Maybe the book was good but this is an awful movie

Rating: 1/10 (28 December 2005)

First, I would like to point out that this is not a critique of the book as as I am apparently one of the handful of people who have never read it. I was actually looking forward to watching Narnia as it was recommended to me by a few people. Also, knowing that WETA was on board gave me the impression that it was going to be a quality production. Unfortunately, this movie seemed to rely primarily on special effects as it fails terribly when it comes to acting, storytelling, and direction.
One big problem was that there was no epic scope conveyed at all and everything felt like it happened in a week once the kids passed into Narnia. I found it ridiculous that a land that had been suffering for a hundred years of oppression from a tyrannical witch (who is quite possibly the best thing about the movie) is saved by bickering siblings who had absolutely no idea how to use a weapon or run an army a few days earlier. Actually, I'm not really sure why they needed the kids in the first place. From what I saw, Aslan would have done a much better job leading the army and it was he who finally defeated the witch in the end. I hope the book does a much better job conveying the kids' importance to the plot as they seem to be more like tourists in this movie.
Pacing was another problem. Considering how long this movie ran, I was stunned at the lack of character development or substance in the plot. They could have probably cut the running time in half or less and delivered the same message. You never really know why the witch does what she does, where Aslan comes from, why the kids are so important, or anyone else for that matter. Everything just seems to happen because it was "prophesized" or just plain convenient. If this is how it is in the book and they wanted to remain faithful, that's fine, but it definitely makes for a very shallow and unsatisfying movie experience.
I wish I could say more positive things about this movie but nothing unsaid comes to mind. There are plenty of people who liked this movie more than I did and I wish I could say why that was. I actually thought about walking out of the theater at some point but kept telling myself that it was going to get better. Considering the large following that this book has, it either deserves much better treatment or it just does not translate very well to the big screen.