Narnia - impressive, but a little flat.

Rating: 6/10 (8 December 2005)

Overall, I was really impressed with the first installment of the Narnia franchise. The CG and "groundbreaking photorealism" were truly stunning and a marvel that I enjoyed throughout the movie. However, I felt that the major themes of the book were not developed enough and consequently had little impact or emotional pay-off at the climax of the film. Obviously this is tailored for a much younger audience than myself, who I think will go nuts over the film, but for me I felt that there was nothing in Narnia that I hadn't already experienced from the trailer. My advice is take a kid along with you so that you can somewhat enjoy the film from their perspective too. Before I end this I will just say that I wanted to see more of Aslan going absolutely nuts and tearing the crap out of some of the weedy White Witch's minions. That would have earned the film an 8 on it's own. Andrew Adamson has already said though, "The story of Narnia doesn't call for brutality." That is the comment that I think even he doesn't quite agree with. I think overall the film is a little 'luke warm'. It is kind of brutal, just kind of soft-brutal. It is sort of scary, but not really. It is somewhat epic, but falls a little flat... which will make it a family box-office smash. The franchise is here to stay.
-Rich p.s. Georgie Henley (Lucy Pevensie) is a remarkable actress. She really delivers her character well and makes this film one worth watching.