Some journeys take us far from home. Some adventures lead us to our destiny.

Rating: 7/10 (28 December 2008)

Based on the classic novel by CS Lewis, four London children are sent to a professor's country home in order for protection during World War II. There they find a magic wardrobe which leads to a mystical land called Narnia, which is being ruled by an evil witch. To defeat the witch, they must join forces with Aslan, the lion God of Narnia.
I was slightly disappointed in what I saw of this film. It's good, yes, but it's not really all that fantastic, compared to the first films of "Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter." I think Lewis deserves better. However, it's good enough to start off a franchise (hopefully). In this first film of probably many, we're introduced to four children, all uniquely different in a good way. It feels like you would want to spend a whole movie with, which is the first thing one must do before making the movie.
The CGI effects were brilliant, along with the set designs, costumes, and action sequences. But no, this is not a rip-off of "Lord of the Rings" in any way, although it does in the trailer. Instead, the two films are completely different, both just seeming to have epic battle sequences, one which seems to have animals fighting. The magic is decent, I guess, although I hope they can expand a little more in the future.
I found the film quite good because of the allegory behind it. The film obviously touches on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, which is probably why this film was so successful during the winter season. Apart from that, I found the film quite long. The first act drags a bit and I thought they could've sped up the pace a lot better.
The performance by Anna Popplewell, the youngest of the bunch, is quite...annoying. She seems like a rip-off of the character Hermione in the "Harry Potter" series. Apart from that, everyone else was fine. The best character in here is Tilda Swinton because her character is vicuous. I mean really vicious. I think she ranks up as one of the best villains in movies.
I think the film is a decent start to the franchise. I hope the films would get better along the way, much like the "Harry Potter" films, as well as more magic that made people fall in love with "The Wizard of Oz." The look of the film is beautiful yes. It's a stunning achievement. Overall, it's a good film for the family, although it's a bit violent for a PG rating.