Had me sold until the battle scene...

Rating: 7/10 (11 December 2005)

I truly enjoyed Narnia for the first two hours of the movie. The casting of the children was perfect. The special effects, though spotty at times, were effective. I was drawn into the world of the book through the artistic medium of film. However, the illusion of belief was shattered during the final battle scene. In short, I thought I was looking at cut scenes from a new Xbox 360 game.
This would be fantastic if the scene was produced for a video game, but not for a big-budget holiday film. The polar bears dragging the ice queen's sleigh didn't look a far-cry (no pun intended) from the cgi Coca-Cola bears. Some scenes with the centaurs looked like a first-generation Xbox or PS2 title. Very young children will--most likely--not be distracted by these details. But everyone else, from teens to adults, will see it as a cheapening of the film.
Will I see it again? Most likely. Will I buy it on DVD? Probably not. I'm hoping that, if future films are produced in the series, the effects will be improved. The expectation of the average movie-goer has been raised dramatically (ala Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, etc.). If future Narnia movies do not meet (or raise) the bar previous films have set, they will not stand the test of time, nor the patience of the audience.