Narnia -- B+

I'm not going to give a full-blown review here. We've already linked to other reviews, and Ken posted his own, so that's been done. Furthermore, I'm a little late to the ballgame, and a review at this point seems pretty meaningless. However, I put a grade up in the title just so anyone who cared would have my opinion. Also, in case you haven't seen the movie OR somehow missed reading the book, spoilers are included below -- so stop reading now!!!

First off, let me say that I do think the movie will age well with me, and subsequent viewings might improve my impression (even though a B+, to me, is a really, really good movie). Certainly I'll be buying the DVD. Will I recommend it to anyone who asks? Youbetcha. I seriously liked the movie, and many parts of it were wonderful.

I went to see the movie with my sons, Carson (7) and Davis (4). When it was over but we were still in the theater, Davis, who probably liked the movie the most of all of us, was asking about playing his Lego Star Wars game on X-Box. As we were strolling back to our car, I asked Carson how he liked it. "Good," he said, which is a child's, at least our children's, token response to anything we ask about. "How about great, Carson?" He thought for a moment and then shook his head. "No, I liked it, but it wasn't great." And then, with me leading the conversation, we all discussed it the rest of the way home. In the end, I agree with Carson. While there was tons to love about the movie, I thought it was really good but never great.

Trying to place my finger on why, I think there were a couple reasons. One is just my own problem, I think, in trying to believe the talking creatures of Narnia were that country's version of human. For example, when the wolves have cornered the Pevensies and the Beavers at the waterfall, and one wolf has Mr. Beaver dead to rights, I wasn't nearly as torn as I needed to be to really care about his peril. Say the wolf had Lucy by the throat -- that scene would have been far more gripping to me. The scene worked for me, but not to the extent it probably should. Same goes for the fox when he was turned to stone -- but that scence posed the additional problem for me in that I really didn't feel Edmund's horror either. Like I said, it's my problem. The larger problem for me pertains to Aslan. When the three Pevensies first come into Aslan's camp, and Peter announces that they have come to see Aslan, all the creatures bow. At this point the kids aren't bowing yet, and neither am I as the viewer. Finally, Aslan appears, and the children bow, which seemed forced to me. And as a viewer -- and Aslan looked reasonably regal for a lion -- I never felt compelled to bow or anything near it, and I really wanted to feel that presence. This was Aslan. Boiling it down, it must be the CGI, and I probably need to suspend my disbelief a little better. Be more imaginative. Yet, I never needed to do that in the LOTR. When Gandalf fought the Balrog and both went down in Fellowship, I felt it. When Boromir died, I wanted to cry. Seeing Gandalf on the morning of the fifth day at Helm's deep, I rejoiced in my soul. Same when he rode out of Minas Tirith to save Faramir. I wanted to stand up in the theater and cheer. I never felt any emotional impact like those in this movie. The closest I came was when Edmund rejoined his brother and sisters after his repentance and seeing Aslan's reaction. Even the death of Aslan, and even more importantly, the risen Aslan didn't do it for me -- although having to take Davis to the bathroom at that crucial point in the movie didn't help matters. And I really expected Aslan's final pounce on the White Witch to be breathtaking, and even that fell flat for me.

I say all this, and I still liked The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe an awful lot. As has been iterated in other reviews, the adaptation is remarkably faithful to C.S. Lewis' wonderful story -- and let's face it, it is a wonderful story! And the film told it very well. I thought Tilda Swinton as the White Witch and James McAvoy as Tumnus had standout performances, and I enjoyed the Pevensies, although at times they seemed a bit flat. The voices of Rupert Everett for the fox, Ray Winstone and Dawn French as Mr. and Mrs. Beaver, and especially Michael Madsen for Maugrim worked very well, while I'm not so sure about Liam Neeson for Aslan. I don't know who better, though. James Earl Jones had already been used for Moufasa, so he was out. The realm of Narnia looked spectacular. Adam Adamson had some little effects that were downright cool, for instance the witch freezing the butterfly out of sheer evilness right after turning the fox to stone and chastising Edmund. And the battle scene, especially the onset -- awesome! Lastly, when Lucy first wanders through the wardrobe into Narnia, her expression fit perfectly. Apparently, Adamson hadn't let her see Narnia until then, and the look of wonder on her face was priceless -- well, at least very pricey.

Regarding more Narnia movies, I'm just not sure. Certainly, they'll have a fan base, and I'm sure I'd try The Horse and His Boy or whatever comes out next. However, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, at least to me, was probably the most accessible for movie-making, although The Voyage of the Dawn Treader has some appeal as well. I'm not saying it can't be done successfully, but seven Narnia movies? Hmm.

So stone me now, I suppose, but remember I gave the film a B+. My expectation, fair or unfair probably due to LOTR's success, was very high, and that may have affected some of what I've written. It's probably not fair to compare the two, but I think it's an inevitable comparison. For what it's worth, however, even as a kid, I enjoyed the LOTR more than Narnia, so take that into account if you're taking any account at all.

Don't know what movie I'm really looking forward to next. Is it too early to get hyped for Spider-Man 3?

Narnia