The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

Having always been a fan of the C.S Lewis' Narnia books this is the one film i've been waiting for a long time to see and i was hoping i wasn't going to be disappointed.

When you've seen films like the LOTR trillogy and Harry Potter you're always going to expect something equally special for a franchise as precious as the 7 Narnia books. The film is much easier to follow than the Harry Potter movies but isnt really as involving as the LOTR movies, in my opinion this is no bad thing but really it doesnt have the epic feel of those aforementioned franchises.

The movie is a screen adaptation of the first of seven books and a good introduction to both the written word and future movie versions and you are imediately introduced to the four main characters and the situation they find themselves in. They are sent off to stay with Professor Kirke in his huge mansion during the Blitz on London during World War 2. Its a spectacular scene as German bombers are seen dropping bombs on London below but things really dont justify the expectations arisen from this scene. LOTR had huge rolling landscapes, awsome cities, castles and forts but this doesn't. You dont feel like your involved in a huge world but more of a close valley thats following 2 paths, forwards and backwards with everything restricted inbetween.

The acting isnt too bad, with a young set of core characters there is always the possibility of lack of experience dashing any hope of a strong performance, but this wasnt the case. Though the children hardly seem the warrior type, they individual character personalities are executed well and you find your own feelings forming allegiance with various characters.

All in all Disney has done a comendable job with this first Narnia movie, paving the way for many others. They got the balance almost right and i reckon they'll take the lessons learned from this first movie and improve on future Narnia adapations.

I'm gonna give this movie 3.5 out of 5.