A great holiday movie, and an epic in its own right

Rating: 9/10 (10 December 2005)

FILM: THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE DISTRIBUTOR: Disney/WALDEN MEDIA DIRECTOR: ANDREW ADAMSON PRINCIPAL CAST: Georgie Henley, Skandar Keynes, William Mosely. Anna Popplewell, Tilda Swinton, Liam Neeson MPAA RATING: PG for Battle sequences and frightening moments RUNTIME:
Story: 4.5/5 Acting: 5/5 Sound: 5/5 Visuals: 4.5/5 Endorphin Factor: 4/5 Big Screen Experience: 5/5 Scoring system: Average: 4.6/5
MOVIES IT COULD BE COMPARED TO: Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Harry Potter films
DETAILS: So Thomas7g and I are talking, and we bring up the Yahoo IMVironment on chat for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. As we're talking, I tell him that although the first preview looked good, it really wasn't on my dradis for priority movies this holiday season. However, when I went to Narnia.com, and checked out the new trailer, my mind was immediately changed, and so off I went to take in what looked like a very promising movie.
I was not disappointed. The film really does stand out well, and even with only my vague memories of having read some of the C.S. Lewis classic (and seen the animated feature that was broadcast on CBS many years ago), I fully understood the story. The actors in the film were all perfectly cast, and played their roles to perfection. Liam Neeson, as the voice of Aslan, was easily recognizable.
The visual effects were damn good, but much of it could be easily discerned as CGI. The sound effects rocked, and I loved the soundtrack to this film. Might just have to pick it up.
There was an awful lot of crying in this movie...more than I remember seeing in previous incarnations.
There were good laughs, and much of them came from either the talking animals, or from Lucy, the youngest of the four siblings who is actually a little wise beyond her years.
The Witch, Jadis (Tilda Swenton) was ferocious in this movie. At first, when I saw her, I thought it was Alice Kriege (The Borg Queen from Star Trek: First Contact), but the accent told me otherwise. Nonetheless, Jadis was a bad ass...especially in battle.
Fantasy movies are really starting to see their heyday, with the overwhelming success of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and the Harry Potter movies. This film looks to continue that heyday with great success. In fact, it's actually made me get up the urge to give the LOTR movies another chance.
BOTTOM LINE: I'd still have to prefer the Harry Potter films over this, but The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe is a beautiful film in its own right, and will find its way into my DVD collection upon release.
Respectfully, Martok2112