It is an unfortunate circumstance that the new movie ‘ The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe’ was immediately taken in by many people as very much the same type of movie as the Lord of the Rings trilogy. This comparison went perhaps as deep for most people as the fact that it was released in mid December and that the same special effects company worked on it. (That being WETA) The fact is, there are many similarities and comparisons to be made between the Chronicles of Narnia and the Lord of the Rings, but the movies themselves are two beasts of a different color. (how’s THAT for a tie-in to X-Men 3? Huh? No dice? Hello?)
Perhaps I should start with the basics. C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were friends, comrades, and fellow writers. They also founded the British Club for People who want to Feel Cool because they have Initials for First Names. (or the BCPFCIF, pronounced Bic-pyf-kif) One of the problems arises in the well documented (thank you extended edition dvds) fact that Tolkien hated allegory, and Narnia is one whole heeping chunk of allegorical storytelling. There is also the fact that Tolkien wrote very much to escape reality whereas Lewis was writing more based on his experiences through life. These inherent differences in the writers pulls through to the literature, and thus even seeps into the very essence of the movies based upon said literature.
Something major to keep in mind: Lewis wrote the books about Narnia as children’s books. He didn’t write a huge, complex, masterwork of fantasy literature and try to pawn it off as a children’s books. (Tolkien burn!)
Now I shall get on with the movie review: The Chronicles of Narnia movie was very well done, but it was by no means perfect. The largest flaw with it is that everyone who matters (mainly, nerds like us) will immeadiately compare it to Lord of the Rings. In comparison, Narnia is not as good as the Lord of the Rings. With LOTR you can obtain a feeling of total immersion in the world, and easily come to believe that the world of Middle Earth exists. In Narnia the story even starts in real-world england with real children, which serves to ground the story in reality and no doubt helps many children get much more involved in the story. However, this also puts the world of Narnia within the movie on the level with the real world. In LOTR this never happens, there is no relationship between Middle Earth and the real world. That is why Narnia has a much more difficult job of creating a believable and immersive world in which to set the characters, and this comes through in the movie.
Nonetheless, especially for someone that has read the books, Chronicles of Narnia is a very well done movie. The story is almost exactly true to the source, the special effects are astounding, and the acting is good if not great for some of the characters. (Most notably the White Witch did an absolutely perfect performance) Overall it was a satisfying and entertaining movie, but it had some overly cheesy moments (straight from the book) that will most likely be disliked by people unfamiliar with the material.
If you did not like Narnia, and completely disagree with me, that’s perfectly fine. I hate the Harry Potter movies, so it’s only fair.
Sucilaria says
Only a Slytherin would say that!!!
The Main Event says
I only saw 45 minutes of the movie (long story) but I was highly amused by some of the cinematography… namely some things that smacked strongly of LOTR.
Such as: The Children and Beavers (whatever they were) hiding under the rocks to evade “The Ice Queen.” I was just waiting for one of them to try to put on the One Ring only to have Sam Gamgee stop Frodo.
drscotto says
Actually, as a script, the movie is almost perfect. I have been in the stage play twice, and directed the show once. The renaming of the wolf from Fenrus Ulf was not necessary and his battle scene with Peter (the pinnacle of Peter’s development in the story) was much to short and ineffective.
But, other than that, the script was excellent, the choreography fantastic, and the movie version was just as I imagined it from the book and script. The stage play that I directed was very similar to the movie, even down to the final battle choreography. My Fenrus Ulf scene was better, as previously noted, but other than that I wouldn’t change a thing.
Don’t get caught up in the LOTR trap. These stories are not the same, and aren’t supposed to be compared to one another. The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe is a story about children and an allegory with many religious implications. If you read the book, or have seen the live production and liked either of them, you will love the movie. The movie portrays the story excacly as it is supposed to be portrayed. That’s why I give it such high marks.
On the +90 to -90 scale, I give this movie a +70. Not because it’s the best movie that I’ve ever seen, but because it was the exact Narnia that I wanted to see.
The Game says
I have three important points to make about this review. I have not yet seen the movie, but of course this is the internet and so I can comment on things I don’t really have an educated opinion of.
1. I think I can say, without any exageration or hyperbole, that everyone will agree that Return of the King is the best movie ever made, and no movie (especially fantasy movie) will be able to compare.
2. The cameo appearance of “England” will certainly leave a sour note in my mouth, hopefully Narnia is a lot like America in the movie to show how much better it is.
3. When you rearrange the letters in “Bartoneus” you get “Voldemort.”
Bartoneus says
I’ll just take this opportunity to point out how much you sound like you’re arguing with someone in writing, when you’re agreeing with them 100%. Sucka!
The fact remains, primarily with the lay-man/woman, that they will very quickly compare this movie to Lord of the Rings, which I agree with you in thinking that is a mistake. Unfortunately, it is inevitable.
I want to see this performed on stage. Can you direct another one soon? Or, if you have it on tape which I’d hope you do, let me borrow that sometime.
Oh yea, and your Harry Potter comments only fuel the furnace which drives my locomotion powered engine toward destruction of the entire world. Good job, you’ve doomed us all.
joshx0rfz says
Through complex computations…+70 on the -90 to +90 scale is approximately an 8.9 on the 1 to 10 scale. Or, if you prefer the 5 star rating system, that would be a 4.5 (which is actually a 1 to 10 system in disguise). The 4 star system is an entirely different beast however where it would be a 3.5.
Laymen (merriam-webster) – 1 : a person who is not a member of the clergy.
We must find out what the clergy think!
-Josh
The Main Event says
Keep in mind that the -90/+90 is a bell normaled systemed, with scores clustering most around 0 and less around the outliers.
drscotto says
In response to Voldemort (I mean — Voldemort):
I was not really “replying” to you. I wanted to post my own review, and did not feel like a whole new topic was necessary.
Unfortunately I do not have a tape, but with lots of effort that I’m not willing to put forth I may be able to get one.
drscotto says
In response to the whole ratings thing:
I pose a question. On the 1-10 scale, what do scores cluster around? Or, is the purpose to evenly split things between each number across the board?
For the record, +70 is the highest rating I’ve given to any movie since ROTK… by far.
kitten_doubt says
i am not a computer geek 24/7. only 22/7. lol i give the movie a +90, mostly cause of a certain guy in it, but i liked the effects and choreography too. by the way, I would like to point out, we do not live in a Harry Potter book, so do try not to compare people and characteristics to one (I loved the series though) oh and another thing, “Bartonues” does not have a “V” in it, so therefore, it cannot be rearranged to spell “Voldemort”. Suck on that.
Bartoneus says
Which guy? It’s not like Karl Urban was in it or anything…
And you can so rearrange Bartoneus to spell Voldemort, because he hates Harry Potter and so do I! (opinion purely based upon the movie versions)
Original Sultan says
Bartoneus said: “There is also the fact that Tolkien wrote very much to escape reality”. Not true. I once thought this, as you do, but I have since come to the realization that Tolkien did not write LOTR to escape from reality, but rather to Realize reality. Read The Gospel According to Tolkien and you’ll know what I mean.
Aside from that one stray comment, I have to agree with your review on basically everything else. The Chronicles are very different from LOTR, even if both have a lot of Christianity in them and both were written by English dudes, and therefore the Chronicles does not deserve to be judged by the LOTR standard.
Unfortunately, it can’t help that it always will be, and that’s really the major strike against it. My impression leaving the theater after watching Chronicles was “That was enjoyable, but it was no Lord of the Rings”.
Bartoneus says
Pshaw to criticising something I wrote 8 months ago! That line should have read: “Tolkein’s writing was very much an escape from the reality that we know of, whereas Lewis’ was an expansion of our reality”
I’m glad you agree with the rest of the review though, thanks!
The Game says
Pshaw yourself! I finally saw this on Netflix a few months ago, and not only was it no LotR, the acting wasn’t very good. The best actor was the youngest one, the little girl. And Aslan was totally not majestic, nor well voice-acted. It was enjoyable enough while it was on, but needed some work in important areas.