I went to see this movie last night and it was very entertaining. There were some things that made me feel that I wasn't the target audience of the movie. The plot of the movie is that four children are sent to Northern England to escape the Blitz during WWII. Not much is told about the children other then they love their mother and each one represents some sort of archetype.
There is a little girl that is inquisitive and loving, an older girl that is smart and cautious, a younger boy that needs his ass kicked, and an older boy that is somewhat courageous. They also don't look anything alike and makes you think that the mother may have had a series of husbands along the way. So the children go to this place in Northern England owned by Jim Broadbent who is playing some sort of white haired professor. The children play hide and seek and the little girl finds a weird land beyond a magical wardrobe.
Various things happen and the other kids eventually enter the world. They meet up with a fawn, some beavers, a fox, and eventually a lion. There is some betrayal as the younger boy, who needs to get his ass kicked, keeps tipping off the evil queen played by Tilda Swinton to where various people are trying to hide.
Eventually there is a very nicely shot set-piece battle between the good forces and the bad forces. The younger boy does get his, when he is stabbed in what looked like the nuts but turns out to be the lower stomach. The movie seemed to be a morality play about betrayal and people standing up for others even at great risk.
It had a very whimsical quality that would appeal to younger viewers. I don't think it worked as well as I would have liked for older viewers though and here is why. As Skunkratt from ateoate.com pointed out to me, there was a very deliberate cleaning up of the blood of the various warfare scenes. It made things seem unreal.
For instance the older kid would be running Minotaur through with his sword while it is immaculately polished the whole time. I mean there is one scene where he kills this wolf and the shot pans down so we deliberately don't see the sword stick the beast. Then he pulls it out and the sword is shining bright as day. This lack of actual blood took away some the anxious moments at the end when the characters are in danger. They have a few cuts on themselves but the suspension of disbelief was harder when everyone is battling furiously only to be seen moments later wearing bright and shining armor.
The only sense that people were dying was when the evil queen would turn people to stone and they would shatter on the ground. You know the Lion won't be bringing that guy back. I wasn't looking for a gorefest but at least dirty up the older kids uniform with some cuts and bloodstains and have some blood squirt out when things are stabbed. Not a big fountain but a few drips to push the PG rating.
The other criticism I had was for the younger girl. She did a fairly good job overall but there are some scenes where she is called on to cry over the death of some creature or another. She continues to smile while crying at the same time. It looks a little like she is laughing over the demise of the creature. It was kind of weird and was s distraction from the various sad scenes.
Overall the movie is perfect for the younger kid to early teenager. The land is very interesting and many adventures can take place there using the imagination of a younger kid. Lots of fawns, dwarves, and talking animals to keep to keep a young kids mind occupied. I would have really ate this movie up if I saw it when I was 8-10 or so. But it didn't have the appeal that the Harry Potter films have for me. Those films are made for kids but still have lots of stuff that an adult can relate to and can enjoy. Narnia not so much for me.
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