Why not? Because I don't see a film based on other's opinion of it. See tagline below.
bump - will see it next week.
I told my grandkids I'd take them, but my wife is concerned the lion is too scary. I think my 10 year old grandson is fine. But I'm worried about our 8 year old granddaughter- she understands the Christian imagery, and has read the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, but she is a scaredy cat. She's itching to see it, so what do you think?
It's the movie for the season, I think. Makes all the Christmas lights seem brighter, the faces going to and fro on Holyday shopping, seem so much dearer.
We all applauded the bad guys losing, and the good guys winning!
I saw it this afternoon and agree that the actors portraying the sons and daughters of Adam were wonderful (by the way i was amused at the beginning of the film when they showed the director's name, which i hadn't known of beforehand...i had seen his name in one of the reviews that i was skimming through last night but thought the reviewer was referencing Peter or Edmund, who i imagined had been given the nickname Adamson by someone in Narnia...lol).
All in all, keeping in mind that it's based on a children's book, i thought it was well done and in fact in some ways i liked it better than the book. The audience seemed to enjoy it too as many were clapping at the end.
*SPOILERS FOLLOW*
I did have a few quibbles with the movie however. For one, although a lot of humor worked well most of the time i thought some of it seemed forced and used in instances that seemed inappropriate (such as when Beaver husband was bravely risking his life by walking across an ice-covered river which was breaking under his weight and Beaver wife joked that he had perhaps been overeating of late).
Another thing is that when the kids broke the window and fled into the wardrobe in order to escape the wrath of the housekeeper, it just struck me as out of character for the two older kids to run away and hide like that instead of facing up to whatever punishment was in store. Besides, what good would it have done? They were the only kids around who could have broken the window and so hiding would only have delayed their inevitable punishment for a little while. Anyway i'm pretty sure the book handled it differently but since i can't quite remember how Lewis did it i can't say his version would have been better.
Perhaps the major quibble i had though was with Father Christmas showing up - now this was something which was in fact in the book but i always felt it was a weak part of the story. I can't quite explain why it rings so false to me. Perhaps it is the mingling of one fantasy (Santa Claus) with another (the land of Narnia). Or maybe it is because Lewis went out of his way to allegorize Christ with Aslan, a lion, but for St. Nick he just used St. Nick. Or maybe because it makes you pause and wonder why they even celebrate Christmas in Narnia in the first place? I mean, isn't Aslan their version of Christ? But then since they know who Adam was i guess it makes sense that they would know of Christ too but still, it just seems to muddle things up a bit by throwing Santa in there and it took me out of the "reality" of the movie for a few minutes, so to speak.
Putting those quibbles aside it was an enjoyable movie and one made even more so by some great casting. While the special effects and the battles scenes were all excellent, to me it was the human actors that stole the show. Lucy was adorable and had a very infectious smile. Edmund was a likeable brat. Emily was played just right and so was Peter. And the way they genuinely cared for each other, without being too mawkish about it, was the aspect of the movie that i think i liked most (and related to that, the lesson of forgiveness as they were able to forgive Edmund for what he had done).
Finally, just wanted to say that i'm definitely looking forward to seeing more Narnia movies; especially The Boy and His Horse (i think that's the name of it) and Prince Caspian, which i thought were better stories.
We loved LOTR and nitpicked those movies to death after seeing them. Our only complaint after Narnia was there was nothing to nitpick. They really pulled it off near perfect. Dittoes on the warm fuzzies. Our nine year old was fine with it, having read the book this summer.
Is Liam Neeson in everything ? - talk about market saturation
i LOVED it! it was WONDERFUL, in its own right. the children are wonderful too. i absolutely loved it and hope they make all the books...honestly, it was beautiful! LOVED IT!
I thought that the special effects were good, but I thought that they needed to develop the Peter character more before letting him lead the battle with the Winter Witch.
There have been too many well directed battle scenes in movies recently to let this one flounder the way it did.
Excellent, excellent movie. Took my 10-year old daughter and my 5-year old daughter. It was a bit much for the 5-year old. The Beavers made her laugh quite a bit, but the wolves and the White Witch's evil minions were too intense for her.
The landscape, scenery, and effects were simply stunning. They did a superb job at making Narnia truly come to life.
The little girl who plays Lucy is adorable. The other children were competent in their roles. I agree with another poster--Peter probably could have been developed a bit more. He goes from simply snapping at his siblings and bossing around Edmund to leading an entire army without any real exposition or growth.
All in all, a wonderful family film, and a great way to help teach about love, sacrifice, and the Savior.
My wife and I saw The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe today. We are both fans of the book, my wife a relative newcomer -- I read the books when I was in grade school.
First, I'll assume everyone knows this is shaping up to be a SPOILER FILLED thread, and my review is no exception. Please do not read any further if spoilers bother you.
The Good:
* The movie is VERY true to the book (exceptions below).
* CG was "good enough". Some rough edges (noticeable green screening on the stone tablet set when the girls go to mourn Aslan), and a few things that kept it from a polished A+++ movie, but very good nonetheless.
* Seeing Narnia on the big screen! I haven't seen a movie in the theater in a looong time. It took this movie to motivate us to go out.
* Aslan's sacrifice really does pull at your heartstrings and in all of the ways it is supposed to.
* I didn't think of Kinsey when hearing Aslan speak.
* The children pulled off their roles competently. I shudder everytime I see Lucy from the BBC live action version. That one reminds me of the boy from Small Wonder *shudder*.
The Bad:
* Some modern psycho-babble crept in -- esp. in regard with Edmund and the picture of his father versus looking at Peter as the father figure. Could have done without this.
* How the kids run away from trouble when they break the window, and go running into the wardrobe. This seems out of character to me, and an unnecessary change from the book where the kids are trying to avoid a stuffy group of visitors/spectators on a tour with Mrs. Macready (I think that's her name).
* The extra scene on the ice. Not sure why this was really necessary. Didn't add that much to the movie, and seemed like a cheap shot to add some more special effect wizardry to the movie. *meh*
The Ugly
* The soundtrack. Very intrusive, and seemed like it was trying too hard to tug at your emotions. It seemed out of "synch" with the picture in general. My biggest nitpick in the entire movie. Seemed like a bad version of a typical epic movie's soundtrack. Really bugged me.
* Father Christmas. Though this is a problem in the book (and not a problem introduced in the adaptation), and is the biggest thing that can break the Narnia fantasy. He was treated as well as possible in the movie, and I don't even recall anyone mentioning his name in the movie. To be fair to the cutting of the battles getting ugly with girls comment from the book, it is somewhat implied when St. Nick gives Lucy her weapon, but not actually said -- which I'm fine with, considering how faithful the rest of the movie was to the book.
My Verdict:
A GREAT movie to go see with the family, and to relieve the magic of Narnia. I am going to reread the Last Battle and the Magician's Nephew now just to put everything into perspective. I cannot wait to see the other books turned into movies if they are as faithful as they were to this one. With some polish on the FX and the costuming, the others could very well be masterpieces.
I'd give it an A. True to the book in every important way--I'd quibble with some of the choices but all are defensible.
Worst problem--although adding extra dialogue between the children to develop the family dynamics was a good idea, the dialogue itself is too modern-sounding, not like polite '40's English children would have used.
3 other plot problems: the action was too compressed so Narnia seemed smaller than it needed to be; Peter was indecisive for too long (would have been OK if the ice-floe scene had not been added); final battle started too soon, Aslan's resurrection and dash to the Witch's castle should have come first (the battle should have started well after the Stone Table cracked, which should have been at dawn).
These are all minor imperfections. The best thing about the movie was the acting. Georgie Henley as Lucy was terrific, Skandar Keynes as Edmund was very good, Anna Popplewell as Susan was a bit inconsistent but you couldn't take your eyes off her, William Moseley as Peter did well with a role that was burdened with a lot of dialogue not written by Lewis. James McAvoy was a perfect Tumnus. Tilda Swinton reimagined the Witch compellingly -- she lacked the stunning beauty of the book's Jadis, but was much smarter and more aware of what went on around her, which mader her even scarier that the witch in the book. The book's Jadis was so oblivious to anything but her own mania that it was much harder to see her as a dangerous opponent once the 100-year winter spell began to break. Liam Neeson as Aslan was very good too, just a tiny bit too insubstantial.
Thought the movie was awesome.....the lady that played the witch did a great job...liked the main sentar...the beavers have always been my favorite and thought with all the animal characters they did an awesome job....great movie...any movie that makes you feel you can overcome evil is awesome....
Ping
We saw it last night at a very well-attended showing. Our theater, too, broke into applause at the end. Disney did a good job creating an adaptation of the story for screen that was true to the original. The actors were all splendid. The evil creatures were really, really, eeeevil looking. The faun was darling as were the beavers. But it was the little lady playing Lucy who stole the show.
Thank goodness for CG! It has made it possible to bring the beloved stories from childhood to the big screen*. They did a good job with the CG, but it wasn't the magnum opus seen in LOTR. Peter Jackson raised the bar with LOTR- probably out of the reach of most budgets, including this one. Even though WETA was on board for TLTWATW it felt as though they forgot to do the last render. It *looked* CG. The cheetahs were well done, though. And Aslan's eyes were mesmerizing. Kudos there.
The screenwriters relied on the audience's familiarity with the stories to carry the character development. This is a mistake. I agree with others that Peter could have used a little more. His motivations were unclear. He spent the whole movie being timid ('lets go back, it's not our fight, blah blah blah') and then suddenly he's in command of an army. What changed in his heart? What inspired his resolve? The audience is left to wonder. I think Edmund could have been better developed, too. His seduction by evil seemed rushed, and his repentance and reconcilation with the siblings rang hollow. Did he truly have a change of heart? The emotional arc of sin and repentance should have been emphasized a little more.
But minor quibbles aside, it was a delightful movie and one that I didn't regret spending the money to see. Hopefully it will bring more people to read the Narnia books and perhaps the rest of Lewis' marvelous works. And hopefully, too, it will encourage filmmakers to produce similarly uplifting movies.
*It's high time Anne McCaffrey's Dragonrider stories are filmed. The technology is there.... The audience is there....
We went to see Narnia last night. The theater had a 7:00, 7:20 and 7:40 showing. We got to the theater at 7:00 and managed to get ahold of the last four tickets remaining for the 7:40 show. All shows sold out completely. I don't think management thought Narnia would be a big deal because the concession stand ran out of popcorn.
We all loved the movie. My 8 year old got lost a few times but he said he enjoyed it. Battle scenes were a not a problem for him. My 12 year old has not stopped talking about how much she loved it. She thought it was better than Harry Potter. I particularly thought the movie was beautiful to look at. The cinamatography, costuming and sets were fantastic. I was amazed at the filming of Aslan. The lion was so real I actually thought they must have interwoven film of a real lion with that of a computer generated one.
We all want to go back in a few weeks when the crowds die down to see it again.
It was good, but no LOTR. It just didn't seem to have the same "depth". Maybe because the book it's from is simpler and more for children. My 4-year old liked it, though, especially the brief unicorn sighting at the end.
Saw the movie yesterday at 2:15 pm. We had been very excited to see it, couldn't wait. I agree that visually the film was first rate. Some of the scenes were like fine art in coloring, lighting, composition, expression. Beautiful.
We loved the movie, although I left with a nagging feeling that it didn't live up to my expectations. Perhaps Lewis is so great a writer (as in greatest literature of Western Civ great, not, Man, how great was that great) that for a lesser mortal to try to translate him is too much to ask. Something of the longing I remember when I was child reading this series was missing.
But the movie was wonderful, I am going again next week ...
We saw it with some of my in-laws this evening. Great film! I've never read the Narnia books, but I'm still a big fan of C.S. Lewis. Interesting story, great special effects. Aslan looks very real. The actress who played the White Witch is very good, very talented. But the beavers are my favorites.
My 9 year old niece cried during a certain part of the movie, the same part I would have cried over when I was 9 years old.
I wouldn't take children younger than 9 to see it. It has some pretty violent scenes, although not quite on par with Lord of the Rings, it comes pretty close in spots.
The little girl who played Lucy was very good, as were all the child actors.
It's a must-see for fans of my darling C.S. Lewis, and anyone who liked the LOTR trilogy and other fans of the fantasy genre. Harry Potter fans will like it, too.
As promised, I'm back. Saw it today and thoroughly enjoyed it. I recommend it to other FreePers.