I'm A Christian, and I Still Didn't Like It

Rating: 1/10 (15 December 2005)

So disappointing! I read this book as a child and I cherished every word of it. But the movie misses totally the magic that C.S. Lewis had in mind. There are a couple of nice touches at the beginning -- the eye opening shots of German bombers approaching the city, and the photograph of the father that Edmund tries to preserve. And a great song from the period, "Oh! Johnny" just as the magic is starting up.
But the film makers just have no stomach for a real story arc for Edmund. They miss the central theme of sin and redemption. How can you have him saved if he can't be dark and nasty at the beginning? I can't believe how wimpy the film is, almost white washing Edmund, like he is in the wrong place at the wrong time, it's not his fault, and so forth. The Turkish Delight scene falls flat -- no sense of temptation, addiction, compulsion, just Edmund sort of flirting with a nice looking lady and walking off on his own power. And so many silly and pointless touches, like the dwarf jumping him with a knife, like a teen age delinquent in a James Dean movie! Now I want to say there are some nice performances -- Georgie Hensley is PERFECT as Lucy -- her reactions are always breath taking and magical. I wish I could see the movie she was "reacting" to -- you have to hand it to her for her innocence and freshness. And she and James McAvoy have totally natural chemistry -- the only thing the movie got right. And the young girl who plays Susan is perfectly cast, and going to be a real beauty in a couple of years. It's a shame the script makes her look like more of a whiner than Edmund! Whose bright idea was that? But all of that pales into insignificance compared to the bad battle scenes. My gosh, I have never seen a battle scene I didn't like -- till today. I can't believe how BORING this battle is. No sense of plans, or courage, or even coherent objectives. Animals we don't know running around in circles, fighting generic looking creepy crawlies, while the White Witch pouts and poses like a high fashion model! (You know it's bad when she's hotter than the battle raging all around her.) I thought Tilda Swinton made a lovely White Witch -- but she's badly lit in a lot of key scenes and seems pointlessly silly at times. ("Do you know what -- he betrayed you! For sweeties!") All in all, this movie just wanders around, as if afraid to come down to brass tacks on who these children really are, and what they really suffer and what they learn.
If there was a Christian agenda, it was bungled so badly that no one should be offended. And maybe that was just the point!