Pretty good, minus the Passion of the Lion.

Rating: 6/10 (11 December 2005)

The Chronicles of Narnia - Based on the classic novel by CS Lewis. Four London children are sent to a professor (Jim Broadbent)s country home in order for protection during World War II. There they find a magic wardrobe which leads to a mystical land called Narnia, which is being ruled by an evil witch (Tilda Swinton). To defeat the Witch, they must join forces with Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson), the lion God of Narnia, and the great battle between good and evil.
Good things first. The film is well directed for the most part, though it could've been made more touching. It, in the wake of numerous Harry Potter films, Lord of the Rings, and a slew of mediocre epic wanna-bes, manages to keep the ideas of magic and grand scale battles interesting. The music and locales offer a different sort of character and charm from other movies. Swinton is drippingly evil as the Witch. Though she looks like Galadrial without eyebrows and dilated pupils, her character is radically different and deserves appreciation. The children are all earnest and cute and British, though they all have some points where I just wanted to reach into the screen and slap one or two of them. There are some adorable critters in the mix of everything. I loved the adorable little Beavers (voiced by Ray Winstone and Dawn French, one of my beloved British actresses) and the Fox (voiced by the charming Rupert Everett). Liam Neeson voices Aslan (Why is he always typecast as mentor figures?) with earnestly and authority. The final battle is pleasing to the eyes and the adrenaline of all, and manages to be satisfying in spite of it's PG rating. (On a minor note, why are all these experienced warriors so willing to be commanded by a couple of teen boys? Silly.)
Now on to the mediocre stuff. I found myself grimacing at the absurdity and spectacle of the sacrificing of Aslan. Really, what the hell is this? The Passion of the Lion? Disney already killed a Lion in one of their films, and they did it better that way. I haven't read the books, but I don't care if it IS in the book. The scene is just silly. I get the allegory. On the third hour the mice nibbled at the Lion's ropes, and he became alive again. Dumb. Another thing that concerns me, for a film that takes place during World War II and strives to show us the importance of sacrifice, Narnia is pretty lenient on letting ANYONE die unless they're bad. Good people don't die. And that's where the boys are separated from the men, and Lord of the Rings is placed a notch (well. several notches) above Narnia. War involves sacrifice. It involves pain, and Narnia glides over that like it's the glacier lake. Oh, and having a scene that shows Santa giving a 6 year old girl a dagger is just plain wrong. Excellent to take a child to, and alright for everyone else, Narnia gets a B.