Advice to Narnia crew: Cast Rachel McAdams as the White Witch next time!

Rating: 4/10 (7 December 2005)

I. My take on the 2005 film: I remember watching the 1988 version of this movie in class (I was in the 8th grade, spring of '00), and our teacher had us watch this. However, the villain was getting a little too cocky in the day (that would be Barbara Kellerman). Now flash forward 17 years later. The latest incarnation of Narnia doesn't stand up to its roots. The Narnia series are good books and can stop right there with Harry Potter (sorry, J.K.), but this movie was a LOT worse than what I remembered when I was 14. It tickles my funny bone when the White Witch gets defeated and screams somewhat like Glenn Close and Veronica Taylor (after falling into a pit), but I've never heard of Tilda Swinton before, which brings us to...
II. Tilda Swinton as the White Witch: ...this. Back in the days when people like Gary Oldman and Glenn Close played villains, they were nominated by various resources for best villain. But does Tilda challenge Gary and Glenn? Not quite--by an inch! From what I've seen in the trailers, she sounds somewhat like Pam Ferris from "Matilda" (1996) and Glenn Close of "Fatal Attraction" (1987). This isn't to say that Tilda is a bad actress and should NOT be playing villainous roles. Rachel McAdams could've did this better--just look at her in "Mean Girls" (2004), and you'll see what I mean by her going into Regina George mode prior to playing the White Witch. I'll settle for Tilda in this installment of the classic story, but in the next few years, someone more experienced like, say, for example, Rachel McAdams, should play the villainous role had the director decided to build a sequel to this film. Rachel McAdams is a sure-fire way to attract audiences, and Disney could've done THAT instead of hire the other actress that's 20-plus years older than her.
III. Closing Remarks The 2005 version of this film is not for the faint of heart. That doesn't mean that you should skip this movie. Sure, this movie has its flaws, disappointments, and whatnot, but a few actor changes (like I said earlier with Rachel McAdams as the White Witch) would make this a lot better, even Bam Margera (sorry--I couldn't resist) putting this on his favorite movies list. Until then, I expected better out of this film, and we only got 25% of it. Where's the other 75% already?