Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe

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Pretty good flick! It satisfied my thrist for adventure until Kong comes out!

The special effects for the creatures is pretty amazing! Especially, the centaur knights, minotaurs, and fauns!

Definitely worth the small fortune to see on the big screen with popcorn!!!

Anyone else see it?

 

Wow - that is the most positive review I have seen. Most of the other reviews I have seen are lukewarm at best. I'm going on Tuesday (a rare event - this will be my third movie of the year) but I'm not expecting much.

 

I'm going on Wednesday. I liked the books, and the film is meant to be very British and proper, which is always a plus.

 

It's got Disney on the cover. Which, for me, is never a good thing in the past 20 or so years.

A colleague really wants to see it, and has been trying to drag us all along, so I might give in to peer pressure and actually go see it this week.

 

Harbourboy wrote:

It may have been nostalgia having finally seen a favorite childhood book making it to the big screen, but I liked it. Sure, the kiddie stuff is a little sappy, but the superb creature effects made up for me.

 

I don't have high hopes as its made by Disney, and the woman 'White Witch' is far from beautiful, unlike the book suggests.

Still I will watch it tomorrow before making personal judgement.

 

I desperately want to see this movie, but dont think this will be as good as LoTR.

 

I'm with Cuchulainn on this one, it worries me that it's being made by disney. Tilda Swanton imho would have been more suited to the role of the empress in "The Magician's Nephew" than the witch in this movie.

I'll let my sister see it first and judge whether to see it after her review.

 

I went to see it last night and I have to say, it was a wee bit "childish". If there had not been the nostalgia value of seeing a treasured childhood book up on the screen, it would have been pretty lame. The characters were pretty weak and the plot pretty basic and linear. I think that it would be a fantastic film for 10 year olds, but without a great deal to offer to adults who have been spoilt in recent years with the Lord of the Rings movies.

I can't see how they could successfully make the rest of the books into films.

 

I thought the first half of the movie was pretty lame and childish, but from the battle scene on, it was pretty entertaining. Lucy (the little girl) and her scenes with Tumnus(sorry!) steal the show. Great entertainment for kids.

[ January 13, 2006, 21:52: Message edited by: Newfie ]

 

@Newfie - Thomas ?...who you have on mind?...

For me this film was a little disappointment. Visual side and effects are very nice, but acting is VERY poor, and the whole movie is too short and without depth. It was entertaining, yes, but didn't impress me much. That should be a movie you want to think about and maybe discuss after it's over, and sadly, it is not.

[Edit - thank you Newfie, but now my comment is a little senseless... ...of course Tumnus not Thomas...]

[ January 13, 2006, 21:40: Message edited by: Arendil ]

 

The joys of growing older!! One can be childish again.

News Flash

Narnia-the stories were children's stories.

The movie is a children's movie.

Don't expect adult depth or material. Was happy to find the movie true to the book at least as I remember it.

I loved the movie. Thought it was great. But then I was expecting a movie for children. I just went into my 6 yr old mind set and had fun.

I think the ice queen could have been better.

 

@Nakia - I don't know for others, but by lack of depth, I didn't mean "adult depth or material".
My first impression was that this is a trailer of real film. Everything that is important is there, but only touched, not properly executed. That's why I think it is too short - this movie could be much better with a little more time spent on some events, and more detail here and there.

 

Hokay, Arendil. What I might call more detail but remember the age group "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" was written for. Under 10 years of age.

When I was teaching I read it to the Lower Form, roughly 4 to 8 yrs old. I didn't even consider reading it to the Middle Form, 8 to 12. They could read it themselves if they wished.

It has been over 30 years since I read the book (many times) but as I remember the book didn't have a lot of 'depth' to it. Iirc Lewis explained more in the later books.

It did feel short to me but on the other hand I didn't fall asleep.

 

The books are fantastic for young kids and the film was really pitched at that same audience. It was just unfortunate that it did not work on multiple levels and have material to appeal to the adults who would have been attending with their children (compared to something like Toy Story which works for everyone).

 

For some reason I am not suprised that I agree with Harbourboy.

As said before I loved the movie but would I recomend it to the members of SP? No. If you have young children take them.

By the way, my cousin who is a little older than I am loved the movie, too. Except for the witch. She has never read the Narnia books but is a card carrying fantasy fan. She thought the graphics great and loved the creatures. Since she is also a dedicated smoker the movie was a good length for her.

 

And isn't the witch supposed to be stunningly and irresistibly beautiful?

 

I liked the movie, but I saw it with the "proper" mindset (it's a childrens' story/it's a Disney movie/it's not LoTR). My daughter (10 yr. old) enjoyed it, no surprise, and even my wife, who is a non-gamer said it was "good".

@Arendil
Just remember that the goal of movie-making (these days, anyway) is to sell the movie and make money. Thus you have to strike a balance between telling the story well enough to satisfy those "in the know", without losing the consumers who have no idea what Narnia is all about. Easy to do, I guess if you have Peter Jackson (LoTR), harder if you don't.

 

The witch was pure Disney sterotype. She certainly should have been more attractive.

 

I eventually ended up seeing it, and it's as Disneyish as I had expected. What I did find surprising is how Lord of the Ringish it is. The battle scene is exactly how I picture Return of the King would have been had it been produced by Disney.