Movie Review: The Chronicles of Narnia- The Lion, the Witch, and the
Wardrobe
Narnia lives.
Awesome color. Amazing special effects. The
creatures are spectacular! It stays very close to the
book.
But something is missing. Maybe it's the difference between reading it at 11, seeing the British version produced for television in my late teens, and then seeing it as an adult. Yes, it was amazing, and it is definitely a DVD purchase, but, unless you and your children are fans, something is missing.
One of the moments that affected me most strongly when I read these books was the shaving of Aslan. the description given in the book, as short as it was, left so much to the imagination, and I, apparently, have an overactive one- my vision of the shaving and humiliation of Aslan before his sacrifice was so much more vivid, so much more clear, so much.... more... that I was almost relieved to see it removed from the film.
As for the creature effects... they are indeed awesome! Centaurs, minotaurs, griffons, a phoenix, talking beavers and, of course, a fawn named Thomas. All superbly done! I especially like the way the dryads were done as leaves!
The final battle scenes are amazingly well done and worth the two hours it takes to get there. Two and a half hours of storytelling, though. It seems the blockbusters are now heading toward the three-hour mark. Well, LotR hit it. But, still. If I had not needed to get to the restroom so badly toward the end, all would have been much better.
So... see it if you're a fan. Perhaps it will do much better for people who've never read the stories- they've no expectations, no common ground, no prior perception.
4 lion paws out of five, though that would be a weird looking lion... with five paws.
But something is missing. Maybe it's the difference between reading it at 11, seeing the British version produced for television in my late teens, and then seeing it as an adult. Yes, it was amazing, and it is definitely a DVD purchase, but, unless you and your children are fans, something is missing.
One of the moments that affected me most strongly when I read these books was the shaving of Aslan. the description given in the book, as short as it was, left so much to the imagination, and I, apparently, have an overactive one- my vision of the shaving and humiliation of Aslan before his sacrifice was so much more vivid, so much more clear, so much.... more... that I was almost relieved to see it removed from the film.
As for the creature effects... they are indeed awesome! Centaurs, minotaurs, griffons, a phoenix, talking beavers and, of course, a fawn named Thomas. All superbly done! I especially like the way the dryads were done as leaves!
The final battle scenes are amazingly well done and worth the two hours it takes to get there. Two and a half hours of storytelling, though. It seems the blockbusters are now heading toward the three-hour mark. Well, LotR hit it. But, still. If I had not needed to get to the restroom so badly toward the end, all would have been much better.
So... see it if you're a fan. Perhaps it will do much better for people who've never read the stories- they've no expectations, no common ground, no prior perception.
4 lion paws out of five, though that would be a weird looking lion... with five paws.
Posted: Sat - December 10, 2005 at 01:03 AM
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Published On: Mar 02, 2007 07:50 PM
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Published On: Mar 02, 2007 07:50 PM