The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
I’ll review this one from two perspectives:
1) As a admirer of the book and author: I always imagined the world of Narnia a bit darker and more mysterious than it was depicted in the movie. There was no fear associated with Aslan. Right off the bat, he was this nice friendly lion. The woods were not in any way dark or mysterious (”even some of the trees are on her side”). The witches’ castle seemed almost like a nice place to visit (that’s not how I remember it in the book). The filmmakers bent over backwards to ensure there was no blood or gore in the film, but there clearly was in the book (Peter had to wipe the blood off his sword, and Aslan’s death was much more graphic in the source material… However, I didn’t mind the fact that Aslan didn’t fly and bounce around.
2) As a filmmaker and critic: The editing was terrible. That’s my biggest complaint. It seems that director Andrew Adamson was nervous about making a live-action movie and covered every scene from every possible angle during production, and in post, the editor used all of the angles instead of finding the best few and sticking with those. The pace and tone of the editing throughout the film was nervous and distracting. There are no scenes that simply flow at a natural pace. Everything feels cut short, like trying to watch TV when someone keeps flipping through the channels. Ultimately, the pacing keeps us from connecting with any of the characters.
Also, the acting was stiff. Granted, this may be the fault of the director and editor, but so much of the emotional value of this story relies on the childrens’ performances, and I never believed Peter or Susan. My guess is that Adamson shot each scene so many times from so many angles, the kids couldn’t keep it up.
On a positive note: I did like the beavers. I liked Edmund and the witch. The CG seemed to do Aslan justice. I’m also willing to admit that I might be holding the movie to some impossible standard because I liked the books so much as a child. Like I said, I’m planning on giving it another chance while it’s still in theaters.