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December 12, 2005
Narnia Review
Went to see The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe on Friday. The theater was not overly crowded, which wasn't too surprising considering we'd received a couple inches of snow. I was actually glad for the lack of people, as a packed house is usually a noisy one.
So how was the movie?
I thought it was very well-done, but not perfect. I don't blame anyone for that - it's simply that the movie didn't match my imagination. Not that any movie could really capture what I felt upon first reading a book like C.S. Lewis' introduction to Narnia.
The best part of the movie was the casting. The children were all perfect, especially the actors playing Lucy and Edmund. Those were two very difficult roles and the child actors pulled it off well. Tilda Swinton has been widely praised for her portrayal of the White Witch, Jadis, and I'll just add to that chorus - she's outstanding in this role.
The character of Aslan was quite well done. Liam Neeson provided the perfect balance of kind but firm to the role, and I especially loved that the director and writers didn't try to fill one scene (between Aslan and Edmund) with dialogue, but allowed Lewis' vision of a conversation we weren't meant to hear.
There was some stuff I would have liked to see, but nothing in the movie I would have left out. Except, maybe, the end of Jadis' henchmen, which I don't think was meant to be as funny as it was.
The Christian message was evident to those who are familiar with the gospels, but not overpowering. The themes in Lewis' book were kept intact, for which I'm thankful. Overall, I'd recommend this movie and think it's going to make quite a bit of money, because it's appropriate for children (who will love it the most, I think) and entertaining for adults.
If you see it, stay for the credits to see a great scene between the professor and Lucy
Posted by slublog at December 12, 2005 12:00 AM
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Comments
I saw this yesterday with my twin boys (they will be nine tomorrow) and we were entranced. Wonderful acting, a story as simple or as complex as you let it be, spectacular special effects. Our budget does not allow us to own many DVD's, but this will be one of them. And yes, don't leave when the credits start to run.
Posted by: Old Coot at December 12, 2005 07:38 AM
Saw the movie - unfortunately we had no snow and so the theater was packed, forcing us to watch from the extreme left end of the first row.
Still glad we went; the movie was a faithful adaptation of the book, as far as I can recall (re-read it last fall).
My favorites were the talking animals (the fox reminded me a bit of the cat from Shrek 2), the armies (on both sides), and Father Christmas. Santa Klaus actually has potential to be a cool character in this kind of film if he's presented right (i.e. sidestep the "jolly", commercially promoted version).
Would have liked to have seen Susan's role a bit more fleshed out - yes that's how she was in the book but frankly I was hoping she could have done more with that bow than just plinking the dwarf lackey at the end; something more Legolas-like...
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