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


Underwhelming tale of four youngsters who wander into a fantasy land hidden in their wardrobe.

The much anticipated new adaptation of the C.S. Lewis favorite, the Chronicles of Narnia, held so much promise, but I found this production lacking a vital ingredient: Interest. As a fan of far-off fantasy lands, like Oz, and more recently, Middle Earth, I guess I was expecting a lot more from this. Unfortunately, my gut feeling here is that a child's imagination might be the best way to visualize this spectacle. The talking beavers, fauns, centaurs, and wolves just didn't come off as you might have hoped, especially when they had so much dialogue.

The tale begins with London being bombed out by the Nazis. The four pouty Pevensie children are sent off to a country estate for their own safety. The resident professor is not to be disturbed, according to the strict housekeeper. Left to their own devices, they find that the wardrobe in the empty spare room is a gateway to the fantastic land of Narnia, which apparently has internecine warfare brewing between the White Witch (Tilda Swinton) and Aslan, a lion.

It is the Pevensies' destiny to be the Kings and Queens of Narnia, and they wind up doing battle with the forces of the White Witch, but not before Aslan sacrifices himself, Christlike.

Perhaps it was the rundown theatre where we saw this film (Sunnyside Center, Queens), but the dark scenes were especially dark and difficult to puzzle out. Some Narnia fans are sure to love their masterpiece brought to screen life once again, but for many of us, these good-vs-evil spectables are starting to all look alike.

Perhaps it's better to let the kids read the books and enjoy the original illustrations.



Posted: Fri - December 23, 2005 at 12:36 AM        

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