Stats: Starring Georgie Henley, Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy, Liam Neeson. PG.
Background: A lover of The Chronicles of Narnia since my mom first read the books to me in elementary school, I was thrilled when I learned Hollywood was making a film adaptation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I went with some friends opening weekend, and while I enjoyed it, it didn’t quite live up to my expectations.
Nevertheless, I did buy the dvd almost immediately after it was released. And in the intervening years, I’ve seen it a total of one time! (I also own the BBC/Wonderworks productions of four of the Narnia books—and I vastly prefer them to what has come out of Hollywood so far.)
Reactions: Visually, The Lion is spectacular. The CGI is amazing. And it’s a pretty good adaptation of the CS Lewis classic. As would be expected, the screenwriters took a few liberties when adapting the book into a screenplay. Most notably, a fairly major scene—the one where the ice breaks as they’re crossing the river, and Lucy is nearly swept away—is completely made up. I understand that it adds to the adventure, but still … It did stay much truer to the book than its sequel, Prince Caspian, did—don’t even get me started on all the things wrong with that movie!
One thing I must mention is that Harry Gregson-Williams's score is absolutely phenomenal. I don't know why I never noticed it before. It's so beautiful!
Verdict: Keep
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