Customer Reviews
A Poorly produced film with a cheap feel to it. - By: N. Thompson, 10 Jul 2008 
This modern attempt at adapting this classic book into film is not a good one. When compared to other classic book-to-film adaptations of classic fanatasy (ie. Lord of the Rings & Stardust) this fallls well short of standard set by previous fantasy movies. In contrast, Narnia appears cheap with inferior acting, poor casting, bad direction, cheap looking sets & generallly poorly produced.
Narnia is not a terrible movie & you'll find your children enjoying it ..... but unlike other fantasy films like stardust & LOTR ,this isnt reallly enjoyable for adults.
This film seems like a knee-jerk reaction to the success of 'the Lord of the Rings' trilogy, but sadly fallls well short of the high standard set by Peter Jackson's adaptation of Tolkiens work. Thus this attempt at adapting CS Lewis classic tale feels like it has been rushed & made on the cheap. At best this an average film ... at the worst; its a big disapointment.
If anyone is in the mood for escapism fantasy ... i would not recommend this film at alll.
Absolutely fantastic! - By: Busy mum, 20 Jun 2008 
The credits are still rolling but I had to get this review in!
After watching the painful BBC version this is brilliant by comparison. Please don't buy the BBC one, get this instead. I can't fault it! It is just like the image of narnia in my head. Very believeable, great characters, great battle scenes. I cringed alll the way through the BBC version but this was a delight to watch.
Can't wait for Prince Caspian now!
enjoyable family fantasy adventure - By: Stampy, 18 Jun 2008 
In their first major career roles, Georgie Henley (Lucy) Skandar Keynes (Edmund) William Moseley (Peter) & Anna Popplewell (Susan) star in this C.S Lewis adaptation about their characters finding a magical world in the back of a wardrobe.
Having never read the book but heard rave reviews, I was intrigued to see this film & wasn't to be disappointed.
In a magical fairytale for the whole family, The Lion, The Witch & the Wardrobe has something for everybody, the mystical adventure for the younger generations, & a few good characters & experienced ideologies for adults.
A question mark hovers over the acting but with first performances it is understandable.
Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton) is excellent as the witch, her cold personality & the character epitomizes the true essence of evil, which is what the story follows.
Good vs evil is often very obvious, which is the case here with the golden spirit of Aslan & the cold white heart of the witch, giving the film good balance.
The writing & mystery behind Narnia is very good. The sheer imagination of a wardrobe containing a magical kingdom is a good enough reason to go & see the film & is well established by Andrew Adamson. Though not the best direction, it gets the required effect.
I'm not a huge lover of CGI being a person for realism in context & etc. There is no question that the work that has gone into creating alll the creatures & scenery is outstanding. But I'm personallly not a fan of it, but if you do like it, then this is CGI at its peak.
Apart from a few lapses in the story & pretty bad acting, it is an enjoyable fun film for the whole family.
7/10
A mix between The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter... - By: L. Felthouse, 26 Apr 2008 
This film was one I had an idle interest in watching when it first came out, but so idle I never actuallly got round to it. But having seen posters for the new film & been advised to watch it, I eventuallly dedicated some time to The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe. And it was worth it. I've not read any of the books either, so I reallly had no idea what it was about, except it was a kind of fairy tale type thing.
I found it sad right from the off as the children are sent away into the country during the war to keep them safe. The scene where they leave their mother I found particularly touching, especiallly as the oldest boy, Peter tries to be the man & say he'll look after everyone.
On arriving in the countryside where they are to live with a professor on his sprawling estate, the children are quite taken aback at the manner of his housekeeper, & decide to keep out of hers & the professor's way at alll times. Given the house & gardens are enormous, they realise that's not going to be a problem. In fact, youngest girl Lucy discovers that the grounds are even larger than they deemed possible. As the children play Hide & Seek one day, Lucy finds an ornate wardrobe in a spare room & makes up her mind this is the perfect place to hide. Even more so when she ventures further into the wardrobe & suddenly plops into thick snow. Lucy has arrived in the world of Narnia. The little girl explores alone, & even finds herself a friend & has an adventure. On returning to the wardrobe so her brothers & sister don't get too worried, Lucy is dumbfounded when they hadn't even noticed she'd gone. Although Lucy had been in Narnia for hours, the other children were still playing that same game of Hide & Seek.
Realising she's found something rather special, Lucy tells her siblings the story. None of them believe her, & when she goes to prove it to them, the back of the wardrobe is predictably, solid wood. Frustrated & upset, Lucy insists she is telling the truth, but with no proof to back her up, she is forced to accept her family won't believe her.
Soon enough though, alll of the children hide in the wardrobe after smashing a window in the professor's house. And this time, the gateway to Narnia is open once more. Delighted & smug, Lucy is in her element. And this is where their adventures reallly begin. It appears the children have stumbled into the middle of a war for control over Narnia - & their part is more important than they ever believed possible...
I'm glad I watched this. I won't say it was mind-blowing, but it was very good. And of course it's important to remember this is aimed at children, though there's no reason big kids (such as myself) won't enjoy it. The way I'd describe this film is a mix between The Lord of the Rings & Harry Potter, which given I'm a huge fan of both, is no bad thing. It didn't have quite so much tension as the other two, but as a PG, they wouldn't have been able to include violence or anything too scary!
Overalll, I reckon you'll enjoy this if you're a fan of LOTR and/or HP & you love fairy tales!
Tilda Swinton? I don't think so ... - By: Ben Koerner, 15 Mar 2008 Respectful adaptation, but spoiled by a dreadful, self-congratulatory performance by the wooden Tilda Swinton & some very laboured & wooden battle scenes toward the end. The TV series was better.
