quite a disappointment

Rating: 4/10 (24 December 2005)

This comment is meant for those who are mislead by the highly overrated score on IMDb and perhaps expect too much of this movie.
Having read a review that wasn't too enthusiastic about it, I went to see the film yesterday without any high expectations, by which I usually enjoy it more. Putting my brain at rest and eyes focused on pure enjoyment and entertainment, I was at least hoping that it could carry me away into this magic world of Narnia. However it didn't.
Regarding the history of the movie I couldn't help comparing it often with Lord of the Rings. Yet, everything that made LOTR so great, seemed to be lacking here, even if this story was probably meant for a much younger audience. The lack of tempo made it even boring at occasions. It took the children (or the movie) way too long to enter Narnia. Once there, the slow pace just went on, wasting time on silly and meaningless dialogs instead of explaining and revealing more of the history and background of this world. Santa??? The 4 children had to carry this film throughout the end but their wooden performances didn't succeed in this at any time. Not a bad word on the witch though, Tilda Swinton did a pretty good job. Together with Oreius they were the only two characters that stood above the ground.
About the credibility and predictability of the movie. There wasn't one moment where I thought something bad was about to happen, not the slightest sense of a threatening atmosphere at all. At a certain moment it even became funny or absurd (like telling such a bad joke you eventually have to laugh about it). I often call it 'Arnold Schwarzenegger'-humor. 'Are you with me' Peter asks Oreius. 'Till death' he answers. Sorry, but those lines just don't work if there's no bond or connection between the characters. We've seen them what, 5 or 10 seconds together? Enough said, I just don't agree with the general opinion about this movie and I usually do. Just to compare, this comes from sb who adored LOTR, enjoyed the 1st and liked the 3rd and 4th Harry Potter movies.