Narnia hits the big screen! (The Chronicles Of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe [2005] (DVD))

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Product:	The Chronicles Of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe [2005] (DVD)
Date:	26/03/08 (30 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great tale, good casting and special effects

Disadvantages: General lacklustre feel to the whole film

C S Lewis' series featuring the fantasy land of Narnia has been much loved by children and adults alike for many years. There have been TV adaptations made of the books, but never a feature film. In 2005, director Andrew Adamson took us through the journey of The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, the second tale in Lewis' saga.

The Plot

The four Pevensie children, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, go to stay at the country estate of a mysterious professor. During a game of hide & seek, Lucy inadvertently tumbles through the back of a wardrobe into the magical land of Narnia. The other children soon follow, and they find themselves in a wonderful land full of talking animals, Santa Claus, the lion Aslan and the White Witch Jadis. The children join Aslan in his battle to defeat the White Witch and restore Narnia to its blossoming glory and splendour.

The Cast and Performances

The four children are ably played by four unknown actors, William Moseley, Anna Popplewell, Skandar Keynes and Georgie Henley star as Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy respectively, and they do perform well, although there is nothing spectacular. James McAvoy plays Mr Tumnus the faun, and Liam Neeson lends his voice to the lion Aslan. Tilda Swinton excels as the White Witch Jadis. She completely steals the show. The support cast are good, but again there is nothing spectacular, save a wonderful performance from Dawn French as a beaver.

My Opinion

I liked the film, as I am a fan of C S Lewis, and the TV adaptations I watched when I was at school. However, I was disappointed in many aspects, as I felt it lacked a wow factor that it promised from the trailers and buildup to the film. There was not enough get up and go from the majority of the cast, and the final battle did not seem as magnificent as it could have been portrayed.

The special effects are very good, particularly with the talking beasts aspect of the film. In the film, there are characters trned to stone, and beautiful scenery covered in centaurs and other such magical beasts. This combination is very magical despite there being a lack of oomph to the general feature.

Conclusion

A decent film, but not as good as I expected.

I rate this film as 3 stars out of 5.

The DVD is available from amazon.co.uk for £4.98

This review may also be posted on ciao.co.uk

Thanks for reading

Summary: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (2005) - decent adaptation, nothing spectacular