minotaur Discovery (1080p, 00:51)
○        Deleted Scenes (1080p, 4:27): 4 deleted scenes.
○        The Epic Continues (1080p, 2:15): Cast discusses film.
●        Magician's Island
○        Explore Magician's Island (1080p, 00:42)
○        Dufflepud Discovery (1080p, 1:01)
○        Commentary by Director and Producer
●        Dawn Treader
○        King Caspian's Guide to the Dawn Treader (1080p, 4:13): Tour of the ship.
○        The Secret Islands: Untold Adventures of the Dawn Treader (1080p, 7:20): An animated featurette.
○        In Character with Liam Neeson (SD, 5:06): Neeson talks about  voicing Aslan.
○        In Character with Georgie Henley and Will Poulter (SD, 5:20):
○        Direct Effect: Michael Apted (SD, 6:27):.
○        Making a Scene (SD, 9:11): A featurette about the transition-to-Narnia scene.
●        The Dark Island
○        Explore the Dark Island (1080p, 00:57)
○        White Witch Discovery (1080p, 00:36)
○        Serpent Discovery (1080p, 00:42)
○        Portal to Narnia: A Painting Comes to Life (1080p, 7:22): Visual FX short.
○        Good vs. Evil: Battle on the Sea (1080p, 10:55): Filming of the sea battle.
●        Ramandu's Island
○        Explore Ramandu's Island (1080p, 00:59)
○        Reepicheep Discovery (1080p, 1:10)
○        Aslan Discovery (1080p, 1:02)
○        Liliandil Discovery (1080p, 00:52)
○        Search for the Seven Swords Match Game (1080p
○        VFX Progression (1080p, 13:00): Visual effects breakdowns, with optional commentary.
●        BD-Live Exclusives
○        Enchanted Tour of the Narnia Islands (720p, 4:24): A quick tour of the locales featured in the film.
○        Return to Magic (720p, 4:33): Promo of the film.

Movie - 3.5 Stars (out of 5)

Review

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a good family movie. It has everything, talking animals, sword fights, dragons, magic, religious symbolism, and (of course) an important lesson. However, this movie does not match up to the 2 previous trips to Narnia. If you like Lord of the Rings, but your kids are a little scared of it, the Narnia series is for you. The movies have good messages without being too preachy, and are light enough younger audiences to watch without the nightmares. However, this film is a little too light, and the scenes that could have been more impactful and hefty weren't, and made the movie feel hallow less heartfelt than it should have been.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is not a bad movie. However, given its source of the long loved L.S. Lewis novels, it could have been epic. Even though it follows the book note for note, it somehow lacks the heart and the character connection that drives the story. As movie goers, the bar for family films has raised. They have to be funny like Shrek, heartwarming like Toy Story, or a spectacle like Harry Potter. The Narnia series can not compete with its competition, and I'm sad to say this might be our last trip to Narnia.