Exceeded my best hopes

Rating: 10/10 (10 December 2005)

Let's face it, we all have hopes and expectations about books that we read as children and young adults. A lot of times, you might feel disappointed and let down by such, or, in the case of "Starship Troopers" you might even feel betrayed by its translation. This is not going to be one of those movies! I watched it last night and I am still in awe of the magic that they pulled off.
For it was truly magical. I felt young again as I watched the interaction between the Pevensie children, especially in their games and politics. I felt that the casting was perfect, especially for Lucy. The teasing and betrayal of Lucy by her older brother Edmund seemed very realistic. The dismissal of Lucy's "fantasy" of finding Narnia within the wardrobe was played well by her older "boring" sister Susan. But when they all find their way into Narnia together, it is a magical moment. Another such moment is when they first lay their eyes upon Aslan the lion, played by the voice of Liam Neeson.
The development of the characters was well done as well, from Peter's lack of self-confidence to his early development as a leader of the army, to Edmund's growth from a bratty, betraying boy into his role as a noble prince and hero.
The special effects were wonderful. At first you are awed by the talking animals and incredible scenery, but as time goes on you forget that they are special effects and just accept them as characters in the movie. This is one of the first special-effects-laden movies that I have seen in the last couple of years, in which the producers and director understand that lots of special effects do not take the place of a good plot or good acting.
Seeing this movie for the first time strongly pointed out to me a lot of the Christian parallels that CS Lewis wrote in, that perhaps were not as easily seen on the surface of the story as written in the book. The simple view is that Aslan, an innocent, decides to sacrifice himself to save a person who is not innocent. But Aslan's interaction with the children, particularly when Lucy and Susan (paralleling Mary and Martha) accompany him on his journey towards his death, Aslan's treatment (being beaten, humiliated, and shorn of his mane) before his death, Lucy and Susan's actions after his death, and his resurrection were more clearly spelled out in the movie than in the book. The only thing that was different was that they didn't go into much depth as to *why* he was resurrected (deeper magic, the Emperor Over The Sea, etc.) I felt that that could have been explored and explained in more depth.
I sincerely hope that they decide to make all of the "Narnia" series into movies. Quite frankly, even though TLTWaTW is the most important book in the series, it is not my favorite by far. I look forward to seeing "The Magician's Nephew", "Voyage of the Dawn Treader" and "The Last Battle"! But if they release them one movie per year, it will be 2012 before the series is complete.
It's not as though he is a *tame* lion, after all.