Magnificent overall, left me waiting for the next movie.

Rating: 10/10 (9 December 2005)

This movie is excellent. The acting was perfect all around, even (and especially) from the young Lucy Pevensie (Georgie Henley). Tilda Swinton does an excellent job portraying the merciless witch and her passion for power. The scenery was very realistic and enthralling, as was the battle scene that was fast paced and exciting. The only thing about the scenery I found to be a little distracting was that the vast majority of the snow in the film was very obviously fake, but it is not as if they could have used real snow. The special effects and battle scenes were magnificent, very visual and satisfying. There were a few liberties taken throughout the movie, but they always worked out to be better than those scenes in the book (for instance, instead of the four children being chased into the wardrobe room by a Mrs. Macready who is giving a tour, they are running from a Mrs. Macready who is tracking them down to reprimand them for destroying a suit of armor with a stray Cricket ball). There were also liberties taken in the plot line (which I shall not give away) but they made for a smoother run of the plot as a whole, and did not stray far from the book. Actually, the movie was faithful to the storyline almost to the "T". There are a few scenes that could use a bit of introduction (such as the Hunting of the White Stag scene, where we suddenly discover the four children as kings and queens many years later, left to assume much, or the fact that they never say "Father Christmas"'s name, so one who has never read the book is hesitant to believe that he is Santa Claus), but the transitions overall were very good. All in all the movie came out strong and held to the plot very well, utilizing a perfect cast and excellent designers and direction. It left me waiting for the next movie.
Before you leave, make sure to wait about a minute for a short clip of the Professor discussing the wardrobe with Lucy.