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Friday January 27, 2006

Narnia : Coming back through the Wardrobe...

Went to see 'The Chronicles of Narnia : The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe' recently, full of the trepidation usually reserved for classic book film adaptions...

It opens with a quite terrifyingly accurate portrayal of the blitz (though the Pevensey's blackout rigour left something to be desired) and proceeds from there at an energetic pace.

The English countryside looked like England for a change. The train stations were correct for the period (yes, most country stations were unmanned) and they even got the right steam train, a 4-6-0 Great Western Castle Class. Top marks!

The fear and worry etched in the mothers faces whilst evacuating their children to an uncertain future was spot on too, this was set when the UK was standing alone against the Germans and we were expecting to be invaded in short order.

The rest of the film was a faithful protrayal of the book, with a few 'action sequences' thrown in. However these didn't detract from the flow. Giving the Beaver an east London accent was a nice touch, and it worked. Some of the dialogue was especially good, my favourite being from the eldest boy 'Peter' as the children are deliberating about whether or not to follow the beaver when he bursts out with "It's a beaver! It's not even supposed to be talking!"

All in all it felt like a junior version of Lord of the Rings, and that's not a criticism. Go, see and enjoy. I was pleasantly surprised. Recommended.

( Jan 27 2006, 11:52:00 AM GMT / Jan 27 2006, 11:42:09 AM GMT ) Permalink
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