The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe...
"There is death in the camera." C.S. Lewis said it, and it makes me wonder if he would still say it today, having viewed Andrew Adamson's adaptation of Lewis' beloved The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. My guess is that Lewis would take back what he originally said.
Now, before you say that is Lewis blasphemy, let me explain what I am trying to say. The reason why Lewis would retract his statement is because he would come to realize that no movie, regardless of how good or bad, can put to death the genius of a novel that Lewis put together.
Thus, if you think that your view of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe will be forever tainted by viewing the movie, then you are wrong. But, if you think you are going to see an excellent movie, you are also wrong.
Adamson's version is somewhere is not great, its not bad, it just is. I know that is not very helpful, and I should be full of robust adjectives to describe the movie, but you'll have to look elsewhere for a plethora of words. But I will give you my analysis of what was successful, and what was not. First, how about the successes.
Adamson did a great work with developing a few of the characters. You could tell he worked hard to bring us into the world that the children were going through, a war full of war, pain, separation, and confusion. This world would transfer to Narnia quite well, and they way they stick together is beautifully portrayed in the movie.
I am also happy to report that my favorite character in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Mr. Tumnus, was also played exceptionally well. Tumnus, played by James McAvoy, was everything I hoped him to be, from the faun scared of a young girl to a flute toting master.
The last part of the movie that was exceptionally done was the special effects and scenery. When the children were walking with the beavers, it was eerily real. The Narnia was beautiful, and the snow imagery, especially the queen's castle was well done. OK, so there were the parts I loved (aside from the story), but I did have some major frustrations with the movie, and here they are as well.
Anyone who has read the book knows how big of a role the Turkish Delight plays in the book. But in the movie, Edmund is only given the Turkish Delight one time. This is frustrating because this leads to a false portrayal of the queen and Edmund's relationship. In the book you get this queen that is both very likeable (what boy doesn't want all the Turkish Delight he can eat!) yet very evil. And that is part of the great power of Narnia, there is a strangely likeable queen that seems evil, yet has so much good to offer, that you really feel Edmund's struggle to decide to side with Aslan. In the movie, this is very disappointing.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment is Aslan. Liam Neeson, an incredible actor whom I always enjoy, was just not Aslan. After all, Aslan is supposedly a terrifyingly good animal, but there is no terrifying to Aslan in the movie at all. You can tell they try, but perhaps thats one best left to the imagination than to a movie.
OK, so you've heard my analysis of the movie, but now let me tell you why this is an important movie to see. First, it highlights the easy slide into sin that we find ourselves. After all, Edmund only wanted Turkish Delight, then he only wanted to be prince, then he only wanted to be king. All the while the queen is suckering him into her plan, and she has no regard for his life whatsoever. If this is not the most accurate picture of Satan's scheme I do not know what could be. Satan loves to lure us with things we like, because Satan would never come out and say, "I want you to die." But that is what he wants. So instead he offers us things like sex, drugs, gossip, pride, selfishness...(turkish delight...), things we want. We bite into the hook, and then before we know it we are being taken away.
But thank God that is not the end of the story. There is a man who has come to take you out of your prison and to take care of your punishment to satisfy justice. In Narnia, this is Aslan, on Earth, this is Jesus. Jesus took care of the deepest of sins by being murdered unfairly, mocked at continuously, and finally left for dead. But Christ did not remain dead and that is the hope for us.
But Jesus is no tame God. He does not look for easy way outs, nor does he want us to either. He wants us to earnestly seek Him, to follow His will, and the people the kind of people of we are called to be. I guess that is why I could never call anything related to this Narnia story bad, because it points to the only thing that is good about the world. Jesus.
Now, before you say that is Lewis blasphemy, let me explain what I am trying to say. The reason why Lewis would retract his statement is because he would come to realize that no movie, regardless of how good or bad, can put to death the genius of a novel that Lewis put together.
Thus, if you think that your view of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe will be forever tainted by viewing the movie, then you are wrong. But, if you think you are going to see an excellent movie, you are also wrong.
Adamson's version is somewhere is not great, its not bad, it just is. I know that is not very helpful, and I should be full of robust adjectives to describe the movie, but you'll have to look elsewhere for a plethora of words. But I will give you my analysis of what was successful, and what was not. First, how about the successes.
Adamson did a great work with developing a few of the characters. You could tell he worked hard to bring us into the world that the children were going through, a war full of war, pain, separation, and confusion. This world would transfer to Narnia quite well, and they way they stick together is beautifully portrayed in the movie.
I am also happy to report that my favorite character in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Mr. Tumnus, was also played exceptionally well. Tumnus, played by James McAvoy, was everything I hoped him to be, from the faun scared of a young girl to a flute toting master.
The last part of the movie that was exceptionally done was the special effects and scenery. When the children were walking with the beavers, it was eerily real. The Narnia was beautiful, and the snow imagery, especially the queen's castle was well done. OK, so there were the parts I loved (aside from the story), but I did have some major frustrations with the movie, and here they are as well.
Anyone who has read the book knows how big of a role the Turkish Delight plays in the book. But in the movie, Edmund is only given the Turkish Delight one time. This is frustrating because this leads to a false portrayal of the queen and Edmund's relationship. In the book you get this queen that is both very likeable (what boy doesn't want all the Turkish Delight he can eat!) yet very evil. And that is part of the great power of Narnia, there is a strangely likeable queen that seems evil, yet has so much good to offer, that you really feel Edmund's struggle to decide to side with Aslan. In the movie, this is very disappointing.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment is Aslan. Liam Neeson, an incredible actor whom I always enjoy, was just not Aslan. After all, Aslan is supposedly a terrifyingly good animal, but there is no terrifying to Aslan in the movie at all. You can tell they try, but perhaps thats one best left to the imagination than to a movie.
OK, so you've heard my analysis of the movie, but now let me tell you why this is an important movie to see. First, it highlights the easy slide into sin that we find ourselves. After all, Edmund only wanted Turkish Delight, then he only wanted to be prince, then he only wanted to be king. All the while the queen is suckering him into her plan, and she has no regard for his life whatsoever. If this is not the most accurate picture of Satan's scheme I do not know what could be. Satan loves to lure us with things we like, because Satan would never come out and say, "I want you to die." But that is what he wants. So instead he offers us things like sex, drugs, gossip, pride, selfishness...(turkish delight...), things we want. We bite into the hook, and then before we know it we are being taken away.
But thank God that is not the end of the story. There is a man who has come to take you out of your prison and to take care of your punishment to satisfy justice. In Narnia, this is Aslan, on Earth, this is Jesus. Jesus took care of the deepest of sins by being murdered unfairly, mocked at continuously, and finally left for dead. But Christ did not remain dead and that is the hope for us.
But Jesus is no tame God. He does not look for easy way outs, nor does he want us to either. He wants us to earnestly seek Him, to follow His will, and the people the kind of people of we are called to be. I guess that is why I could never call anything related to this Narnia story bad, because it points to the only thing that is good about the world. Jesus.
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