We're not heroes - we're from Finchley!

Rating: 10/10 (21 December 2005)

This is a wonderful film for the entire family. The effects are staggering, and the story is faithful to the original story - The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
Two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve C.S. Lewis was a great storyteller and a great theologian. He was able to weave together elements from fairly orthodox Christian belief into metaphoric stories that show a classic battle between good and evil in ways that transcend the purely Christian context. Elements such as the innocence and wonderment expressed by children, the power of nature and natural elements, the struggle between good and bad - these are things that have been shown in mythological and cultural stories from the most ancient of times up to the modern day television serials. They are brought to a strong pitch here in this film, hopefully the first of several installments of the rest of the Chronicles of Narnia.
One needn't be Christian to enjoy these tales, nor must one subscribe to any particular theology to find them accessible - this really isn't evangelism as it is known via 'televangelism' today.
The director Andrew Adamson and writers Ann Peacock, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely worked with the estate of C.S. Lewis to strive to remain faithful to Lewis' original vision in terms of story and characters, but also to allow for the developments of technological expression that permit fuller visualisation than Lewis could give. This also occurs in the acting - the four leading roles of children are played by relative newcomers: Georgie Henley plays Lucy, Skandar Keynes plays Edmund, William Moseley plays Peter, and Anna Popplewell plays Susan - the four Pevensie children exiled from London during the war, thrust into an austere and severe household in the country that is full of real-life mystery apart from the wardrobe that holds the portal to Narnia. The film is very faithful to the spirit of Lewis' work, as well as much of the detail of the stories. This makes this a good companion to encourage reading.
Narnia is presented not as a fantasy or dream (a la Peter Pan or Wizard of Oz), but rather as a real place; comparisons will be made with the Lord of the Rings trilogy in many respects (including the incredible scenery from New Zealand mountainous regions), but one primary difference here is that the connection to the real world here is very real indeed. The White Witch, portrayed by Tilda Swinton, is played in a very realistic way - she represents what children fear the most, not as much bloody violence and evil as much as a cold detachment and lack of caring and compassion (something that children in all eras find frightening). Just as the place is real, the children are real, and the situations in the real world are just as harrowing as those in Narnia. However, in Narnia (unlike the real world) it is the children who have the real power.
The CGI effects are astounding, but the voices bring the real life to the characters. Actors such as Liam Neeson (Aslan), Rupert Everett (Fox) and Dawn French (Mrs. Beaver) add their unique personalities to the characterisations of the animal roles. Things are done in a truly wonderful way.
This is a film for all ages, and all sorts of people who love a good story.