Good Effects, Boring Story, Preachy

Rating: 6/10 (10 December 2005)

I will admit I had never heard of "The Chronicles of Narnia" until I saw a preview for this movie. I had no idea that it was a series of books until a few months later, and with that said, I had no idea what to expect from this film. From the very beginning, I noticed that the movie seemed to borrow scenes from other films. When the children boarded the train and left for the countryside, it seemed very reminiscent of the train leaving for Hogwarts in the "Harry Potter" films. I know there are not too many ways to film a train leaving for the countryside, but it just seemed odd. The first hour of the film was good, especially pertaining to the development of the character Lucy. Lucy is by far the most interesting human character in the film, which is not saying much. Her siblings have rather flat personalities, and there is not much depth to them at all. Once the movie ventures into the land of Narnia, things begin to slowly progress downward. I was never blown away by the land of Narnia, the scope just did not awe me as Middle Earth in "Lord of the Rings" had. The White Witch is a decent enough villain, but her dialog is a bit spotty in parts, but that's tolerable for fantasy villains. The story is one of a prophecy being fulfilled, how original, and we learn this from two talking beavers. The movie cannot seem to decide if it wants to be a children's fantasy movie or an epic, and this hurts the film. The effects are hit and miss, but Asylin the lion looked absolutely stunning. The other animals were done fairly well, but some of the various mythological figures were not so good. I hate to break the news, but C.S. Lewis is not a creative writing genius. He just took the life of Jesus and put into the realm of fantasy, and I do not see the originality in that. The scene where Asylin is brought to the stone table, which is the Narnia form of a crucifixion, is way too much like the "The Passion of the Christ" but with animals and fantasy creatures as the stand in's for humans. And guess what? Asylin comes back to life after being sacrificed, at that point, I proceeded to yell "Jesus Christ" and got a few laughs. The morals in the movie are very disturbing, especially when Asylin pretty much orders Peter to kill a wolf, and Peter never even offered the Wolf a chance to surrender. Overall, I never really connected or bonded with the characters and the story is very lacking in excitement and originality. I do not mind a movie with a message, or even a Christian one for that matter, but when you take a line directly out of the Bible, when Asylin says "It is finished", you are now pretty much making a propaganda film. The film was watchable, but it will not become an instant classic for me. I will stick to "Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter" for my British fantasy fixes.