I thought Aslan was great. He looked real to me. The movie was good and you are right, it did feel a bit flat, but Aslan and the CGI was definitely not part of the problem. I'm a little perplexed how anyone could think that Aslan looked fake.

It was alright. CGI was good. But there just wasn't any umph to the movie. should have been longer. and the white witch. ugh. i really wanted to like her. oh well.

C+

CGI that doesn't blend with actors or surroundings = fake.

oh yea!! well .. well .. you just don't blend in with the masses!!


what do you have to say about that mister!

I thought it was amazing. The actors and CGI were spectacular. I thought Aslan, the wolves, and the beavers all looked fantastic. The score was so beautiful, and I thought the action sequences were exciting. Tilda Swinton gave a really brilliant performance as the White Witch. I thought she was really cold and ruthless. In my opinion this is the perfect Christmas film. I loved it, and everyone in the audience did as well.

A

This movie was AWESOME. I really enjoyed it and the rest of the audience seemed to love it as well. It was MUCH better than I expected- great action scenes, good performances from the lead actors, wonderful special effects (The Beavers and Aslan ROCKED!), amazing set design, a great performance from Tilda Swinton, and a few very funny scenes. There were many gasps at the scary parts (the woman beside me was jumping out of her seat), huge laughs at some points, and yes, some sniffling (I'll admit that I did get quite teary-eyed) during two scenes in particular. I agree with Vincent's opnion- "the perfect Christmas film."

A-

Narnia. Hmmm. Narnia.

There is a problem here, with this kind of children's literature, and it's the same problem that The Hobbit will face and the first few Harry Potter movies faced, it's how much to keep it innocent and child like, and how much to bring it into brutal reality. Adamson, like Chris Columbus, knows the text obviously, but rarely decides to infuse it with the spirit that would have made this film come alive.

Sure, it exists in some scenes. The scene at the very start of the movie (which was my favorite scene) with the bombers and Edmund running to get his father's photograph. More is said in that well written and staged scenes than in any other scene in the film. The Tumnus and Lucy dialog at the beginning was cute, and the Beavers in general were fantastic (even if the effects weren't).

But often it fails. The epic battle sequence at the end of the film is one of the worst major battle scenes ever brought to screen (well, maybe King Arthur is worse). It's not about CG quality or whatever, it's just showing such a hardcore battle in such a soft-core way, the having your cake and trying to eat it too syndrome. It is completely non-dramatic, the geography doesn't make sense, there is no strategy for either side and it has a complete lack of drama and passion. It also has no teeth because they decided they won't show anything.

Also the battle of the river (with the icebergs) is garbage and one wonders if they should have found another way for them to get the weapons and omitted the Saint Nicholas scene in general.

But the biggest problem is, aside from a few iconic moments, I get no sense of Narnia as a "world". How big is it? I mean, Aslan after being ressurected goes with the girls to the witch's castle and then all the way back before the battle ends. Why is Narnia waiting for the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve? Why is Aslan so special when the kids have already been exposed to talking beavers, fox, fawns, etc. up to that point? The movie doesn't earn any of that... essentially, it doesn't exist without first hand knowledge of the novels.

The CGI wanders between "really good" and "really awful". It's incredibly inconsistent. Like one moment, you will think they have nailed Aslan, the next moment will look completely off, or he will be walking "too smooth" like a CG effect or the physics will be just off. The beavers also suffer from not looking as real. Amazingly the CGI minotaurs looked like 50x better than the epically crappy suits they made for them. The costumes lack imagination except in rare cases... what is up with the white witch's giant shoulder pads? And sometimes the camera will pan over to some guy in a really crappy ogre mask.

Worse than the CGI was the way all of the animal voices sounded disembodied.

Anyway, bottom line: decent, empty, it's a lot like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone in its execution.

So, andaroo, I know you don't usually give grades, but maybe you can make an exception for this one? Would you give it above C, below C or around a C?

B-/C+ish, at its best it's a B+ and at its worst it's a C-. I never gets *too* bad, but most of the time it's B-/C+

It surprised me how few people were at the 1:00pm showing for a movie that did this well on its first day. We got tickets at 12:10pm, there was a small 6 person line for seats, and probably 3 more couples standing behind us, then we were let in, and the theater was about half empty.

I thought it was odd. It definately apparently plays better to people who aren't me.

I walked knowing nothing about the original story... and was very, very bored. CGI was shake at points, yep, but for me the story was the problem. I could only "connect" with the beavers and the little girl, sice the other characters seemed mostly "robotic" to me, specially the other children.

It´s just thats tory wasn´t that interesting or appealing to me... and I found it too kid-ish sometimes, with really silly moments, and too scary for kids, and even a bit sadistic sometimes...

I thought at its best it was A-material, at its worst C-material, that's why I settled for the B-middleground. The very best and the most enchanting part of the movie was Lucy entering Narnia for the very first time. At least for me.

What dio you think of Swinton's Jadis?

I can't believe the White Witch had giants in her army, and they were almost completely cut out of the final battle.

Makes no sense.

i saw the movie last night. and i thought it was a recommendable for the kids to go and watch and witness the magical world of Narnia. the child actor did a good job. and the CGI was good too. talking animals are really some of the enjoyable part. but too bad for the final battle scene. i felt it was too fast to end a war within 15 minutes i guess. but i still enjoy the movie nevertheless. my final grade for Narnia after long consideration is A-

for parents bring your kids go and watch this movie. you gonna like it. :wink:

Uneven. The moment that hit right was Edmund in her throne room. But often it either wasn't enough (seducing Edmund, confronting Aslan, etc.) or it was too campy (like the battle scene).

Jadis is a tough character, especially if you throw The Magician's Nephew into the mix. I don't think her performance either helps or sinks the film. I have much more problem with Aslan than Jadis's portrayal


In the battle scene, they look like they are drunk. That was awful. Thanks for making me remember the horror of the battle scene

Here was your very first moment of "Oh my God, it's Narnia," so it probably hit you harder than it did for those of us who never read the book (and it's fair to look at it like that -- I had tears in my eyes when Gandalf rode through Minas Tirith in The Return of the King). To me, it just looked like a bunch of trees and a light post.

I dunno. I felt the same even though I had read the books and been exposed to the animated film since I was a kid.

I had the same reaction. "OMG A BUNCH OF SNOW COVERED TREES!!!" If we compare it to Minas Tirith, that is something awe-inspiring and alien that one would NEVER see anywhere else.

But in all fairness, Tolkien's locations are grand and expansive, C.S. Lewis never puts that much detail into his world.

a very weak C-.

Great visuals for the most part but poor directing and acting.

In the age of LOTR and Potter, you HAVE to bring your A game to the fantasy adaptation table.

This franchise was stillborne.

I expected more reviews for this... I thought this was the big movie?

D+

I did not like this movie at all; the kids were too young for me to believe them doing half hte stuff. The Santa Claus thing made me laugh very hard and feel embarassed for paying to see the movie. BAh! This movie made me appreciate how Harry Potter is much better and does not alienate older viewers.

... The battle sucked, there wasn't enough ppl, it was scattered. Didn't like how the good animals were british and the bad ones had american accents.

I'm tired of british accents, I hope i don't hear another one for a while in a movie.

Very disappointed, i was waiting for much more.

great review

Yay Oscar! That was the best pan I've heard in ages. Do a review for the main site!

Nice work neo.

This is a rather obvious reference to the "breath of life" idea from the Christian Bible.

I thought you liked the movie...

God i'm embarassed that this work is equated with christianity.

Though there are tons of things that feel christian, this movie steals more from the traditional hero journey cycle than xtianity. (IMO)

All heros lose their mentors who later return. (ie gandalf) Sure the main character's ame is Peter, but so is Spiderman's and no one said anything then.