I actually wrote a review about the film Chronicles of Narnia for my school "newspaper". i wonder if you'll like it:
In the Second World-War many send thousands of British children to the farminglands, because the cities were interrupted by German bombardements. Because of this way, Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter Pevensie end up in the mansion of one professor Kirke. When Lucy is hiding in a wardrobe, she suddenly enters the magical world of Narnia. There she meets mister Tumnus, a friendly Faun, that tells her that his nation is going down under the tiranny of the White Witch. But apparently things will soon change, because an ancient prophecy tells the tale of 4 children, who with the assistance of the wise lion Aslan will put an end to the eternal winter, which has covered all lands of Narnia.
Now that Harry Potter has reached puberty, and Peter Jackson has left his Hobbits, the Disney-studio's have put all of their money (or some sleazy 180 million dollars) on this filmversion on one of the popular Narnia-books of youthwriter C.S. Lewis.
It was to be expected that the director Andrew Adamson (Shrek) would especially commit wonders on the visual aspects, with this rich fantasy-novel. The aesthetics seem to look somewhat strange, and the background-projections aren't always as succesfull, but the magical creatures look very real, by a mix of real actors and special effects.
But to mention, the entire atmosphere of the movie wouldn't really remind the audience to Lord of the Rings (even if C.S. Lewis was a good friend and colleague of J.R.R. Tolkien). It would rather link to more mysterious and more children-focused movies, like the Neverending Story, or Labyrint and such. But the difference is yet again the computereffects, such as used with Aslan (voice of Liam Neeson), but it never reaches the realistic level of the recent King Kong, altough it certainly beats Harry Potter in magic level (does anybody remember the lame-looking dragons? exactly).
The human actors are also doing a good job. Of the four children, the young Georgie Henley as the cute Lucy excells when she can't believe her eyes she's landed in a place like Narnia. Tilda Swinton takes care of the-probably unmeaned- sexual tension as the White Witch.
So in conclusion, forget Harry Potter, hang on during the slow first half of the movie, and ignore the Christian allegories. Just enjoy this better fantasy movie.
Outta 5..... i'lld give the Chronicles of Narnia 4 stars.
(these guys are also pretty keen about the Chronicles)
