The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe

B-

Entering the cinema early this afternoon, I had an inkling of what I'm going to feel about the movie. These are the impressions I gathered from the trailers and the fact that it's helmed by Shrek's Andrew Adamson. It turned out that I was right. As far as being a movie goes, Narnia is better than, say, The Phantom Menace (as far as eye candy quality goes, they are on par), but while George Lucas was self indulgent and arrogant, Adamson is more untrained.

The 2 pillars that hold this movie firm are the plot and the special effects - both are actually more than I expected. The story of 4 siblings in war-time Britain ( finding their way to the magical land of Narnia via a row of coats in a wardrobe carries more punch than I thought - one of the brothers is treacherous. This creates a darker tone that sets the conflict in Narnia where The 2 pairs of brothers and sisters are the prophesied saviours of Narnia who will lead the resistance against the White Witch (Tilda Swinton) and ending the 100-year long winter that has engulfed the land, under the guidance of the sagely lion, Aslan (voice of Liam Neeson).

Unfortunately, the plot progression dries halfway through the movie. This is when Adamson's challenge lies - to maintain the level of excitement and subtly replace the plot with character developments. And this is where his amateur faults show. None of the characters in the movie stands out - we are told about them more than we are shown (well, except for Edmund, that is). Each of the siblings are supposed to have a distinct and real characteristic (we see them everyday, we are them!), but somehow we think we know them more than we actually do. I don't know if this can be faulted on the child actors - none of whom are especially good.)

The special effects in this movie seem to have gone ahead with 1 thought - no holds barred. Narnia came alive before our very eyes. For a children movie, the battle sequences rival those in The Return of the King. Mythical creatures looked real enough - my heart actually welled up when I saw the phoenix in battle, I did not expect that. Talking beavers to polar bears, you should be impressed. But then there was Aslan. C.S. Lewis strongly objected to a life-action Narnia movie because the thought of a live-action Aslan would be "blasphemous". It shows here. In fact, I think a better Aslan would've been the cure for the 2nd half's drag. Aslan holds the crucial mentor role in the film, but he looks and talks like a cartoon. I actually cringed at some of the stuff he said.

Seeing the strong box-office draw that Narnia still reaps at the close of 2005, there will probably be Prince Caspian in the works soon. It is still ultimately an enjoyable motion picture, kids will be blown away by The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe; even if adults would find better things to do.
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