Review of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) by Davidm. — 09 Dec 2005

There is a wonderful balance between lighthearted moments and scenes of heavier (though bloodless) action. All four children were very well cast and the added character introductions at the beginning of the movie set the pace instead of slowing the movie as some have suggested.

Tilda Swinton is wonderful as the frosty titular villain, though unfortunately she doesn't quite project the menacing visage I thought she should have. Instead she comes off as simply a spiteful squatter, desperately hoping the real ruler of Narnia doesn't show up and kick her to the curb.

The first novel in C.S. Lewis' series has Christian imagery and allegory so obvious it's like a bat between the eyes, but fortunately Adamson again strikes a balance, giving devout Christians a nod while satisfying agnostics such as myself by keeping the symbols open to interpretation.

As I mentioned earlier, there are significant similiarities to the previous LotR movies. If Aslan-as-Christ doesn't suit your fancy, how about Aslan-as-Gandalf? Adamson was quite possibly patterning some scenes after famous ones in the LotR movie trilogy, and it does make you wonder a few times, "haven't I seen this movie already?".

This is not enough to completely detract from the quality of the film, fortunately. C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein may have been friends, but their respective worlds were very different, and honestly on different levels.

That is not to say one is superior than another; while Middle Earth had depth, Narnia had humanity, and that is the difference and the reason why it is unfair to use LotR as some sort of yardstick that all fantasy movies much now be judged against.