Let me begin this review by getting over the obvious and well deserved praise the film richly deserves before delving into what I feel are some equally important criticisms. Narnia is an absolute visual delight. The creatures come to life in a way I never expected to see. Aslan exceeded expectations here. Having seen the old BBC versions, was a bit fearful of what might happen. Rest assured there is no need to fear! The beavers make a splendid entrance and I was delighted that the animals could become so real and convincing in a fantasy film.

The dialogues closely match the book in content and spirit but the delivery is at times quite different. A few times I wished the movie adhered a bit closer to Lewis' original words but overall I think artisticly speaking, the film makers made the right call in updating the script. A particularly interesting alteration of the original Lewis is the early dialogue between Mr. Tumnus and Lucy. Exactly the same in spirit and the delivery comes off very well for the screen. Lucy's startling and sudden meeting with Mr. Tumnus is very convincing. The "handshake" is kind of cute. Mr. Tumnus' house was quite interesting and I wish I could have looked around a bit longer .

The ending battle sequences we're absolutely fantastic. I wasn't disappointed regarding the action, just the equitable distribution of action among the battle participants. yes, it's a family film but I can't help but wonder if the children could have been involved in a more convinving integral way. Particularly Edmund who seems to do nothing for long stretches during the battle scenes. He sort of stands around not doing much while a Peter Jackson sized LOTR sized battle rages about him.

Disappointing was the near absence of any in depth dialogue with Professor Diggory Kirke. He is given no time to develop as a character. He is a brief yet important part of the story and he barely talks to the children except in superficially short "let's just get it over with" dialogue. Granted, the professor's role in the story is short but it felt too short in the movie.

The tempo of the movie has some problems too. I felt the children were rushed into the wardrobe too quickly. There was also too little time between Lucy's first visit into the Wardrobe and her second. It just felt rushed. I'm not just nitpicking that it didn't match the book or skipped over some parts. The tempo was really rushed in the beginning.

Overall I must say that this movie is absolutely fantastic and was an total delight to see. The land of Narnia and the creatures who live there were quite lifelike and very convincing. I felt like the movie gave us so much. My hope is that an extended DVD directors cut with MUCH MORE early dialogue and character development is forcomming. Narnia is a big story, much too big for brief time alotted by the movie theatres. I'm hoping the DVD release is longer and remedies these defects in storytelling. I think Narnia needs at least three hours to breathe and unfold naturally. I really enjoyed my movie experience but I'm inclined not to buy the DVD or see the movie again unless there's more to see. It would be a great pity if they left this film in its present and, as I regard it, unfinished state.