More like...the passion, the dogma and the gospel.

Rating: 1/10 (1 January 2006)

Hated it. The story is simple.. good against evil, the backdrops are all stock Lord of the Rings settings. The climactic battle between the armies of the White Witch and those of Aslan clash on Pelinore Field, the mountain in the background missing the white towers of Minas Tirinth. yes, the animals are wonderfully conceived CGI, the centaurs weren't all that great, and the head centaur was downright ugly.
I love Turkish delight! My father used to buy it at the local foreign grocery in Miami when I was a kid. I wouldn't be tempted by a witch producing a whole plate of the stuff.. too sweet.
Tilda Swinton was the only saving grace of this pedantic, lumbering and altogether molasses-like movie. She captured the essence of the White Witch. The Einsteinian time travel stuff is a nice touch but I ask you this.. what happened to the whole kingdom when all four of the heads of state suddenly vanish one fine afternoon? Also, Jim Broadbent (Topsy Turvy) was underused.
Now, as to the Christian bent, it was painfully obvious. At one point, Aslan says "It is finished", a direct reference to the last words of Christ on the cross. I was less offended by the obvious references to the Gospel than by the vain attempts to conceal and camouflage the other dogma(too numerous to mention here, and frankly I don't want to go into it)
I am sure this film and its progeny will please the same crowd that paid tribute to Caesar to see The Passion of the Christ, but those of us who saw the penultimate good v. evil story brought to the screen (Lord of the Rings et al) will probably not be among the future ticket buyers.