Reviewing Movies

Let's be clear about this, we're in a Disney Film. Hundreds of beings get killed but there is no blood shed. The scary bits occur in scenes of nightmarish hues because that's when we're allowed to feel frightened. We are led to believe a teenaged boy can hold his own in single-handed combat against a grown man twice his age.

It's a pity C.S. Lewis isn't around to comment on what has been done with his fairy tales. We'll never have the opportunity to hear his thoughts. A high-concept movie such as this demands a suspension of disbelief and to maintain that engagement we need to be drawn into the story. Through it all the children involved maintain a healthy scepticism about the unreality of their situation. We're in a world where the good guys are hard to distinguish from the bad guys at times but there definitely are good guys and bad guys.

The special effects blend seamlessly into the action and the daylight scenes are sweeping. The heroes have very human foibles and weaknesses and the creatures behave in half human half animal fashion. One could almost believe there actually were centaurs. In the end one has to acknowledge that this is a world of make believe and if one analyses it too closely one will destroy the illusion. How much one is able to drawn into this world depends to a large degree upon one's willingness to exercise that imagination.