If you're a fan of the books, go see the film while it's in theaters!!!

Rating: 10/10 (25 December 2005)

Acting: Knowing that they spent several years looking for the right children for the main characters, it doesn't really come as a surprise that they're all amazing actors although in most of the cases if not all, this is the first thing they've ever done. Wonderful performances from all of them. As Lucy is the character that first leads us into Narnia though, it is the part they just had to get right for the movie to work. Georgie Henley does a great job of portraying the sense of magic this story is all about and you really see it in her eyes as she stumbles into the land of a 100 years of winter. All the voice actors also do truly remarkable things with their roles and Liam Neason did a surprisingly effective job with Aslan. It's a sad thing we never get to hear Brian Cox do the voice, but Neason is such a professional and as it turns out he is perfect for the role. I have to mention James Mcavoy as Tumnus also as he gives life to some of the most memorable scenes in the film. Tilda Swinton, doing the white witch Jadis as only she could have done, is now rightfully circling around in "for your consideration" ads. Give her an Oscar will you!?
Directing: SomehowAndrew Adamson was always the right way to go with this one as he's just as big a fan of the books as everyone reading this review. He really pulled it off, and made this into one of the best films of all time, one that will be remembered for years to come.
Digital Effects: I'm running out of superlatives here. This is some of the best, if not THE best work in visual effects history to this date. You just can't get a higher grade when you're making the audience watching the animals talk, not only believe that they're real, but also not thinking about that they're computer generated characters. This way, instead of concentrating on how lifelike the characters look, you can concentrate on what the character says and thus experience the full performance of the actor doing the voice. The voices, combined with the state of the art VFX makes these creatures, through the books already loved by hundreds of millions of people around the world, REALLY come to life. Watching Aslan walk among his people is like going to the Zoo looking at a real life animal. It looks that realistic. This is the movie upon people will be judging all future work done in visual effects.
Music: Being a fan of the 80's BBC TV series it made me a bit nervous the first time i was about to hear Harry Gregson Williams score. I mean, Geoffry Burgon's main theme for the TV series had since my childhood always been close to my heart. I was not to be disappointed though as the score for this film is so much more epic in scale than even Howard Shore's Lord of The Rings outings. It is every bit as magical as Narnia itself. This score shines in it's full glory in the most important of scenes. From entering the Wardrobe, meeting Tumnus and playing the Narnian lullaby to going into full battle with the white witch this is an epic score to be remembered. It is also already nominated for a golden globe together with one for best song.
Adaptation: The changes made for adapting the book into a film all come off natural and nothing ever seem out of place or order, they enhance the value of the film. The most notable scenes added being the conversation between Edmund and Tumnus in the dungeon and being attacked by Maugrim and friends on the frozen river. These are both so great and so well directed that they seem like they were written by the hand of C.S. Lewis himself. As for adding a touching opening of war-struck London and making the end battle longer and more exciting than in the book (and in your imagination) well that's something i think no one would argue with. Of course it had to be done. It is as natural as making the girls more active in the battle scenes. Some of the dialog in the scenes with Tumnus seemed a bit too modern the first time i saw it though, but i kind of liked it the second and third time i saw it.
Costumes: From the 40'ish clothes worn by the kids to all the armor worn i battle this film has it all. It really shows that they spent just as much time and effort on detail for this to come alive as they did in the lord of the rings productions. But it's done by the same people at Weta, so that is a given.
Makeup/Prosthetics: KNB FX? Ever ever heard of these guys? Of course you have, these guys are legends. The makeup and prosthetics for this film is every bit as groundbreaking as the visual effects. Howard and co. i know you wanted the centaurs in this film to be the centaurs upon all centaurs will be judged. Well you've done it! The same goes with all the other creatures.
End grade for this film is 10 out of 10 as it is the best film i have ever seen, and i would like to say that i hope the academy recognizes this as such, but as they generally go for drama in the best picture category it feels like kind of a stretch. However Return of the king got nominated and i think it's only true to say that The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe has every bit as much drama as that film.