Lord of the Rings Lite

Rating: 9/10 (9 December 2005)

I thought I would begin by getting the comparison to the blockbuster of the last few years out in the open. This film has much of the same magic, the same keen eye for details in a fantasy world, the same scope and majesty. It is just as good, and in some ways better. It clocks in at a much more manageable time, especially for those who got the extended cuts,and doesn't weigh in quite as heavily on the psyche. That said, this film was beautiful. Image after image, that was the word that continued to pop into my head. The special effects did their job beautifully and fleshed out one of the greatest fantasy worlds, even if the story wasn't well done, which it is, it was practically worth the price of admission just for the visual and audio feast. As far as the story goes, those who feared overt Christian allegory need fear no more. Yes, this is the Aslan from the books, who dies and comes back to life. Yes, much has been made of Aslan as a Christ figure. Yes, the comparison can be made in the film. But, there is no push to force the audience to see it that way. If you prefer taking Aslan's death and rebirth as exactly portrayed in the film, an aspect of the magic of Narnia, then there is nothing to impede you from doing so. And Aslan was beautiful, perhaps not quite as majestic as the filmmakers were hoping, but well done nevertheless. And the minotaurs were oh so cool. This was a good film that had only minor glitches that come from working with a very young cast and a huge amount of CGI. Definitely one to watch and keep an eye out for at the Oscars.