Four children are sent to stay with a distant relative to get away from their city home during World War I.  They discover a wardrobe that leads them to Narnia, a magical land filled with magical creatures.  All is not sweetness and light there, though.  A war is looming, another good versus evil battle where the kind-hearted lion, Aslan, must fight against the cold-hearted witch.  Tilda Swinton plays the witch, the self-declared Queen of Narnia, to the hilt.  Why Aslan has disappeared for so long and then suddenly shows up again must be better explained in the book, because it wasn’t addressed much in the film except to reference “the prophesy” of “two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve” coming to change things for the better.  James McAvoy has a nice role as a faun, a kind of half-man, half-goat who befriends the youngest child.

Lots of Christian undertones, which is to be expected since the book is written by C.S. Lewis.  Charming movie, looking forward to the next one!

Wonderful performances from two masters of their craft – Nicholson and Freeman have terrific chemistry.  Sad, but sweet, and some nice moments for each of these fine actors.

This part is just so right for Matt Damon.  He doesn’t have to say much, all of his acting is in his facial expressions – very intense, deep, and thoughtful.  Julia Stiles plays his de-facto side-kick, and she’s great, strong and decisive.  The whole cast is great – Joan Allen, David Strathhairn – terrific performances.

The chase scenes are amazing – so much action, but not too much.  This is a thinker’s action movie.  And though we have some resolution at the end, we can hope for a fourth Bourne movie.