6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.9 |
Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, along with their cousin Eustace, are swallowed into a painting and transported back to Narnia and the magnificent ship The Dawn Treader. They join King Caspian and a warrior mouse named Reepicheep for a mission which holds the fate of Narnia itself. The courageous voyagers overcome their own greatest temptations, as they travel to mysterious islands; have fateful confrontations with magical creatures and sinister enemies; and reunite with their friend and protector, the "Great Lion" Aslan.
Starring: Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, Ben Barnes, Will Poulter, Gary SweetAdventure | 100% |
Family | 81% |
Fantasy | 74% |
Epic | 22% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
BDInfo
English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
Digital copy (on disc)
DVD copy
BD-Live
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
The Chronicles of Narnia film series has always been viewed as Lord of the Rings lite—that is, epic fantasy in a more kid-friendly dosage—and fans of C.S. Lewis’ adventurous allegorical novels have been decidedly divided on the semi-faithful book-to-screen adaptations. The films’ defenders are sometimes, well, defensive—“Hey, at least they didn’t reset the stories in Los Angeles and cast them with American kids,” is a line I’ve often heard—and the detractors tend to point out how glossy and lightweight the movies feel, and how far removed they are from the quiet magic, wonder, and majesty of Lewis’ novels. Both have valid arguments. The films are admittedly fun diversions and they could be far, far worse, but they pale in comparison to the best contemporary fantasy movies—the Harry Potter franchise, say—and they seem too plasticky and over-processed for a series of books that sprung from the musty, mouldy English countryside. (Which is why I’ve always preferred the creaky low-budget live-action BBC adaptations from the 1980s.) For this third entry, Voyage of the Dawn Treader, a splash of diet Pirates of the Caribbean has been added to the mix as well, but the film seems less waterborne than watered down.
Eustace Scrubb, reformed brat.
Ever since fans noticed that Dawn Treader was advertised to have a 1.78:1 framed image on Blu-ray—instead of the "Scope" 2.39:1 ratio
with which it was exhibited in theaters—there's been a lot of heated internet speculation about the film's 1080p/AVC encode. Some were espousing a
worst-case scenario—that the sides of the picture had been unceremoniously lopped off, harkening back to the dark pan 'n' scan days of yore.
Fortunately, that doesn't seem to be the situation. I've taken several screengrabs from the Scope theatrical trailer included on the disc, and when
you compare them to the shots from the 1.78:1 film you can immediately see that no cropping has occurred. Rather, what we have here is another
Avatar scenario, where the film was shot in 1.78:1, printed in Scope at 2.39:1 for its 35mm theatrical showings, and then re-opened up for
Blu-ray. The key
reason for this, from James Cameron's perspective, was to make the most use of available screen real estate, and I'm assuming this is also the intent
of Dawn Treader's Blu-ray producers. If you take a look at the 19th and 20th screenshots in this review—the first from the film, the second
from the trailer—you can make your own comparison.
Now that we've got that aspect ratio business out of the way, on to the real concern—how well the movie makes the transition to Blu-ray in all other
regards. As I mentioned in the review above, Dawn Treader was shot digitally instead of on Super-35mm like its predecessors, and this has
led to an image that lacks some of the lushness and vibrancy we've come to expect from the Narnia series. Film, by its very nature, tends to
poeticize an image, whereas the Sony CineAlta digital cameras used to shoot Dawn Treader produce a "realer" picture that just doesn't seem
to fit with the movie's fantasy theme. (This, of course, is my opinion; you may feel differently.) That said, judged on its own merits and taking into
account the way the film was shot, this is a strong, accurate encode that excels in clarity. The texture of Edmund's leather belt and breastplate stand
out clearly, fine facial features are easily discernable, and the fur, skin, and scales of the various CGI creatures looks more than adequately crisp. No
complaints here. Color is also largely well represented, although you may notice that the screenshot from the trailer has vibrant, stylized colors, while
it appears that the filmmakers decided to go for a more natural palette for the finished product. This is a choice, like any other, and while I may prefer
the more pumped-up hues of the trailer—which do give the film a more appropriate "fantasy" look—I'm certainly not going to dock the PQ score based
on my preference. However, there are a few bright daylight scenes when colors do seem slightly washed out—as if overexposed—and not
quite as dense as they could/should be. Contrast is also a bit on the weak side, although black levels are more than suitably inky. I can also say that
there are no significant encode issues—no overt banding, blocking, etc.—and that digital noise is kept to an absolute minimum. I like the look of the
first two Narnia movies a lot better, but given the circumstances of Dawn Treader's lower budget and all-digital production, the film
makes a fairly strong showing on Blu-ray.
Voyage of the Dawn Treader featured a 7.1 surround mix in theaters, but on Blu-ray 20th Century Fox has—for reasons unknown—stuck with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Granted, the percentage of viewers who have 7.1 home theater set-ups is probably a small slice of the film's potential audience, but if you have a ready-made 7.1 mix, why not use it? Still, I don't feel too cheated; two missing channels aside, this is a strong and almost constantly active lossless audio track, one that—cranked loud enough—will certainly put your speakers through the paces. From the start we get WWII-era Spitfires roaring through the rear channels, rushing, gurgling water filling the surrounds during the painting-come-to-life scene, and enough windy, oceanic ambience to convince you that you're at the beach. From here, the sonic insanity only escalates; one-footed Dufflepuds hop around us, their voices circling ominously; storms rage on the open seas, sending rain and spray in every direction; the dragon fight is filled with zipping, cross-channel arrows, leathery fluttering wings, and gut-throbbing LFE undertones. It all sounds wonderful, with rock-solid low-end response, punchy engagement, and clarity throughout the dynamic range. David Arnold's score has similar presence— and sets an appropriately adventurous tone—and the dialogue crests cleanly over these wild aural waves, always clean and intelligible. Even without the extra surround channels, I'm tempted to give this track full marks.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader doesn't come with quite as many substantive extras as the previous Narnia releases, but along
with a thoughtful audio commentary, you'll find numerous short featurettes that are worth plowing through at least once. The "Explore" sections are
short clips about each location, and the "Discovery" pieces are brief introductions to the various characters/monsters. There are also a few "making-of"
style shorts, visual FX dissections, and interviews with filmmakers and stars. A quick aside about the organization of the bonus features: the "extras"
tab on the menu leads to a sub-menu where you'll find a nautical map illustrated with five islands and an icon for the Dawn Treader. Clicking these will
take you to additional menus where you can access the individual features. It's a bit more trouble than it's worth, especially if you're hunting for a
specific featurette, but it's fairly intuitive to navigate.
Goldwater Island
Obviously, Narnia completists will want to add Voyage of the Dawn Treader to their collections, but the average viewer may want to think twice. This is the weakest entry in the series, in my opinion; its story is more diffuse and it even looks cheaper than its lavish predecessors, which were shot on film rather than digital. Still, considering the circumstances, Dawn Treader makes a fairly strong audio/video showing on Blu- ray, and it comes with enough special features to keep fans occupied for at least an hour or two—more if you include the audio commentary. As I always say with potentially divisive releases, a try-before-you-buy rental might be the best course of action.
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