Magically sublime; a watchable adaption of a magnificent book

Rating: 7/10 (8 December 2005)

Although I've had little time to digest the movie in full, 'The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe' - on my first viewing - left me standing outside the cinema realising that Christmas is, once again, here.
One of the greatest mistakes to make when walking in to watch this film - despite the similarities between the books - is to compare this film with the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Tolkien's trilogy dealt with much more complex emotions, and the characters endured many hardships. This is not to say, however, that The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe is at fault because it does not include these characteristics. C.S Lewis' masterpiece was different on many underlying levels, and was ultimately much more of an 'all-ages' book than The Lord of the Rings.
The film adaption reflects this very well, and the world Adamson has brought to the screen is rich, colourful and vibrant. The characters have been cast well - I found it difficult to imagine Aslan's voice outside my own head, but Liam Neeson was an inspired choice (if you squint, it almost looks a little like him) - especially Lucy, Edmund, Peter and Susan. Georgie Henley and Skandar Keynes specifically create a very believable performance. I couldn't help feel however, that Tilda Swinton was cast very much as a cheaper version of Cate Blanchette. Her performance is watchable, but lacks the edge and conviction of some of the other main characters.
Although an odd choice, Harry Gregson-Williams creates a fitting composition to compliment the movie well, but the use of the more electronic instruments may be difficult to digest if you were walking into the cinema with preconceptions of a more natural - forward of a better word - Howard Shore-esquire score.
The film does appear to move at quite a pace, and some scenes between characters that barely knew each other and then suddenly seem to have developed an incredibly close relationship within the space of several scenes can leave you feeling that maybe a little more time should have been spent on character development.
Ultimately, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a magical winter film; a beautifully crafted (partly thanks to the amazing work of WETA) world that lives and breathes, and reminds you that the 'all ages' genre is not synonymous with 'just for children'.