It's been an overdose of fantasy for me in the last few days I guess. First, in anticipation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I, I watched all the previous ones at a stretch. For this, I had to do a similar thing. Else how would it make any sense ??? The Narnia series, it seems, is shaping up to be the replacement of the Harry Potter series. We all know that Harry Potter is gonna be done with by the next year. That will leave us with the Narnia series, and with four more movies to go, I suppose that's gonna last a long while till another fantasy movie series pops up.
The movie begins with the Pevensies being transported to Narnia "least when they expected". This time, they have their cousin Eustace with them who takes some time to accepting the Narnian world filled with talking creatures and other such wonders. He reacts similar to how the Pevensies did when they first saw Narnia, only he's more scared than surprised. Since they've landed in Narnia unexpectedly, there has to be a reason for it. And there is, and a supposedly good one - one which will not only test their battling skills what with dragons, serpents and storms on the way, but also bring them face to face with their inner demons and fears.
As far as the similarity of the movie's plot with the book goes, I frankly admit to having no idea regarding that. I've viewed the movie as a movie, as a sequel to the first two and as such, won't be able to comment on how well the movie follows the plot of the book. On the surface of it however, the plot is fairly basic but filled with too many characters to confuse someone who isn't familiar with the books. All the cast members perform well though the star of the show has to be Reepicheep the mouse - he is so endearing that you'd often find yourself rooting for him. And then again there's Aslan the Lion who, in my opinion, is the best (CGI) wonder ever created in the Narnian movie universe. His mere presence in a frame makes it stand out. He appears responsible, wise, calm and like a father figure to the Pevensies and others - the character is so greatly conceived that his mere sight makes you respect him. He truly has the aura of a king and rightfully deserves to be one. And Liam Neeson does a fabulous job of voicing him as do the animators on making him appear life-like. And when the soft and soothing background score plays in the background during his presence, you're bound to feel a lump in your throat. You'll definitely hear a child scream "Aslan" in the movie theater when he first arrives.
Visually, the film is simply outstanding. Such is the richness of the effects that it makes me wonder how on earth can the film be made on a budget of "just" $140 million. I mean, the amount of visual effects present in the film and the quality of each shot is simply brilliant - from the dragon to the serpent to the wide shots of The Dawn Treader to the Islands to the waves to Reepicheep the mouse and finally, the great Aslan. Lighting, it seems has improved to the point that it is difficult to tell what is CGI and what is real. The main musical themes have been recycled from the past films which is a great thing since those themes were simply heart touching, especially Aslan's. The set design is also good although as mentioned, it is hard to distinguish between real and digital sets.
Like many movies with excessive VFX, the movie tends to give a slightly more focus to the effects (maybe because it is a children centric film). Although made for children, adults shouldn't find this a reason to stay away from the movie. The movie might tend to get a bit boring at times. And the biggest drawback of the movie is the 3-D which, quite simply, is as good as not there. By all means, you'd be better saving some bucks and watching the movie in 2-D; it might as well also save you a headache. As a matter of fact, the commercial shown during my movie screening had better 3-D that that found in this movie. Despite its drawbacks, it is a good movie and can make for a good viewing with / without family. If not for anything else, I recommend it, For Aslan !!!
Score: 6.5 / 10
