Narnia - The Movie (some spoilers)

'Twas free at the SUB tonight, so I tagged along with Fibonacci and cohorts.

Very well done, overall. It stayed very close to the book except right at the beginning (giving an explanation for why the children were being sent away) and during the battle scene. You may recall I complained that the battle scene was underdone in the book. They fleshed it out. Good effects. Idiotic strategy. Okay, you're outnumbered. You've got hillsides and rock all around you. So, naturally, you meet the enemy idiotically on the one flat piece of ground????? Sorry, that was just stupid. If all the ground around had been flat, fine. But use the bloody geography! Make them come to you! They're the attackers; attack ALWAYS leaves you vulnerable. Use that. Stay BEHIND the hill until they attack, then have your archers pick them off one by one as they top the rise. Let the rocks funnel them into death traps. There were places there where 6 fighters could have held off a thousand. I suppose that the resurrection/resuscitation at the end wouldn't have been as dramatic that way, though. :p

Then there was the queen. Her voice was perfect. Cold. Uncaring. Her appearance...was ridiculous. She's supposed to be coldly beautiful. So what's with the hair...? I think in a still painting, hair like that could have been made to work, if the light caught the ice just right. But in motion? Not unless they use computer graphics to get it right. And her outfits (and makeup) didn't help. Especially not the Xena outfit at the end. (By the way, what kind of idiot has her chariot stop with its bear-ers right at the edge of a small narrow cliff? How the devil did she manage to get it back down? Oh magic, right. She's the witch.) I think the actress did a decent job, but she really needed a new stylist. She's supposed to symbolize frozen stagnation, not wild abandon.

Also, I agree with everyone who complained about the scene where Lucy first finds the wardrobe. She's playing hide and seek. She might pause for half a second to stare at the wardrobe and think "Hey! A hiding place!" But then she would race to it and climb inside. Another minor complaint: Aslan. In appearance, I thought he was superb. I didn't care for the voice-casting. I know that it's almost cliche to use James Earl Jones, but a voice like his would have been so much better.

Yes, I've ranted a bit, but I did enjoy the movie overall. My one biggest complaint, really, is the lack of strategy in the battle. Either the one who choreographed the scene didn't know the geography they were planning to shoot in or he was an idiot. But I've said enough there. Beautiful effects. Good casting, especially with the children. In most places, very good attention to detail.

:^D And now, my philosophical take on the story: it symbolizes the futility and illusion of duality. I'll elaborate if anyone cares to ask, but it's more amusing to just make a broad statement and stop. So I will.