Movie Review: The Chronicles of Narnia, TLTWATW

[46and2aheadofme]

TweetImagine Lord of The Rings with the blood turned off and you've pretty much pegged Chronicles.

One thing that was weird was the big battle scenes without even a drop of blood. That and the blatent in-your-face Jesus/Christianity parallels are the only things I can think of to complain about. The Narnia children's books were written by C.S. Lewis, a christian writer, as a modern take on bible stories so I guess it can't really be helped if the movie turns out that way too. Gotta hold true to the books, right?

Other than those couple things that bugged me, everything else in the movie was really good. The four children are very very good, just as I imagined them from the books. The CGI is very well done, especially the animals. Aslan the lion (aka Jesus) is the best looking all-CGI animal ever done, I'm sure of it. And the landscapes make you think of landscapes, not green screens, which is something that most films fail miserably at.

Is it for the kids? Well, I would say it's not for kids from other-than-Christian families, if only because it would seriously get under my skin if I was, say, a Jewish parent. This is a good vs. evil film, so there's many ugly orc-like creatures and a mildly scary witch. There is also the aforementioned big battle, exactly like LOTR except with the weird no blood thing which I don't think makes it any less violent (where do they get these rules for rating movies anyway?). Personally I don't think I'd take a 3-year-old to it but I'm not a parent.

If I try and ignore Jesus being forcibly shoved down my throat (or blasphemied, if you're coming from the other side of the issue), this movie is very good. Truly one of those films that the whole family will enjoy, assuming the kids are old enough.

46 says 8/10

[solidground]

Tweeti saw this movie too..it was a bit childish but good if you like the LOTR type of movies..and i did not notice that many biblical similarities although there were a few.

[FUZO]

TweetHAVENT SEEN IT YET

[supasaiyan99]

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i saw this movie too..it was a bit childish but good if you like the LOTR type of movies..and i did not notice that many biblical similarities although there were a few.

I agree. It was childish. Unless you are Christian or understand the Bible then you really wouldn't be able to discern the similes/metaphors associated with the Bible besides the most obvious references of "Son of Adam and Daughter of Eve."

[daved150]

TweetI'M SURE, WITH MY FAMILY, I'LL OWN THIS FLICK...BUT, THE TRAILER LOOKED GOOD

[46and2aheadofme]

TweetOf course it's childish, it came from a children's book and it was made into a child's movie. It's still a very good movie. As for the Christianity theme, it won't bother you if you aren't looking for it. I just think it's interesting because I wondered for a long time before this movie came out how they were going to deal with that issue.

[T-Man007]

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Of course it's childish, it came from a children's book and it was made into a child's movie. It's still a very good movie. As for the Christianity theme, it won't bother you if you aren't looking for it. I just think it's interesting because I wondered for a long time before this movie came out how they were going to deal with that issue.

Why is it an issue? They were Christian books written by a Christian author when a connection to Chritian principles, where's the issue? You didn't think they would water it down to be politically correct for this over sensitve nation we live in do you? When someone goes to see a Christian movie they should expect Christian things. Just like when I go to see a Quintin T. movie, I should expect to see Quintin T. things. I'd be a fool to go see a Quintin T. movie and then complain about the language, sex and murder. One knows to expect foul language, murder and sex when seeing a Quintin T. movie.

[46and2aheadofme]

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Why is it an issue? They were Christian books written by a Christian author when a connection to Chritian principles, where's the issue? You didn't think they would water it down to be politically correct for this over sensitve nation we live in do you? When someone goes to see a Christian movie they should expect Christian things. Just like when I go to see a Quintin T. movie, I should expect to see Quintin T. things. I'd be a fool to go see a Quintin T. movie and then complain about the language, sex and murder. One knows to expect foul language, murder and sex when seeing a Quintin T. movie.

I agree. It's not a big issue to me personally which is why I gave the movie an 8. But it is an issue to a lot of people. Among Christian groups, this movie has generated the most talk since Passion of The Christ, and I think it's an interesting discussion. C.S. Lewis has gotten a lot of backlash ever since he wrote the books back in the 50s and 60s because of his intermingling of Christianity, greek mythology, and fantasy. In fact, this movie was watered down a lot compared to the books. Aslan doesn't have near the presence in the movie that he does in the books, for instance. And the White Witch is a much stronger character than depicted in the books, to make for a "better" movie. The Christian themes have been somewhat whitewashed in order to avoid offending some groups, but at the same time there is just no way to avoid the heavily Christian theme while still holding true to the book. I'm not taking sides here, I'm just pointing out that some see the movie as overtly Christian, while others see it as very un-Christian.

I would disagree a little bit about your assertion that people go to this movie expecting to see a Christian movie, I think that most people are just looking for a good movie, which it is. Not great, but good. Don't miss it because of this "issue". I just choose not to ignore it because it's a very important part of the story.

We will see this debate again when The Da Vinci Code comes out. The Catholic Church detests that book and there are already rumors of the movie removing many references from the book to avoid too much backlash from the Church.

[Testify]

TweetSo what you are saying is that it is a pretty good interpretation of the book, which we all know to be a children's book with Christian themes. I don't know that anyone can reasonably be offended by the Christian references, seeing that it is based on the book - oh, and noone's forcing anybody to buy tickets. That whole commentary just irks me . . .

[46and2aheadofme]

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So what you are saying is that it is a pretty good interpretation of the book, which we all know to be a children's book with Christian themes. I don't know that anyone can reasonably be offended by the Christian references, seeing that it is based on the book - oh, and noone's forcing anybody to buy tickets. That whole commentary just irks me . . .

Sorry if I offended you. Just for the record I do go to church and I do believe in God. I really liked this movie, and I guess I put more weight into the themes when I wrote my review because that's what I was thinking about after I saw the movie. It's not necessarily good or bad, but it's certainly there and in your face, and a lot of people (not your or me) simply ignore it or don't see it, or instead make way too much of it. That irks me, know what I mean? I'm kind of from the camp that says "ok, i see it, that's interesting and I'll think about it and talk about it but i'm not going to let it take away from my enjoying the movie".

[Testify]

TweetYou don't offend me 46 . . . I just read that, and i think "well what do you expect, really?" Why would someone go to see it if they disagreed with the content?

[3Vandoo]

TweetI liked it, but not much, saw it last week and the "older sister" acting is CRAP!!!!!!!!! She was getting me out of the mood with her shots like "hey look at me" Also the story is covered too quickly. Lewis takes the Northern Irihs conflict and mixed it with the bible to imagine the story, and with the movie if you didnt read the book you cannot identify much.

I didnt pay to see it, thanx Aslan

[46and2aheadofme]

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You don't offend me 46 . . . I just read that, and i think "well what do you expect, really?" Why would someone go to see it if they disagreed with the content?

you're absolutely right. I don't know why it bugged me but it did, I guess that's obvious from what I wrote. There were a couple scenes in particular that just felt strainge, like Aslan saying "It is finished." I kind of feel like they omitted a lot of really great stuff from the books too. If you look at the kids at the beginning compared to the end, it seems like it should have been 2 or 3 movies. I don't want to say anymore though because I don't want to spoil it for anyone.

[T-Man007]

TweetWell, I never read the books so nothing will spoil it for me. LOL I get what you are saying now 46. I thought, at first, you were complaining about the content but I see the point you were making. LOL I appreciate you going and seeing all these movies first and potenially saving me $$.

[46and2aheadofme]

TweetYou're welcome T! I figure hey, I watch a buttload of movies anyway so I might as well share my opinions about them with other people. But they're just my personal opinion, I'm sure everybody's tastes vary. Like anything on the internet, take anything I write with a grain of salt.