Narnia: A Short Review

[terryweide]

Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (PG) 2 hours 20 minutes.

Adding my own review to what may wind up being several on the site...

*****

I went to see Narnia today with my two nieces, ages seven and nine. To compare it with other recent fantasy movies, the film is a little slower moving than the Harry Potter flicks or LOTR, but it's faithful to the text and all of the characters look their parts. My only criticism is that it might be too faithful to The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. I.e., I thought there was room for more character development than I saw on the screen. For example, there were numerous close ups of the White Witch looking grim and evil, but no explanation of how she got that way or how she came to rule Narnia. The Pevensie children could have used a bit more fleshing out as well so that some of their actions would appear to have more motivation. The makers of the movie (Andrew Adamson director, Christopher Markus writer, for Disney Studios) may be counting on people being already familiar with the books or reading them for more details.

Still, the film has a great look to it. Overall it's quite entertaining, especially for children. At least one of my nieces said she'd go see it again. I'm giving it a thumbs up, then, and would probably rewatch it myself on video/dvd or at a dollar house.

Reviewing Terry, over and out...