Well done, BUT know your child

Rating: 8/10 (26 February 2006)

The Chronicles of Narnia was a great flick. I had not read the book, and am not a Rings or fantasy fan. Rather, I like an occasional children's story and thought I'd like this one. In fact, most of the small audience was adult.
There were a lot of battle scenes and death, reminding me of Braveheart and also of the controversy over Mortal Kombat, released when my children were pre-teens, and at that time, there was a compromise of sorts when blood flying off of the injured/killed was shown as grey.
This movie was a little like that. If you are not against showing your children sanitized war and death as part of their entertainment, it is "tasteful." The violence is significant but couched in an honorable war between good and evil. To the extent that children living during wartime and children of another era encountered sickness and death more frequently than today, a parent might shrug off some of the violence, as well as the sad beginning where the children were evacuated from a war zone to the manor where their adventure took place, and simply characterize it as "tranche de vie." However, I would warn parents lulled into a belief that every film lacking sexual innuendo is suitable for their children. Know your child.
I had heard of the parallels between the story and some facets of religion. They were easy to spot, but neither distracting nor were any lessons being taught. I was reminded more of Lion King than Bible stories.