A mediocre film on the heels of Lord of the Rings

Rating: 5/10 (14 February 2006)

I read the Chronicles of Narnia as a child and was relatively unimpressed. After having seen the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in theaters, I felt a very similar feeling. Acting was somewhat mediocre - with the exceptions of Lucy and the White Witch, played by Georgie Henley and Tilda Swinton respectively.
The story is a weak point with dialogue in particular being a problem. Again, I was not very fond of the books, so if you are a fan, you may feel differently. My biggest problem with this film lies in the lack of explanation throughout the story. Even by the end, you know very little about major characters such as the lion, Aslan, or the White Witch. References to the laws of Narnia and "deep magic" also go largely unexplained. The ridiculousness of several events also erode the integrity of the story. Foremost among these is the fact that when the young children meet Santa, he promptly provides them with weapons as Christmas presents. I can just see the appropriateness of modern children hoping for Uzis and AK-47s under their Christmas trees. This event underscores the appropriateness of children going to war. As result, some of the action is also unimpressive because what can you expect from young children who have no training and seem extraordinary in no particular way? Apparently, any four kids could have stumbled through this wardrobe and saved Narnia.
The special effects do a lion's share (no pun intended) of the work in this movie, but they often seem weak from time to time and give off a cartoony feel. I will give high praise to the musical score which was grandiose and invoked continuous feelings of wonder.
In comparison to The Lord of the Rings films, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe looks weak. If you were a big fan of the book series you probably will still enjoy this movie, but I would describe it as overall mediocre.