Chronicles of Narnia : Nice to read, even better to watch

So Bollywood offered another stale week, hence I thought why not I turn myself to Hollywood for a change. This is a movie site, and I bet there would be some people interested in Hollywood movies as well, so here I am with the review of Chronicles of Narnia.

Actually I went to see the movie 10,000 BC. why?? because an extremely hot chick told me its a good movie, but hey I should have known she got a poor taste, as she chose that ugly dork over me :p. But as I reached 10 minutes before the start, therefore got to watch the trailers of the upcoming movies. And there I saw the trailer of Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, and hence here I am with the review of part 1.

As a matter of fact I never saw Narnia in a hall, because Narnia has an inclination towards Christianity and I think that children’s books, movies, cartoons, should not be used as a tool to spread religious propaganda. But after listening to some great word of mouth, I caught it on a DVD. Though there were messages like Jesus’s resurrection, Christmas, Santa Claus, subtly added in the movie, but the keyword was subtle.

Movie starts with scenes from world war 2. German planes dropping bomb on England cities and straightaway you are introduced to the cast of 4 siblings, 2 boys, Edmund and Peter, and 2 girls, Lucy and Susan. Edmund is the eldest, whereas Lucy is the youngest. Peter is shown as a typical middle child, who craves for attention and a bit more importance. He is a kind of rebellion. Edmund, like every big brother, has an attitude, though he wants good for everyone. Susan is the second child, mature, and loving, like every girl, and Lucy is very cute and very honest.

So all these children are sent away to some professor’s home, so as to stay safe, where they have to live under a strict supervision of a housemaid. Though the house is HUUGE, but our focal point is a “small” closet. Children don’t have anything to do in this house, and they are not allowed to run by the housemaid. One fine day they decide to play a harmless game of hide and seek, and its during the game that Lucy gets inside the closet I talked about earlier, so as to hide herself, but this is a closet with no end, it leads her into a ne land altogether, the land of Narnia. Narnia is an extremely cold place, snow covering everything, with magic all around, and some weired creatures, ruled by a wicked white witch. Lucy spends the whole day over there, but to everyone’s surprise, when she gets back to the home, through same closet, it was as if she didn’t miss even a second of her life.

When this cute little girl tells her story to her siblings, it gets dismissed as a fragment of her own imagination, and when they try to see the closet, it appears to be just like any other closet, with an end, no route to Narnia. Still one fine day all 4 of these children find themselves in the magical land of Narnia, and then starts the journey of these 4 saviors to save Narnia from the hands of the white witch, end the cold weather, and restart the celebration of Christmas in this land. In their journey we come across king Aslan, the lion.

I won’t divulge any further as it ill just take away the excitement while not adding anything to the review. And OFC its better that you actually experience this excitement by yourself.

The movie is laden with some superb performances and some not so great special effects, spl when you put LOTR in hindsight. But the effects are interesting, colorful and soothing to eyes, unlike hellboy etc. Plus the fact that every effect was made in India, actually gave me a sense of joy and pride.

Characters are written beautifully and executed with similar finesse, Oscar winner Tilda Switon’s performance as a white witch clearly stands out as tall as one can expect. She definitely is the best actor in a negative role, thats what she proved to me after Michael Clayton and Narnia.

The lead cast is also impressive, the main characters are of Lucy and Peter, peter as a rebellion looked convincing, and when he joins the white witch, you feel for the boy’s mental condition, as he has always living in the shadow of Edmund’s sincerity and Lucy’s cuteness. Georgie Hensley, as Lucy, wins over your mind and heart. She comes out as a little sister everyone would desire, a friend everyone would need, and an honest person, which everyone aspires to be. Her being so little actually adds up to the “awwwwww” factor.

If you are not doing anything on this weekend, go ahead take a copy of this DVD, and all kids around you and inside you would love you to give them such a fine treat. Not only this, but you would also prepare yourself for the next part, Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. And if trailers are anything to go by, it could be as interesting watch as White Witch is.

My Rating???

4/5