A Film that I'm sorry I'm close to hating

Rating: 3/10 (18 December 2005)

Now I was really looking forward to seeing this film. Like many other people I was mesmerised by the book when I was young and when I heard that they were shooting in New Zealand, I did think for a little while that they may have been borrowing a little too much from Peter Jackson. But I decided that these was going to be nothing like LOTR because the book was its own and so would the film be.
How RIGHT I was!
Unlike the film version of LOTR, this film left me with an empty feeling in my stomach and for a number of reasons. First things first,as 'Ward deBussac' correctly said, an epic cannot be found just in special effects. And in the case of this film I wasn't at all satisfied with what could be seen as the easiest way to achieve a 'crowdpleaser' (in terms of blockbuster films). The film seem to veer from excellent (beavers and Aslan) to the extremely poor (seeing the outline of the children bodies and the green screen as they 'cross a mountain'ad some of the sets looked like they had been stolen from some school plays). When it came to the special effects I felt a flurry of mixed emotions and I really feel that the beautiful scenery of New Zealand was not put to as good a use as it could have been.
My next major problem concerns some of the acting. The oldest's acting was deplorable. A cardboard cutout could have done as good a job. I know that sounds a little harsh but I was extremely disappointed. Then there was little Lucy - yes she was mesmerised. We get it!That same look became very tiring after a while...and what was with the smiling while she was 'crying'? Better than Peter? Yes. Cute? I think not. The actress who played her is more cute in real life than the younger girl she was playing. 6 going on 16 is what I saw.
I felt that Tilda Swinton was given too little to work with in terms of her character...and instead of being the frightening figure I remembered from the book she was left looking rather petty and small...hardly a formidable enemy. She was more imposing at the London Premiere!
There were parts of the film that I enjoyed such as the beavers purely because I love both Dawn french and Ray Whinestone. However,like many others I felt that there were over important characters that were just swept over or barely acknowledged such as Father Christmas (that scene looking particularly out of place) and Aslan wasn't as imposing of affecting as he could have been.
Overall, I desperately wanted to tell people that I enjoyed the film and that I fully recommended it. But alas my expressionless face said otherwise. Like Harry Potter films before, Narnia left me feeling tired and disappointed and desperately hoping for better book adaptations ahead. Go Memoirs of a Geisha!