Peter Jackson watch your back

Rating: 9/10 (8 December 2005)

Straight away i've compared this film to Lord of the Rings which to be honest i probably shouldn't have done but there is no doubt about it that there are so many similarities between The Lion, the Witch and the wardrobe and Peter Jackson's Masterpiece trilogy that it would have been acknowledged eventually. A war raging in a world of magic and good vs evil that is inspired by a timeless novel, and filmed in New Zealand by a native director. It's too obvious for anyone not to compare. However, The Chronicles of Narnia should be given its own space in the world of cinema that will allow it to stand up against such a huge movie franchise such as Lord of the Rings because, put quite simply, its the most enchanting motion picture in years.
The story follows four siblings in their journey through a magical wardrobe and into the world of Narnia. Whilst there they learn of their destiny to lead an army against the evil White Witch who has kept Narnia in an endless Winter for 100 years. With guidance from the Lion messiah, Aslan, the four young heroes must find the strength to overcome the odds in the great battle of good vs evil.
Director Andrew Adamson has had great cinema success with his beloved Dreamworks creation of Shrek. But, this being first time behind a feature film, and a really big one at that, he had his work cut out for him immensely. Luckily he was clearly up for the challenge because with this spellbinding family epic Andrew Adamson has done the job perfectly. He made it so much better than i imagined it would be and the film genuinely has something for absolutely everybody's taste. As far as i'm concerned Adamson has himself a really good chance at an Academy Award because he has truly met the standard head on.
Visually, the film matches that of Harry Potter and all the special effect are so stunning and realistic that it will draw you into the magic even more.
The performances are excellent form the four leading youngsters and Tilda Swinton shows her evil side as the White Witch that could easily be her best spell yet. James McAvoy plays Mr. Tumnus with great emotion and captures the character on stunning form (I specifically felt a need to mention him because i think he's a brilliant actor and i'm an ever growing fan).
Its obvious that they would have had to cut some of it out from the original portrayal in the novel for various reasons. They kept the runtime to 2hrs 20mins and i, for one, am beyond impressed, nothing important was missed and everything was explained better than previous adaptations that i have seen of the novel. It was also good to see a film that didn't seem to last half as long as it did and that you didn't want to finish, the time went by quickly and i loved every single moment.
If you have any doubts about seeing this film for any reason, don't. Its a film for everybody that will capture and hold you until the very end.
From the beloved masterpiece by C.S Lewis another form of masterpiece has been created on the big screen, it is a must see and that is a fact that i must insist you pay attention to.
I know for a fact that Walden Media has optioned all seven of the Narnia books for film development and i really do hope that they make the rest of them because if they are half as good as this on screen then we will have a masterful saga.
If you really want to see a film thats worth yours family's money make it 'The Chronicles Of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the wardrobe'. You will not be disappointed.