A Rather Unenchanted Magical World: Embark Upon A Pacier Adventure Somewhere Else.

Rating: 4/10 (6 February 2006)

Oh, the disappointment! To walk into the cinema expecting something with the verve of Lord of the Rings, or at least with a comparably good mise-en-scene, and instead to be treated to this lacklustre matinée! The film's greatest flaw is its laboured pace: the fault of casting on the basis of looks, poor acting direction, and flabby dialogue editing.
The young actress Georgie Henley (Lucy) really shines, but her three siblings get progressively more wooden with age. The White Witch (Tilda Swinton) and her sidekick Ginarrbrik (Kiran Shah) turn in the worst performances of the lot. Swinton is as enchanting as a doleful catwalk bitch; her jarring seduction of Edmund never convinces, and thereby makes nonsense of most of the plot. Shah delivers his few lines in the fashion of a Hong Kong schlock overdubber. Liam Neeson turns in a journeyman's performance that is just too portentous to suit this fantasy, whilst Tumnus (James McAvoy), although possessed of a lively face, also belabours his lines.
I don't believe, however, that the actors are entirely to blame: delivering one's dialogue at Sesame Street pace is a problem which inflicts most of the cast; it is the director, therefore, that must be charged with the crime. Narnia is Adamson's first live action feature, and it is all too apparent.
Having to deliver their lines in little snippets, and through many repetitions, actors depend on a director to orient them within the film, and to choose the right take! Adamson either failed to coax the necessary stuff from his cast, or else failed to hear that their performances were dragging. A third, worse, alternative, is that he positively encouraged a ponderous acting style.
Less than brisk editing is the other half of Narnia's pace problem; crisper cutting would have significantly improved this film. All those half second pauses  between lines, between shots, between actions  accumulate to drain it of life.
Performances and pace, however, aren't Narnia's only woes. Generally workmanlike effects are badly let down in a few instances that just can't be forgotten. The waterfall and its ice flows loudly declare their artificiality; they put one in mind of a shopping centre display. And when it came to equipping Aslan's soldiers with leathern jerkins, Peter in particular, how did the costumiers come to settle on fabric so fake you could smell the vinyl from the cinema's back row.
The film can't entirely undo Lewis' magic: with those grievous exceptions above, most things are competently done, and the beavers are entertaining. However, the Narnia experience is decidedly pedestrian; there just isn't enough levity, enough lustre, in this film. I never really felt like I was on an adventure; I often, sadly, felt rather bored.
The cinephile will find this film slow-going. Even those who read the book along time ago will find it so well signposted most of the surprises won't be surprises at all.