Reviews
The Daily Mail
Chris Tookey
“Though child-friendlier than the last few Harry Potter pictures, this is more than just a children’s film. The art direction, special effects and action sequences are all excellent, with one of the most convincing dragons and certainly the outstanding sea serpent in motion picture history. ”
09/12/2010
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The New York Times
Manohla Dargis
“It would help if a better balance were struck between the actors, most of whom could use a firmer hand, and the special effects. (This one comes in 3-D, a wasted effort.) Though there are times when the movie turns into a congested mess, as in a climactic battle that washes the screen in gray, there are moments when you also see a quieter, less industrial production.”
09/12/2010
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The Observer
Philip French
“The third and best film in this series of CS Lewis adaptations... Dante Spinotti's photography and the special effects are magical, and the 3D unobtrusive.”
12/12/2010
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The Daily Telegraph
David Gritten
“Inevitably in an effects-based action film, there are longueurs.Predictably, one’s 3D glasses feel redundant for much of the picture; scenes in which Eustace is transformed into a flying dragon are the major exception. Still, this represents an overall improvement in the troubled history of this franchise. It never quite becomes a movie to change anyone’s life - but it’s a solid, safe bet for family viewing over the holidays.”
09/12/2010
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Time Out
Wally Hammond
“It’s an episodic progression, richly, kinetically rendered by new director Michael Apted – but one lacking real momentum or, in its widened group of heroes, stable identification figures.”
08/12/2010
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Empire Magazine
Dan Jolin
“Another mixed Narnian offering which, while it doesn’t bust through the series’ three-star ceiling, at least gives us its best FX, biggest monsters and finest child actor yet.”
12/12/2010
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The Financial Times
Nigel Andrews
“Shut your ears to the dialogue, and the dinning of New Testament pedagoguery, and you might almost have a good time.”
08/12/2010
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The Sunday Times
Cosmo Landesman
“Although uninspired, it will probably push all the right buttons for younger viewers.”
12/12/2010
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Total Film
Matt Mueller
“Never thought we’d say it, but Voyage Of The Dawn Treader injects just enough oomph back into the limping kiddie-adventure franchise to make us almost wish for Narnia No. 4. Almost.”
03/12/2010
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The Guardian
Peter Bradshaw
“...a bit of damp squib. It's a good-looking film but can't quite live up to its terrific opening scene...”
09/12/2010
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The Independent
Anthony Quinn
“In truth, I found both the derring-do and its heroes – including a swashbuckling rodent – quite resistible; the Pevensie children are likeable enough, but Ben Barnes has all the charisma of a cheese straw and Liam Neeson's voicing of the godlike Aslan would convert you to Satan.”
10/12/2010
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The Times
Wendy Ide
“The screen adaptations of Lewis’s work are rudimentary, reducing the books’ complexities to a linear journey that culminates in a CGI-heavy battle. And the other issue, unfortunately, is the decision not to update and jazz up the material. The Pevensie children are creatures from another age, as alien to today’s young audiences as the centaurs and talking rodents that share their adventures.”
10/12/2010
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The Independent on Sunday
Nicholas Barber
“Instead of a battle between good and evil, then, what we get is an island-hopping cruise. And instead of using their own courage and ingenuity to find the swords, the heroes simply follow the directions they're given by various supernatural beings.”
12/12/2010
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