oyuki

Thursday, December 08, 2005

Stabbing Chronicles of Narnia in a review

I am awaiting with a fair bit of anticipation the chance to see the cinematic version of C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. So I am reading various movie reviews to see what others who have seen it think of it.

After reading this one review, I feel like I have been slapped by the White Witch but with less finesse. More like a cold blade of steel indelicately thrust into a sensitive spot and twisted.

Most people are aware C.S Lewis was writing Christian allegory into the Chronicles of Narnia. So it is to be expected for this underpinning to show up in any movie adaptation. To not allow this into the movie would be akin to that hideous movie Troy in which not a single Greek deity showed up except Achilles' mother, even though the Iliad is brimming with divine machinations in which poor humans are caught up and ground up.

I am drawn to one conclusion. This ham-fisted reviewer went into the movie with his haughty condescension of mere Christianity and that has dominated his alleged review. When such treacle as "The Christian allegory is indigestible. He recycles biblical myths for young and impressionable minds" and "But I’m not actually bothered about the poisonous debate about feeding the minds of starving evangelical believers" lodged firmly in his review he neatly scuppers any pretension that he truly judged this movie on its own merits. Instead he judged it by looking down his nose.

I wonder how he would review The Screwtape Letters? This kind of amateurish review makes me want to go see this movie just to boost sales and perhaps give this snarky POM a case of apoplexy.

Chronicles of Narnia review

2 comments:

Lyn said...

Thanks for your review of the review. I agree, let's let the movie speak for itself and judge it on its own merits - whether it tells the story in a compelling way. Lyn from Bloggin' Outloud
(found you via TMH :-)

Anna said...

I agree, I could stomach valid criticisms of the movie like stilted acting or awkward directing. But to lay out that tripe in the middle of the review was over the top in bashing.

And Lyn thanks for stopping by. Feel free to comment. Must do something nice for TMH now. :) And I think I know what.