Dir: Andrew Adamson.I watched this the other day on DVD, and wasn't really expecting much of anything. Consequently I wasn't disappointed when the film turned out to be yet another dazzling special effects laden display of mediocrity. I enjoyed some of the scenes, and some of the creature effects (though I do so miss the old Jim Henson days) and one or two of the characters were appealing in their portrayal. I especially liked the dwarves (see image below) played by Peter Dinklage (L) and the excellent Warwick Davis (R).
I also liked the overall look of the Talmeranians, who seemed to be a hybrid of central European medieval and classical Greek, though I really hated their machine gun trebuchets. I've noticed that in the last ten years or so, trebuchets in Hollywood movies have gotten bigger and more unrealistic with each passing movie. I put this down to one-up-manship and an urge for ever greater spectacle. Suffice to say that a trebuchet has a limited range, can only fire once every 5-20 minutes, depending on size and the ability of its crew, and is not a weapon that can simply be wheeled into place and start firing without preparation.
My biggest problem with this film however, hinges on its entire premise. As I watched it, I was struck by how bizarre it is, grotesque even, to watch young children engaging in battle, hacking and slashing adults to death with swords. And the more I think about it, the more grotesque I find it. I wouldn't watch a film that showed children engaged in sex, so why am I watching a film that shows children engaged in killing?
I actually can't remember having read the original book, though I think I did at some point. I was never really a fan of CS Lewis, though I read 'The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe', and 'The Magicians Nephew' several times in my childhood. Even then they struck me as second rate (when compared to comparable works, such as 'The Hobbit, and 'Wizard of Earthsea').
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