First rate fantasy adventure

Rating: 8/10 (6 August 2015)

I never had been able to get into the novel, but I found my self swept up by the movie when it was released (On DVD. I didn't see it at the theater, sadly). Peter Jackson's adaptation of 'Lord Of The Rings' had certainly raised the bar on a genre that had really become rather bargain bin fare, but I felt fellow Kiwi Andrew Adamson's take on C.S. Lewis' beloved (by people other than me) book nearly matched him. And working with inferior (at least in my view) source material to boot.
I'm pleased to say that after not having watched it for several years, it still holds up. Motley armies massing against each other across a large field and then charging into a CG-aided flurry of sword clashing bombast has become the stuff of eye-rollingly dull cliché these days, but I was engrossed here because I had come to actually care about the characters and the stakes. The latter is typically a forgotten ingredient in the recipe of far too many modern epics and blockbusters.
The young leads are all quite good, and they're supplemented by strong vets like Liam Neeson and particularly the always amazing Tilda Swinton.
In retrospect, this first Narnia film may occupy a step below Jackson's 'Lord Of The Rings', but it absolutely crushes his muddled take on 'The Hobbit', and most other fantasy and young adult genre fare that's been released in such great numbers since.