Flawed Kid's Movie

Rating: 3/10 (24 March 2006)

'The Chronicles of Narnia' tells a rather straightforward fairy tale about a hidden magical land, where a group of children from war-ridden London experience a series of adventures. The story is very simple and should be very easy to follow for even smaller children. Older kids and adults might be easily bored by the overlong movie, however. Director Adamson, who previously made the rather entertaining Shrek movie, does a reasonable job making engaging CGI creatures, but does not really get adequate performances out of the child actors. He directs without much flair and his style is visually underwhelming. The editing also leaves a lot to be desired, pacing often slow and some scenes are awkwardly put together. The whole film has a rushed and unpolished feel to it as if made on a tight schedule. The CGI is not the best, but certainly adequate for this type of movie. Finally, the much talked about Christian aspects of 'Narnia' do feel a little clumsy, but they should not distract/offend people who do not like overtly religious topics in movies. I rate this film 3/10, the kids liked it slightly better but were also quite glad when it finally was over.