Narnia Review
Dec. 11th, 2005 11:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alobearThe cows have passed me by, I'm afraid. I got half way through typing an account of the adventure, hit the wrong buttom and it all disappeared. If I have the time, the inclination and the memory of the details, it's possible I'll write something over Christmas, but unlikely. On the upside, I submitted my article for the "She's Such A Geek" anthology - many thanks to all who gave me feedback on it, especially ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
lareinemisere, who provided the title.
Anyway, on to the review! I went to see The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe withcholten99, vampadvocate and Chris last night.
It was good. I liked it.
In some ways, I think I ought to just leave it at that, but the reviewer in me can't help but expound.
It was never going to be Lord Of The Rings. Just look at the books, and you can see it's impossible to compare them, so why compare the films? The scope, the depth, the tone are all so divorced from one another, it's clear that the Narnia books aren't even remotely trying to be Lord Of The Rings - they make their own way. Equally, the difference in period makes it unfair to compare Narnia to Harry Potter - again the books are utterly different, so we shouldn't compare the films.
Unfortunately, it's impossible not to, so I'm going to anyway! The Narnia books may not be trying to be Lord Of The Rings, but the film certainly was, and it shouldn't have been because there was no way it could match up. It had none of Rings' grandeur or depth - it was a simple tale, simply told and, within its own parameters, told extremely well.
The kids were very well cast and, in my opinion, far superior in acting ability to the Harry Potter trio. However, that may just be because stilted dialogue sounds so much more natural coming from characters from the 1940s. The period detail in the first section of the film, and in the characters themselves, was excellent - I didn't think there were kids today that could be made to look like that, but they had the right features and the right attitude. The filial relationships between the four of them were very well drawn, and I thought the changing family dynamic throughout the film was well presented, too.
The biggest problem for me was that I didn't like the White Witch at all. She wasn't menacing when she was meant to be, and she wasn't attractive when she was meant to be, either, and her wardrobe was terrible. For me, she just didn't convince as a viable threat, but then I guess the ease with which Aslan tricks and defeats her shows that she isn't. In which case, why on earth did he let her take over for 100 years?
I did very much like the touch in the final battle that had her wearing a cloak made from Aslan's shaved mane, though.
Perhaps tellingly, the highlight of the film was when the kids were told of the prophecy.
Peter: We're not heroes!
Susan: We're from Finchley!
And the whole audience at Finchley Lido cheered!
All in all, I very much enjoyed the film, but it didn't blow me away.cholten99 may disagree with me on this, but I think expecting every film that comes out to blow me away is unrealistic, and a road to endless disappointment. I went in with no great expectations, and I came out thinking that the film-makers had done a fine job. If more are made, I will gladly go and see them, and probably very much enjoy them, too.
lareinemisere, who provided the title.Anyway, on to the review! I went to see The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe with
cholten99, vampadvocate and Chris last night.It was good. I liked it.
In some ways, I think I ought to just leave it at that, but the reviewer in me can't help but expound.
It was never going to be Lord Of The Rings. Just look at the books, and you can see it's impossible to compare them, so why compare the films? The scope, the depth, the tone are all so divorced from one another, it's clear that the Narnia books aren't even remotely trying to be Lord Of The Rings - they make their own way. Equally, the difference in period makes it unfair to compare Narnia to Harry Potter - again the books are utterly different, so we shouldn't compare the films.
Unfortunately, it's impossible not to, so I'm going to anyway! The Narnia books may not be trying to be Lord Of The Rings, but the film certainly was, and it shouldn't have been because there was no way it could match up. It had none of Rings' grandeur or depth - it was a simple tale, simply told and, within its own parameters, told extremely well.
The kids were very well cast and, in my opinion, far superior in acting ability to the Harry Potter trio. However, that may just be because stilted dialogue sounds so much more natural coming from characters from the 1940s. The period detail in the first section of the film, and in the characters themselves, was excellent - I didn't think there were kids today that could be made to look like that, but they had the right features and the right attitude. The filial relationships between the four of them were very well drawn, and I thought the changing family dynamic throughout the film was well presented, too.
The biggest problem for me was that I didn't like the White Witch at all. She wasn't menacing when she was meant to be, and she wasn't attractive when she was meant to be, either, and her wardrobe was terrible. For me, she just didn't convince as a viable threat, but then I guess the ease with which Aslan tricks and defeats her shows that she isn't. In which case, why on earth did he let her take over for 100 years?
I did very much like the touch in the final battle that had her wearing a cloak made from Aslan's shaved mane, though.
Perhaps tellingly, the highlight of the film was when the kids were told of the prophecy.
Peter: We're not heroes!
Susan: We're from Finchley!
And the whole audience at Finchley Lido cheered!
All in all, I very much enjoyed the film, but it didn't blow me away.
cholten99 may disagree with me on this, but I think expecting every film that comes out to blow me away is unrealistic, and a road to endless disappointment. I went in with no great expectations, and I came out thinking that the film-makers had done a fine job. If more are made, I will gladly go and see them, and probably very much enjoy them, too.
