How our cups runneth over this Christmas! After a decidedly lacklustre summer its been a veritable smorgasbord of an autumn/winter with quality adult fare like The Constant Gardener and fun family movies including Wallace and Gromit, The Brothers Grimm, Harry Potter, Nanny McPhee and now the first of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe. Awkward title, but indicative of the intention to film all seven of the Narnia books, a feat not without its problems (the biggest one being the increasingly obviously religiosity of the books, until the point in The Last Battle where the subtext is simply text). But in the first of the franchise, director Andrew Adamson has succeeded marvellously in bringing Narnia to life.
[Read the rest at FutureMovies.co.uk]
If they held Sunday school at Hogwarts, that’s where you might find the Narnia kids. They are no strangers to magic and sorcery, but in contrast to the Rowling brood, they are small potatoes in a universal scrap between deities, and the stakes are more desperately felt. The terms of the fight are also dirtier. The creator of Narnia, C.S. Lewis, had no modernist qualms about exposing the very young to danger in his writings – the code of Narnia is a Crusader’s code, and any son of Adam or daughter of Eve who is old enough to heft a blade can join the fight, and become fair game.
[Read the rest at Cinematical]
What The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe really is, is a spectacular adaptation of a fairly nice fantasy tale. It doesn’t just live up to its source material, it surpasses it by finding nuances in the story that C.S. Lewis didn’t. That’s not to say there’s been anything added. Director Andrew Adamson follows a path that for the most part, sticks almost slavishly to the details of the book. But in between those details he finds emotional depth and resonance that isn’t obviously there in the short, rather simplistic children’s novel written by Lewis.
[Read the rest at Cinema Blend]
I loved every minute of this. From it’s dark opening amid the bombing of the Blitzkrieg to its sappy, but wonderful ending. Every moment. This is a film that is really, really good – but just short of being truly great (something I attribute more to my preference of source material than to the film making itself.) Every aspect of the filmmaking is truly inspired. Andrew Adamson, in his first live action effort, really went to town on this. The visual effects are stunning and seamless. Everything from the look and movement of the Fawn legs (which were just mesmerizing), to the way the animals look and feel like real characters (in the very same way Gollum did in LotR – only imagine 20 different characters done with that amount of attention) all the way down to the freaking minotaurs. Minotaurs! Holy crap! This movie has minotaurs! Lots of them! And they look awesome!
[Read the rest at Aint It Cool News (Warning, some language)]
Ebert and Roper give it Two Thumbs Up!
[Read Ebert’s review here on Friday]
[Listen to them talk about it]
Remember to read and review it yourself, here at NarniaFans!
