Reviews

While I realise this was not pure C. S. Lewis, I think this film was true to the spirit (especially the Christian spirit) of his books. In fact I have found the two movies in this series to be charming and well-made. Aside from this, I find them to be in some ways more vibrant and compelling than Lewis' often wooden tales. I hope many will see this movie--consider it a vote for good family entertainment. For, in these movies we seldom experience anything approaching the self-indulgence and brattiness found in the Harry Potter films, or the frantic pacing, slang dialogue, raunch and general noise of the Disney/Pixar movies. As for the story, it is a simple good-vs-bad tale. There is no lengthy quest involved--the kings and queens merely need to rally the Narnians to repel an occupying army--but the characters keep us engaged and they are convincingly played by the actors.

With box office attendance falling, Hollywood has finally caught on. The "Chonicles of Narnia" is a movie in the traditional style. For those of you tired of fractured fairy tales, anti-heroes, slang, dumbed-down dialogue and pop cultural references, flatulence gags, and other such staples of current family-geared movies, this is the movie you have been waiting for. Great visuals, lots of suspense, and a message of hope and sacrifice that is faithful to the book. The cast, writers, producers and director have taken C. S. Lewis' simple, almost wispy allegory and turned it into a vibrant, convincing adventure story.

This was one of the last of the great sword-and-sandal epics. Unlike many before it or since, it managed to get the facts generally correct. The story, recorded in Herodotus, concerns a small band of troops from Sparta who held off the advance of the Persian army in the 5th century B.C. In doing so, they gave their fellow Greeks time to organise a larger army. Themes include: democracy vs. despotism, and sacrifice for the sake of the common good. Ever stoic Richard Egan (star of "Pollyanna," "Esther and the King," and other fun films) does a great job of projecting the inner strength of Spartan leader Leonidas. This film is not to be missed and ranks with other memorable epics of the 1960s, such as "The Long Ships". Note: this is newly remastered and should not be confused with the botched version released some months prior.