NARNIA : Great Children's Epic That Embraces The Original Book's Depth & Ambition...

Rating: 8/10 (12 March 2006)

CHRONICLES OF NARNIA : THE LION, THE WITCH, & THE WARDROBE
Back when NARNIA first came out at the beginning of the winter I saw it in the theater and was underwhelmed. I labeled it LOTR:LIGHT for a long time and was always bitter over the fact that NARNIA was beating my beloved KING KONG at the box office. If I remember correctly, I stated the film was good... but not remarkable... with slightly hollow special effects and performances (except for Tilda Swinton) and I gave the film an indifferent grade of B.
However, I put in a bootleg DVD yesterday to watch it with some friends who hadn't seen it and I realized I was unfairly rough on what is actually a very well produced children's epic.
On first viewing, I don't think I appreciated all the undertones featured in some of the performances, particularly James McAvoy as Mr. Tumnus. I found his performance to be empty but that's because I didn't realize the darker shadings of his character that McAvoy uses from the very start. I still find the child stars to be slightly underwhelming at parts... but it's unfair to expect such young children to carry a film of this size on their shoulders flawlessly. And Tilda Swinton is still incredible.
Upon second viewing, I realized the film seems slightly slower with less flashy special effects b/c in the end it doesn't need them in the same way KING KONG and LOTR did. The film emphasizes the tension of oncoming doom more so then actual confrontation and battle. I got a grander sense of the Pevensie children's destiny and found the film to be all the more engrossing because of that.
Overall, I found the film to be highly entertaining and creatively brought to life... though still not remarkable (KING KONG and LOTR are still vastly superior films). This time around I didn't notice as many flaws in NARNIA. Instead I sat back and enjoyed it for what it was... a different movie aimed at an entirely different audience.
It is disappointing to me that my beloved KING KONG was defeated at the Box Office by this, but even so NARNIA is one of the better "big-budget franchise films" to come out in a long time... and so it shouldn't be faulted simply b/c it beat my favorite movie at the box office. I am definitely anxious to see CHRONICLES OF NARNIA : PRINCE CASPIAN and seeing where this franchise grows.
Upon first viewing I gave the film an indifferent B... but upon second viewing, I gave the film a much more enthusiastic:
... B+ ...