This is my first review on this site, but emboldened by the fact that no one has slipped their Narnia review in ahead of me I will proceed.
First of all, I should probably say that I was looking forward to this film more and more obsessively as the release date drew near, which on the one hand made me just the sort of viewer the film was meant to appeal to, and on the other made for astronomical expectations, sure to be disappointed.
For anyone expecting the same sort of breathless action and frequent violence that marked LOTR on the screen -- this is not the movie for you. This is most definitely a family film (although there are some moments during the scenes at the Stone Table that might be a bit intense for very young children). The main characters are children. There are some stirring battle sequences but no visible blood. The story is simpler and the moral issues even more obvious here than they are in Tolkien's writing. There is that pesky underpinning of religious symbolism. And yes, a certain gentleman associated with the North Pole does make a somewhat unlikely appearance. (But he was in the book too, and let there be no doubt at all that he is the genuine article -- Father Christmas and no mistake, not some glitzy Hollywood version of Santa Claus.)
When I first left the theater, it was with the impression that there was nothing I would have changed, except for the very small matter of the White Witch's hair color. Thinking about it afterward, it has occurred to me that there are a few other things that I wish had been done differently. But this is in contrast to LOTR, which as much as I loved those films (and my passion for those is virtually unhealthy), there were many, many things that I, personally, would have changed if Peter Jackson had possessed the great wisdom to run them past me before committing them to film.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the book by C. S. Lewis, the story is this:
The four Pevensie siblings (teenagers Peter and Susan, preteen Edmund, and moppet Lucy) are sent away from London, as part of that great exodus of children into the countryside during the Blitz. They find themselves exiled to the vast and gloomy manor house of the eccentric and reclusive Professor Kirke. As the Professor seems to devote most of his time and energies to that same matter of being quirky and reclusive, they are consigned to the tender mercies of his glacial housekeeper, Mrs. MacCreedy.
During a game of hide-and-seek, Lucy discovers the wardrobe, a large and ornate affair which (to those in the know) fairly exudes magical possibilities. She decides to hide inside, pushes through row upon row of hanging fur coats -- and emerges, unexpectedly, outdoors, in a snowy woodland, in the otherwordly realm of Narnia.
Unfortunately, as Lucy soon learns from a passing faun, Mr. Tumnus, Narnia is in the toils of a century-long winter induced by the fearsome White Witch, who makes it always winter but never Christmas. When Lucy returns, via the wardrobe, to her own world and time, she has to contend with the (hardly unexpected) disbelief of our older sister and brothers.
Eventually, of course, all four children end up in Narnia, where Edmund, the rebellious and troubled member of the family, falls to the seductions of the White Witch (she tempts him with magically created Turkish Delight), while stalwart Peter, motherly Susan, and plucky little Lucy join forces with the talking animals of Narnia, and go off in search of Aslan, the "the true King of Narnia," in the hope that he will help them to rescue their brother. Aslan turns out to be a magnificent and noble lion (voiced by Liam Neeson), and from the reactions of the children alone when they finally meet him, even the dimmest member of the audience ought to be able to surmise that he is also a great deal more than he appears.
That is the set-up and the first part of the story -- but how, you may be asking, does it all work as a movie?
Going by the reactions of a theater crammed full of parochial-school children (believe me, it was no part of my plan to see the movie under those conditions) it's a movie bound to appeal to kids between the ages of 8-12. Going by my own reaction, and that of my husband, there is plenty of appeal for older viewers as well.
Child-actors, of course, are always a risky proposition, and relatively inexperienced unknowns play the Pevensie children. But the two oldest were fine in their roles, and the two youngest, Skander Keynes as Edmund, and Georgie Henley as Lucy, were even better. Although it should perhaps be said that in the case of Miss Henley, it wouldn't have much mattered whether she could act or not, she was that adorable. She's not a conventionally pretty child, and if it were not for her luminous little personality some might even think her plain, but she projects a charm and presence that are absolutely winning. Her scenes with the goat-footed Mr. Tumnus (a perfectly cast James McAvoy), were particularly enchanting.
Tilda Swinton made a chillingly effective Jadis, the White Witch. Some of the voice actors behind the talking animals were exactly right -- a few ... well, their characters would have to come under the heading of things that I, in my incomparable wisdom, would have done differently. This was undoubtedly a matter of how they were directed to interpret the characters, however, and no reflection on the actual performers.
The sets, the costumes, everything that comprehends the overall look of the movie -- absolutely stunning. The special effects ranged from good to excellent (in the latter category I have to mention Mr. Tumnus again). I especially loved a scene where the children walked into the Narnian encampment and passed amidst the gorgeous pavilions and all the strange and wonderful creatures. I could go on and on about the things that made a big visual impression. The battle scenes, though bloodless, were exciting, and in places thrilling. (The White Witch came across as a particularly formidable fighter-- do not trifle with this woman.)
I give the movie a big thumbs up, but if you go be prepared to leave your cynicism behind -- it will only hamper your enjoyment.
First of all, I should probably say that I was looking forward to this film more and more obsessively as the release date drew near, which on the one hand made me just the sort of viewer the film was meant to appeal to, and on the other made for astronomical expectations, sure to be disappointed.
For anyone expecting the same sort of breathless action and frequent violence that marked LOTR on the screen -- this is not the movie for you. This is most definitely a family film (although there are some moments during the scenes at the Stone Table that might be a bit intense for very young children). The main characters are children. There are some stirring battle sequences but no visible blood. The story is simpler and the moral issues even more obvious here than they are in Tolkien's writing. There is that pesky underpinning of religious symbolism. And yes, a certain gentleman associated with the North Pole does make a somewhat unlikely appearance. (But he was in the book too, and let there be no doubt at all that he is the genuine article -- Father Christmas and no mistake, not some glitzy Hollywood version of Santa Claus.)
When I first left the theater, it was with the impression that there was nothing I would have changed, except for the very small matter of the White Witch's hair color. Thinking about it afterward, it has occurred to me that there are a few other things that I wish had been done differently. But this is in contrast to LOTR, which as much as I loved those films (and my passion for those is virtually unhealthy), there were many, many things that I, personally, would have changed if Peter Jackson had possessed the great wisdom to run them past me before committing them to film.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the book by C. S. Lewis, the story is this:
The four Pevensie siblings (teenagers Peter and Susan, preteen Edmund, and moppet Lucy) are sent away from London, as part of that great exodus of children into the countryside during the Blitz. They find themselves exiled to the vast and gloomy manor house of the eccentric and reclusive Professor Kirke. As the Professor seems to devote most of his time and energies to that same matter of being quirky and reclusive, they are consigned to the tender mercies of his glacial housekeeper, Mrs. MacCreedy.
During a game of hide-and-seek, Lucy discovers the wardrobe, a large and ornate affair which (to those in the know) fairly exudes magical possibilities. She decides to hide inside, pushes through row upon row of hanging fur coats -- and emerges, unexpectedly, outdoors, in a snowy woodland, in the otherwordly realm of Narnia.
Unfortunately, as Lucy soon learns from a passing faun, Mr. Tumnus, Narnia is in the toils of a century-long winter induced by the fearsome White Witch, who makes it always winter but never Christmas. When Lucy returns, via the wardrobe, to her own world and time, she has to contend with the (hardly unexpected) disbelief of our older sister and brothers.
Eventually, of course, all four children end up in Narnia, where Edmund, the rebellious and troubled member of the family, falls to the seductions of the White Witch (she tempts him with magically created Turkish Delight), while stalwart Peter, motherly Susan, and plucky little Lucy join forces with the talking animals of Narnia, and go off in search of Aslan, the "the true King of Narnia," in the hope that he will help them to rescue their brother. Aslan turns out to be a magnificent and noble lion (voiced by Liam Neeson), and from the reactions of the children alone when they finally meet him, even the dimmest member of the audience ought to be able to surmise that he is also a great deal more than he appears.
That is the set-up and the first part of the story -- but how, you may be asking, does it all work as a movie?
Going by the reactions of a theater crammed full of parochial-school children (believe me, it was no part of my plan to see the movie under those conditions) it's a movie bound to appeal to kids between the ages of 8-12. Going by my own reaction, and that of my husband, there is plenty of appeal for older viewers as well.
Child-actors, of course, are always a risky proposition, and relatively inexperienced unknowns play the Pevensie children. But the two oldest were fine in their roles, and the two youngest, Skander Keynes as Edmund, and Georgie Henley as Lucy, were even better. Although it should perhaps be said that in the case of Miss Henley, it wouldn't have much mattered whether she could act or not, she was that adorable. She's not a conventionally pretty child, and if it were not for her luminous little personality some might even think her plain, but she projects a charm and presence that are absolutely winning. Her scenes with the goat-footed Mr. Tumnus (a perfectly cast James McAvoy), were particularly enchanting.
Tilda Swinton made a chillingly effective Jadis, the White Witch. Some of the voice actors behind the talking animals were exactly right -- a few ... well, their characters would have to come under the heading of things that I, in my incomparable wisdom, would have done differently. This was undoubtedly a matter of how they were directed to interpret the characters, however, and no reflection on the actual performers.
The sets, the costumes, everything that comprehends the overall look of the movie -- absolutely stunning. The special effects ranged from good to excellent (in the latter category I have to mention Mr. Tumnus again). I especially loved a scene where the children walked into the Narnian encampment and passed amidst the gorgeous pavilions and all the strange and wonderful creatures. I could go on and on about the things that made a big visual impression. The battle scenes, though bloodless, were exciting, and in places thrilling. (The White Witch came across as a particularly formidable fighter-- do not trifle with this woman.)
I give the movie a big thumbs up, but if you go be prepared to leave your cynicism behind -- it will only hamper your enjoyment.
