One of my favourite movies of all time from one of my favourite books of all time

Rating: 8/10 (19 November 2011)

I will start off by saying that, while this is a very good movie, I do think that the next two are unfairly criticized for not following the source material as this one did. Now, I haven't seen "Dawn Treader" yet, but I should remind people that "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," is, in my opinion, the most famous Narnia tale of all the Narnia movies. For this reason, I think that the people behind the scenes had a bit more freedom with the second and third movies, while this one, they had to have it really close to the book in order for it to work the way it did. Don't get me wrong; it is good to follow the books. I'm just saying that "Prince Caspian" and "Dawn Treader" are not as famous as TLTWATW.
Now, onto this movie.
I'm really surprised that this only got a 6.9. This deserves a way higher rating. I won't go into too much details about the story, but for those who don't know, it's basically about 4 children who end up stumbling into a magical land via wardrobe, and find out about a prophecy that includes them in a huge way.
I can't emphasize how much I love this movie. I'm 18 years old, and as a Christian person, I instantly fell in love with this back when it came out in theatres. I wasn't worried about whether or not it would follow the book, and I'm glad I wasn't worried. This film delivers.
You could say that the special effects are amazing, but what really steals the show are the performances. Let's start out with the stars of the film: the four Pevensies. William Mosely definitely is the weakest, and is really the only reason why I gave it a 9 out of 10, but he is good. Anna Popplewell has that motherly look that you feel when she is on screen, which makes her perfect for Susan. Skandar Keynes is great as the mean little brat known as Edmund, who learns a "little" lesson as the film goes on. But, Georgie Henley is the star that shines the most. It is through her character that we see Narnia first, and when she's on screen, she gives the child-like energy to her performance that is needed for the character of Lucy.
Now, it's not all new faces here. The first movie star that we see is James McAvoy as the faun Tumnus, and he gives off a performance that will make children love Mr. Tumnus just as much as he seems to love them (as seen in his interaction with Lucy). Tilda Swinton gets the most screen time out of the heavyweights here, and she is chilling (no pun intended) in her performance as the White Witch. Fans of the Shrek series will recognize Rupert Everett's (aka Prince Charming) voice as the fox who appears throughout the movie. But, the most recognizable actor here is the voice of Liam Neeson as Aslan. I could listen to that man read a telephone book with that voice. He is among Morgan Freeman and James Earl Jones as to having a soothing voice, and he proves it with his performance of Aslan.
Overall, this is a film that should not be missed; it will please you whether you are old or young. The special effects are completely first class, the story is gripping and stays true to the book, and the actors all do their jobs well. A 9/10 for me.