The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader/Tron: Legacy

“Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” released in 2010, is either a forceful recovery of the film franchise based on the famous C.S. Lewis children’s novels about the realm of Narnia, or an entertaining and emotionally satisfying addition to “The Chronicles of Narnia.”

Roger Moore said in his review, “In the able care of veteran director Michael Apted, who has helmed films that won actors Oscars and been a steady hand on the tiller of many an action film, including a James Bond adventure, the series’ casting shortcomings and drifting storylines are less pronounced and we get an idea of how the whole of Lewis’ Christian allegory fantasy might have played out in better hands. If Apted and his ilk had made the films, they might have been a worthy challenger to the far more popular Harry Potter pictures.”

A couple of years after “Prince Caspian,” the younger two Pevensie kids, Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund (Skandar Keynes), are stuck in World War II Britain, having to deal with their spoiled intolerable cousin Eustace (Will Poulter). However, when Lucy notices that a painting in her room looks strangely “Narnian,” the water in the photo comes out and teleports three of them (including Eustace, constantly going “What rubbish”) into the deep, where they’re saved by Caspian, reprised by Ben Barnes, and crew on the good ship The Dawn Treader.

There are new threats to the kingdom, islands to go to, slave traders to fight off and a mission to be completed.

Faithful to the goal of the Christian supporter Lewis’ novels, there are lessons to be learned, many of them given by the courteous mouse, Reepicheep, voiced by Simon Pegg.

“We have nothing, if not belief,” he teaches Eustace, who thinks everyone is “barking Mad” over this island-visiting adventure.

The tests are about vanity, ego, faith and courage, and they figure in the lectures of the spirit Lord Aslan, the deconstructed incorrect lion voiced by Liam Neeson. Moore noted, “Sermons they are, but they go down much easier here than in special effects wizard and “Shrek” sequel director Andrew Adamson’s earlier inferior Narnia films.”

Moore continued, “The effects here don’t overwhelm the film, but the 3D is pointless and time and again, the producers’ tight-fistedness in spending money on actors shows through. Grizzled characters, including a Prospero-like wizard, come and go and leave no impression whatsoever.” Bringing in a few more recognizable and charming actors would have greatly improved this franchise from the beginning.

Moore said, “Nevertheless, Apted makes good use of those he has and gives this “Chronicle” an emotional resonance and lightness of touch that the films Disney made (Fox has taken over distribution of these Walden Media projects) lacked.” There are more novels to be adapted, depending on whether they will get around to it after this film was received. Also, the last moment here is so satisfying that recovery or as a final film, the Dawn Treader sets sail after a mission well worth taking.

Next up we get another 2010 sequel, “Tron: Legacy.” “I’ve been waiting a long time for this,” says Clu, the digital effects of Jeff Bridges’ Kevin Flynn, mirroring the thoughts of countless “Tron” fans all around. 28 years prior the original “Trong” was amazing 80s audiences with its ground breaking use of visual effects. Nearly three decades later, Joseph Kosinski’s “Tron: Legacy” is here to follow in the first one’s digital footsteps. Naomi Barnwell said in her review, “After surviving the gladiatorial battles inside the Master Control Program’s ‘Grid’, Bridges’ Flynn goes on to head the huge computer company ENCOM, achieving fame and fortune after creating games based on his time inside the digital world.”

After Flynn suddenly disappears, he leaves behind a resentful son in Sam, played by Garrett Hedlund, and a legacy covered in mystery. “Tron: Legacy” shows the 27-year-odl Sam, dodging away from the ENCOM empire his father created. When a message appears from thin air calling him to the world that stole his father’s attention, Sam sees he is taken into an unimaginable world where he must fight Clu, a digital copy of his own father, in order to escape. Fresh off of James Cameron’s visually amazing “Avatar,” the hugely anticipated “Tron: Legacy” takes the world of visual effects to a whole new level. The part a red-rimmed ‘Recognizer’ comes into vision, the audience is introduced to a threateningly dark, yet undeniably beautiful look of a utopian digital realm gone bad.

After three years of production and post production, “Tron: Legacy’s” clever use of the increasingly popular motion capture technology, mainly in producing films like “Avatar” and David Fincher’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” not only lets its cast to fully blend in with the world of The Grid but also looks to a rejuvenated Jeff Bridges appearing as Clu, naturally unharmed by aging, throughout the film. Even though at times it is obvious that Clu’s face has been digitally created and forced, its accomplishment should nevertheless be credited as it lets the story to move in ways that would never have been thought of a few years prior.

Barnwell said, “The set designs and costumes, although highly modernised, also hark back to original Tron, whilst the world of The Grid itself offers a modernised vision of the dystopian worlds imagined in Blade Runner (1982), Total Recall (1990) and the original Tron.” The film’s single style is further helped by its soundtrack, done by French electronic music duo Daft Punk, who looks like they were formed for this work alone. Improving the visual delight by giving a splendid soundscape, Daft Punk’s score embodies the exact presence of the world of “Tron” flawlessly.

With “Tron: Legacy,” first time director Joseph Kosinski has made a sequel that has really been worth the wait. Barnwell noted, “For an entire generation, Tron marked a new era in film technology and its baton has successfully been passed on to its spectacular sequel.” The only question now is whether there will be another thirty year wait for a third movie.

Tomorrow will be more great excitement to beware of in “Disney’s Live-Action Month.”