The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
I was kind of pleased when Jonathan Ross (who I pretty much always agree with on movies)expressed his disappointment with this movie a couple of weeks ago. Part of me really didn’t want it to be good. For me, nothing could ever beat the BBC’s television adaptation of this book. Cliffhangers, music, and all, that was simply amazing. Then, I said a similar thing about Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory before seeing the more recent adaptation.
There is something generally hokey about this production – think more the recent live action Peter Pan than Lord of the Rings, the movie this was clearly marketed to mimic. The effects aren’t much to write home about – far too much CG and some of it not too good – and the children are just a little niggling.
Tilda Swinton, Jim Broadbent, and Liam Neeson, on the other hand, are all perfect, and the music is pretty gorgeous, even including some well integrated Lord of the Rings style songs. The film makers also mercifully don’t shy away from the horror of it all – though clever cuts are employed to shield youngsters from blood and gore, scenes like that at the stone table are still just as disturbing and intense as they ought to be.