Okay -- Narnia

Everyone else is blogging about it and I'm not sure what I have to offer, but here are a couple thoughts... First, I must say that as a popularity snob, I was pre-disposed to not like this movie. Maybe it's a defect of character, but when the local Christian radio station gets all excited about something, it makes me want to run away. But after seeing it Sunday night, in a surprisingly empty theater (less than 1/4 full), I'll give it a 7 (out of 10). Here's the breakdown: Graphics -- because it's in the same genre as Lord of the Rings, there will be inevitable comparisons, and frankly, this movie can't hold a candle to LOTR. There were multiple occassions that I thought it felt like vintage 1980's graphics. Also, I found the battle scenes to be particularly lame -- but this is a movie cleared aimed at the 10 and under set, so it is what it is. Story -- As far as movies go, this one did a better job than most at following the book, although I thought at times the story in the movie moved somewhat slowly. (This may be the first time that I could actually read the book faster than I can watch the movie!) I thought it could have been shortened by about 20 minutes and been none the worse. I was initially afraid that it would be overly Christianized. Actually, my lingering question after watching is "would I have liked this movie if I weren't a Christian, who grew up reading Narnia?" My last comment is simply a link to another blog post called The Children, The Witch and the Wardrobe (and a lion). It's not a blog a usually read, but I followed a link from another site, and I thought that this woman really captures something that I didn't know how to voice, namely that this movie felt soulless. (If you're interested, just follow the link, although her shot at churches that don't have services on Christmas Day, is a little rude.)