The Chronicles Of Narnia (2005)

So that wasn't as bad as expected, really. I've heard some pretty mixed reviews so far, but having read the book not too long ago, I knew what to expect. The movie follows the book almost literally, so the story offers no surprises (and is chock-full of crypto-christianity, as expected). That's the main problem of Narnia in my opinion, the book just isn't that good and the movie can't rise above the book's limitations, storywise.

Another weak point is the use of CGI. While the individual figures are animated well, they somehow don't really seem to fit. I never forgot that Aslan is a CG effect, something that frequently happened with, say, Gollum in the Lord of the Rings. The creatures in Narnia always seem to be pasted into the world, not live in it.

The acting was ok for the most part, with the children being every bit as annoying as in the book. Only Tilda Swinton as the White Witch was a serious miscast, in my opinion, she's never able to bring across the sheer coldness and evil the witch should radiate.

This is also a Disney movie, so strange phenomenons like Peter's sword being pristine after cutting down dozens of foes and Aslan or Edmund not bleeding when stabbed are little annoying reminders that old Disney conventions die hard.

Overall, the source is a children's book (and not a very good one, in my opinion), so there's no surprise that the movie isn't the next Lord of the Rings. As it stands, Narnia isn't really horrible, but it isn't good either. A so-so movie that won't save the year for the industry (at least judging from the half empty auditorium on premiere day).