The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Andrew Adamson's (mostly) live action retelling of the first in C.S. Lewis' Narnia book series is good, if not entirely successful. The story is about four English children circa-WWII that find themselves transported to another world via a large wardrobe in the house of an old professor (Lewis?). In Narnia they encounter the White Witch, an evil sorceress who has left Narnia in perpetual winter, and Aslan, the mighty lion/Christ-figure. They also find themselves at the brunt of an ancient prophecy which destines them to be rulers of the land. The problem is that films strengths and allegorical depth seem solely a result of Lewis' efficient storytelling, and have little to do with Adamson. Wheras the greatness of Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings films can be as much credited to Jackson as to Tolkien. Adamson lacks the imagination and vision of a great fantasy filmmaker, yet I applaud his wisdom in remaining faithful to Lewis' text, and not making what could have easily become an embarrassing film. It settles for being a faithful incarnation rather than a visionary interpretation -- a visual book rather than a movie.