Very good, sorta Oz but strongly religious in places.....

Rating: 8/10 (10 December 2005)

.....you know, Aslan being brought back from the dead and all. Who would have thought a movie about a talking lion, beavers, rhinos, cheetahs, etc centaurs, satyrs, etc-would be so moving and involving? I never read the books, but respecting the writer CS Lewis very much, I more than wanted to give this a chance.
It's well worth your time. Sure there are Lord of the Rings type backgrounds and imagery, sure you have to suspend disbelief(talking beavers?), and you wanna swat the second boy a lot, but still-this works and works well.
Tilda Swinton as the White Queen was great, scary, believable. I liked all four of the kids, esp. the youngest-Lucy. Good jobs by them. You will enjoy the battle-harpy eagles dropping rocks, a bombing run anyone? and root for the good guys.
Weaknesses? Well--you don't get to know who is who all that well amongst the menagerie of animals; esp. the centaur, rhino, etc that show up towards the battle, the kids sorta accept their fates/roles quicker than you would imagine, and the ending sure seems odd. Tacked on, etc. They were inside Narnia literally for Years, then whap! back on the floor as they were at the start, mere minutes after they'd left.
But that's just carping. Best parts involve a thawing out waterfall, the big battle, and of course, Aslan's sacrifice.
***1/2 good stuff.