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

As a child I have fond memories of watching the old BBC series of Narnia. My family has had the books, and I’m pretty sure I have read them, that said going into this hotly anticipated film I knew very little of the story. The film concerns itself with four evacuated children during the war who find a secret land called Narnia, accessible from the rear of the titular wardrobe. The film starts off strongly; though the questionable child acting rears its head from the get go. I was never convinced by the actors in this film, the youngest playing Lucy was good but the others varied. This can always be a problem with films featuring children as the main actors, and in many ways made me appreciate how good a job the Harry Potter kids have done over the years. However while this can be a problem, once the kids enter Narnia it becomes less noticeable. Narnia itself is well realised, though there is a certain cheapness to some of the sets and locations. I don’t know what it was exactly but it wasn’t always convincing, the snow didn’t seem cold and the White Witch, despite a good performance from Tilda Swinton, sometimes comes off in terms of costume and décor, as a pantomime baddie. Without a real sense of menace and an inconsistent and unexplained story the film fails to connect from the start and threatens to derail completely. However some great special effects and the brilliantly realised lion Aslan go a certain length to redeem the story and your interest. Fantasy films can be divisive, and there will be those who adore this film, it is solidly made and (from what I have heard) faithful to the books, but something didn’t fit for me. It seemed aimed at kids, but at the same time the story is never explained or detailed enough to fully get to grips with. Plot points are explained in a sentence or two leaving big events with minimum impact., readers of the books will understand these more of course, something I missed out on. Other than the kids the acting is solid, but there was never a palpable sense of danger. I never felt like the baddies were threatening, or that the kids would come to any harm. At its worst this can be seen as a kiddie-lite version of Lord of the Rings, at best a moral and enjoyable fantasy film for kids. The Christian subtexts deliberately imposed by CS Lewis are present and well done, like I said Aslan is brilliant, but the film as a whole didn’t grip me the way fantasy films should. Disney are talking about making this a franchise, but I’m not sure this is a world I’m eager to jump back into and experience again, anytime soon. A decent children's affair that lacks the depth and emotion of other fantasy films and the book it is based on. Some great special effects help, but patchy acting and a vague plot make this a bit of a disappointment.