When certain directors get attached to a big, high profile movie project very often there's reason to celebrate. Peter Jackson doing Lord Of The Rings, Christopher Nolan doing Batman, Zack Snyder doing Superman...these are things to get excited about. Of course, there's the reverse of that such as Michael Apted being given the directors chair. Apted is the acclaimed director of Coal Miner's Daughter and Gorillas In The Mist, but he's also responsible for a long list of duds like Extreme Measures, Blink, Enough, Enigma and the boring Bond epic The World Is Not Enough.
Wake me up when something interesting happens...that's the over riding feeling when watching the third Chronicles Of Narnia movie, Voyage Of The Dawn Treader. It's just a series of sea bound set pieces strung together by a slender plot about some sinister mist. The returning child cast are better than they've been before (perhaps that's Apted's influence as an actors director) but the remaining cast are dull including Simon Pegg's less memorable take on Mouse warrior Reepicheep (original voiced by the superior Eddie Izzard). Only new kid on the block Will Poulter, of Son Of Rambow fame, makes any impression with his strong story arc going from stroppy spoiled lad to enlightened Prince.
Several things bug about this instalment. It's noticeably shallower in terms of characterisation and action than the previous two movies and that's probably down to studio Twentieth Century Fox taking over from Disney. The effects are for the most part fine, but they have a habit of being too cluttered and messy...trying too hard to impress. Also, the Dragon design doesn't work at all and the effect itself reminds me of the recent Yogi Bear movie where the animated character doesn't blend in too well with it's surroundings.
Finally, Lian Neeson's Jesus Allegory Lion, Aslan, no long pretends to be an allegory of Christian belief, stating almost directly that he IS Jesus in our world when he's not hanging around in Narnia with a mane, which is a little creepy and uncomfortable (just as well the Pevensie siblings aren't Hindu or Muslims then...)
Not a major disappointment, I wasn't a huge fan of the first two movies anyway, but it's an obvious step down in terms of scale, story, quality and ambition.
