Let's get one thing straight - this is not the next Lord Of The Rings. That trilogy set the bar so high for fantasy films that it would take something pretty amazing to even equal it. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is not that film.
Amazing (but sometimes a bit wonky) effects sequences, wonderfully animated talking creatures, beautiful sweeping New Zealand scenery and odd flashes of humour can't stop this being very clearly an old school children's' film with a simplistic story, cheesy - yet key, from the source material - bits (like the appearance of Father Christmas to hand out the 'magic weapons') and occasional two-dimensional characters.While we're obviously supposed to root for our young protagonists - the Pevensie siblings: Georgie Henley as Lucy; Skandar Keynes as Edmund; William Moseley as Peter; and Anna Popplewell as Susan - they are rather overwhelmed by the supernatural elements of the story, particularly the pitch perfect casting of the iconic Tilda Swinton as Jadis The White Witch.
Thankfully the Christian subtext of C.S. Lewis's novel is presented here subtly and Liam Neeson turns in a warm vocal performance as Aslan, but it's the CGI Beavers and wolves that will really stick in the mind.
A mild distraction, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is a pleasant piece of gore-free fluff that would have become (in the olden days of limited TV channels) a Saturday afternoon television staple to distract the wee kiddies from their consoles and social media once ITV's copy of the Railway Children had worn out.
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