Great C.S. Lewis adaptation

Rating: 10/10 (17 September 2007)

"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" is the long-awaited modern adaptation of C.S. Lewis' fantasy novel. Rumors of the film floated around for awhile, and no doubt the success of the "Lord of the Rings" movies encouraged this film's production. The BBC produced three Narnia films in the late 1980s and 1990 that captured the stories nicely, but were lacking in quality special effects. This adaptation captures the story nicely and has the special effects to match. With modern CGI effects the filmmakers are able to render the creatures of Narnia to be more believable than the people in suits of the BBC movies. The film captures the land of Narnia beautifully and has a great score to complement the scenery.
The casting choices for the film were appropriate. All of the child actors were believable, and so were the actors and actresses that played or voiced the creatures of Narnia. Liam Neeson is an apt choice to voice Aslan and brings the needed authority to the character. Tilda Swinton was also an excellent choice as the White Witch and is appropriately menacing in the role. I enjoyed Jim Broadbent's performance in his minor role as Professor Kirke.
The film is faithful to Lewis' novel and develops the material well. The film's battle scenes were well-staged and paced. The story developed here is not an epic of the same scale of the "Lord of the Rings" films, but is an exceptional fantasy story none the less. "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" nicely captures C.S. Lewis' novel and I await the next film in the chronicles, "Prince Caspian", with great anticipation.