Glossy Dross

Rating: Null/10 (6 April 2006)

I approached this film with an open mind. I had read the books as a kid and had seen the UK TV adaptation, but I was never what you would call a major fan. Narnia was never going to be sacred to me. After all, it's just stuff.
Even so, Disney's approach to this film grated. It starts of well enough, and I enjoyed some of the special effects in the exposition, but once we get to Narnia proper, it goes down hill rapidly.
In my view the film has poor pacing, relies too heavily on visual effects and has the kind of sickly sweet sentimentality that could give anyone diabetes. Frequently I was bored. Jim Broadbent did his stock eccentric professor performance. Ray Winston did his stock cockney sparrow performance. What was Tilda Swinton playing at? She is far more capable than her paint by number performance as the White Witch. And as for cute child performers
'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe' seems to veer wildly through its course; from trying to emulate all the better parts of Lord of the Rings in terms of scale and action, to desperately trying to distance itself in terms of plagiarised imagery. It fails on both counts. It kept reminding me of LOTR, and in doing so fails miserably as a comparison.
It was just so insipid and uninspired.
An overlong film with sloppy sentimentality, clumsily stitched to some big set pieces and liberally sprinkled with sugar.
On the positive side, the CGI lion was superb. Breath taking in fact! The scenery fantastic, and Judy McIntosh excels. Paramount fodder for young children, as it is intended I'm sure, but a real pain for accompanying parents.