The voyage of the Dawn Treader

Today we went to see The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader which is (perhaps somewhat surprisingly) fairly faithful to the book. The film is in 3D which is a silly distraction: nothing is thereby gained. I took Miranda and her friend Kitty, who is her joint-best-friend, which often leads to problems when Miranda has to choose who to take somewhere: Kitty or Vivien? As it happens, V was out today or I would have taken all three.

The girls both enjoyed it, Kitty for the second time, and pronounced it as good as the first time. I too enjoyed it: it is simple and pleasant, good wins as you know it always will and no-one is cruel. The religious bit is very thin (Aslan at one point says "you will know me in your own world where I appear with a different name") and there is a teensy bit of comedy (when Caspian is bowled over by Ramandu's daughter, she offers to appear in a less distracting form, and he hastily says No!).

In some respects the film simplifies the book and is thereby less interesting (the slave traders on the Lone Island is very condensed; Deathwater Island is folded into the dragon's island) etc etc. The main gain is, I suppose, the exciting scene with the Sea Serpent, and the wave before Aslan's country is good. I spent some time trying to work out how real the ship was - it didn't really move through the water like a real sailing ship - but perhaps I was wasting my time: rather than being motorised it was more likely just CGI'd.

Sitting in the cinema for 2 hours was just what my body needed, since I'd just done my first 3/4 marathon from Coton, down the footpath, along the riverbank, and to Bottisham lock and back. A rather grey day and cold with it: my hands were chilly and I could have done with gloves. More, I could have done with some stronger legs: I was quite shattered by the end of it. For the first 21 k I kept the pace below 6:00; for the first 10 k, easily; for the second, with occasional lapses. Very slightly disappointingly my 1/2 marathon time was 2:03, but while I'd have liked to be under 2 the real purpose of this run wasn't speed, but distance. After that, the pace fell away somewhat: for the next 5, I held 7:00 (!) and after that I really didn't care, as long as I could just stop when it was all over. I ran with a water bottle (part of getting a cold hand) and left it where you cross the river in VIII's, at about 10 k, taking a little sip there; and so picked it up on the way back at about 21 k or whatever; I did need a drink at that point; and stopped at the Elizabeth way bridge to finish it. Probably I'd have been better off with an energy bar too or two: I was really very tired by the end. The other main problem was my calves, which hurt, but that was lesser. On the (very) plus side I finished; I didn't injure myself; my weight is back down to 73.1; and by now (the evening) I am up and about and moving if slightly slowly.

Refs

* Book review: the Voyage of the Dawn Treader