disappointed

Rating: 5/10 (23 December 2005)

As a lifelong Narnia fan, I had high hopes for this movie, which were unfortunately not met. There were moments that really hit spot on--I liked the explanatory Blitz scene (even though it wasn't in the books, I think today's children needed it); getting picked up by McCready; Tumnus' cave and his piping;the powerful Stone Table scene, even the casting of the Pevensie children.
However, why add the waterfall/ice floe scene? It broke the mood, as all I could think of was hypothermia and implausability. Was this 'improvement' really needed? Why the repeated slamming of Susan for being so smart and logical, by both Peter and the Professor? Why adding Decalogue (the Beavers sniping at each other, Susan as above, the Fox) that wasn't very effective, when there was *good* Decalogue in the book that didn't get included? Why the generic New-agey music that fails to evoke emotion--even Aslan's re-appearance was utterly untriumphal! There could have been much better music (New Agey, Christian, whatever...just better) And also, why the weird blotting out of Peter's unicorn's genitals--not that Iwould have looked had there not been a strange dark triangle that attracted my eyes when it reared (and why not make the horn indigo, a detail repeated in at least 2 of the Narnia chronicles?).
I understand that film is a different medium than literature--but there are successful adaptations, and I really can't consider this one. My mother refused to see TLOTR because she was afraid the movie would replace her own imaginings of what Middle Earth was like; I told her that would be no problem should she see Narnia.