The Chronicles of Narnia (2005)
Genre: Action / Adventure
Format Viewed: DVD
Filmography links and data courtesy of The Internet Movie Database.
Now before we even begin, I want to go on the record as saying that for the most part, I do try my best to talk about movies that I truly enjoy in this column, or at least those that I can certainly appreciate on at least one given level or another. Of all the bad movies that I watch, I really want to make an effort to move past them and find something a bit more worthwhile to talk about here because at the end of the day, I’m a film enthusiast because of the great films, not the lousy ones. Of course, in that same right, there are times when the stinkers just have to be discussed if for no other reason than hopefully preventing someone else from wasting the same hour and a half or more that you just did…
The Chronicles of Narnia is one of those movies.
This flick was billed as the epic movie of the year, poised to pick-up where the Lord of the Rings fervor died off at the trilogy’s end and become the new big-ticket fantasy franchise that, with any luck, would warrant sequels for the other six books in the original C.S. Lewis series. And if it could manage to steal a little thunder from that Harry Potter fellow along the way, too, then all the better, right?! Well, that was the plan, anyways…
I probably don’t even have to admit it, but I read a lot of science fiction and fantasy novels when I was growing up. My Dad gave me my first copy of The Hobbit when I was in the fourth grade and within maybe a week or two tops, I was begging to read its more grown-up sequel, The Lord of the Rings. Those books were thick and intimidated a lot of my classmates when they saw me carrying one to read “in my spare time,” and it probably made the teachers a little curious, too, as the “recommended reading” on their list certainly didn’t include any 500+ page novels for our grade level! I loved those books and have probably read each of them half a dozen or more times since, just as now I watch the movies derived from those stories every chance I can get.
I did also read The Chronicles of Narnia growing up, but it just wasn’t the same experience for me. The story didn’t grab me and I actually remember having to force myself through some of the books with the hope that the tale would eventually pick back up and peak my interest again…but it never did. I read the entire series exactly once and never again – the books now sit in a box somewhere, waiting for more shelf space so that I might warrant unpacking them, but as long as new writers like J.K. Rowling keep cranking out better stories, its just not looking good for Mr. Lewis. And go figure, as opposed to The Lord of the Rings, Narnia was written as a children’s introduction to the fantasy world! Maybe I just wasn’t your average child when it came to that world – I expected more, and apparently that standard holds true even today.
I didn’t like The Chronicles of Narnia because it didn’t have any substance for me. The plot was weak, the characters were forgettable, and it didn’t even come close to stacking up to the hype that had been created for it. Aside from a few notable CGI landscapes, I really got nothing out of this film and don’t have much more to say than that. Which admittedly is kind of odd because I would’ve thought if anything, with all of the religious implications that surrounded the contrived hype for this movie, I’d have a little more to say, but I really don’t – it just wasn’t a very good movie … end of story.
Sad, too, because as always, my opinion is just one drop in the bucket and even now its looking like the first installment in this series did at least well enough for Disney to begin production on its sequel, Prince Caspian. Whether or not they’ll go through with the entire series of seven is still to be foreseen, although likely the mantra is that as long as Harry Potter can pull it off, so can Narnia. The difference, in this case, is that Harry Potter, much like Lord of the Rings, has a worthwhile story that is worth telling on the silver screen, but I digress…
Rent or buy this one if you want – millions of people are claiming to love this film – but if you grew up on better literature, don’t say I didn’t warn you if you wind up disappointed at the end of those grueling two hours and twenty-three minutes.
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