I've got tickets to the midnight showing of "Narnia"

(I know I already posted this earlier in the thread, but it got off topic a bit. Moderators, forgive the repost)

HERE'S MY MOVIE REVIEW:

Anticipation of this movie has been somewhat high for me. I first read the book in 6th grade, and still ahve special childhood memories associated with the story. My bigest worry was the amount of dramatic license that would be used to flesh out a 2 hour movie that, if held strictly to the book, might run just over an hour. Well, my worries were for nothing.

The on screen depiction is filled out so faithfully that only a person who has committed the book to memory will be able to discern what is strictly book and what is written for the screenplay. The movie starts with a brief backstory that sets the mood of WW2 England and the mental condition that four children of that era would have been put in. The four actors who play the parts of Peter, Edmund, Susan, and Lucy are perfectly cast. In fact, Susan and Peter were exactly as I had pictured them in my mind's eye as a sixth grader too many years ago. The CGI is so flawless, It took me several scenes before I realized that there's no way human legs could fit into "fawn pants". Mr Tumnus is incredibly convincing, and between him and the bevers, there's just the right amount of much needed comic relief. The White Witch is so convincing that one would have no problem believing that Satan can appear as an angel of light (I don't know if that was in Lewis' mind when he wrote her, but, intended or not, the biblical point is well made).

Then there's Aslan. Again, I can't say enough about the CGI. He looks like a real lion in every single scene. Plus, the voice of Lliam Neeson does for Aslan what James Earl Jones does for Darth Vader or Mufasa. I can't think of a more perfect voice to fit the part. In the climactic sacrifice scene (which everyone knows is coming, at least the adults do), the depth of the symbolism here is so well and reverently done (plus the fact that Edmund's prior deception is so well depicted on screen by the young actor who portrays him) that one truly comprehends the Christian messages of laying one's life for one's friends, not to mention the weight of having someone else pay the price for our wrongdoings.

And then there are the battle scenes. Very Lord-of-the-Rings-ish, except for one difference: Not a single moment of blood, gore, or overt violence. I must give the cinematographers kudos for this. They do a great job of breaking the story of the "written for kids" limitation, while still keeping the onscreen depictions of the battle family friendly without being watered down.

There are some very funny one-liners in this movie, some directly from the book, and some added (though, again, the added material is so faithful, one forgets wher the book ends and the screenplay begins). Susan's comment about the "Adam's flesh and Adam's bone" prophecy not rhyming is a hoot. Then there's a funny punch by Lucy who, after a visit from Father Christmas, tells Peter "I told you he was real!".

I could go on and on. But I'd only be giving some of the minor surprises away. Suffice it to say that the anticipation is well deserved. This movie truly and faithfully keeps to the book, in both letter and spirit. Not a single stroke of Lewis' pen is compromised, and the few items of dramatic license that deaprt from the book are so unnoticeable that you think they were intended to be that way in the first place. In fact, I didn't even notice until the next morning. The moral themes of the book remain intact, and the casting only serves to add to the depth of the written story. This, truly, is the way CS Lewis would have done it, in every detail.

OH, btw, after the credits start rolling, stay in the theater. There's a cute scene with Lucy and the Professor that is inserted between a few of the credit rolls.

Oh, and parents, this film is suitable for all ages from, I'd say, 6 and up. Any younger than that, and I don't think they'll have any comprehension of the story. It's appropriate for ages 6 to 166. Take the whole family. You won't be disappointed.

 

I believe that the movie will likely get nominated for visual effects and perhaps best screenplay adaptation. But it won't get a nod for best picture. It's not about any antichristian bias, it's about a bias against the genres of scifi and fantasy as being serious and legitimate motion picture art forms. The only reason Return of the King won best picture is because the two previous movies set such an unmatched precedent of quality filmmaking in the genre that the third movie could not be ignored. The first movie (Fellowship of the Ring) should have won best picture as well, but did not because of the fantasy genre bias.