All in All it was a fun watch

Rating: 8/10 (6 January 2006)

For me it was fun and worth the money spent. Having just read all 7 books again (since I hadn't read them in at least 20 years) I was looking forward to this movie with some trepidation. After all Hollywood doesn't do well on book or comic to movie conversions ever.
It was fun, a little slow going at certain points, but fun all told and my fiancÃ© who had never read the books only had a few questions (which if they would have been more faithful to the books they wouldn't have been).
**SPOILERS**** The gratuitous bombing scene of England I personally didn't feel like it added anything to the movie (took away from the beginning quite a bit for me SLOW). The fact that they changed the why of how they all got into the wardrobe (cricket ball versus visitors/guests to the professors estate) worked better in my opinion as more believable for a reason to get kids to hide (and close the door) to the wardrobe. The fact that the professor hinted at the end of the movie that he knew where they had been was kind of a cheap way of saying that if this movie doesn't make enough in the theater's at least now we don't have to explain the entire 7 book series or make them (that's at least how I read into that). The kids actually don't find out until much later in the series about the professor and his involvement with Narnia.
I do agree with other posters that the magic of how the IceQueen got Edmond to follow her lead was lost and in so doing they wrecked his character a little and made it unbelievable that he could 'change sides'. Candy that was addictive and that would never allow you to be full no matter what you ate is a lot easier to swallow then what they did in the movie. I also agree that in cutting the frolicking that aslan did with the kids after he came back to life as well as the scene where they awoke the giant in the IceQueen's castle cut quite a bit of the magic of Narnia out of the movie. Jadia was described in the book as a 'giant' with enormous strength and this actress (forgot her name but other posters have posted it) didn't pull off the character in that regard, but did portray her cold ruthlessness rather well.
Maybe they were hoping that the simple fact that there were speaking animals would assuage the magic feeling for kids and there was no need to include on the simple character building that the books do. I hope they do better with Prince Caspian.