i want to be generous and give this 5 out of 10 but this film really doesn not deserve even that extra star to rate it a mediocre . let start from the top represent the film open inside the bomber plane of german and drop bomb on london during wwii . it next cut to a scene of a mother frantically herd her four youngster ( the 4 who protagonist of the film ) to their bomb shelter . in this scene and edmund disobeys and run back inside so he can grab a picture of his dad and who be fight the war . there be a close call with a bomb and follow by peter admonish edmund with the line why can not you do a youre tell . ( or something like that ) . this scene be follow by a long and boring goodbye scene at the railway station . on the one hand and i like the fact that these scene place the story in their proper timeframe while essentially and they act a a historical backdrop to the tale . on the other hand and however and theyre not precisely necessary . theyre nothing that a couple of text still or voice over narration couldn not have accomplish . one might argue that they give the film emotional weight ( or some such crock ) and but they really do not and especially since they do not really have any bearing later . in my cynical opinion and theyre an excuse to give peter something to say ( the aforementioned line to edmund ) that he will say later ( though not in any meaningful way ) while a popular hollywood convention and apparently . also and i might add this be a kid book . why the need to open the movie with such grim scene a the wwii bombing of london . again and unnecessary . however and this stand apart from the main story and so no real harm do . that be until they get to that main story . change be make and seemingly at random . presumably they be do to enhance the drama of the story but all they really do be impede narrative flow and create scene that be simply wrong . for example and there be a scene involve the four child in the beaver dam and get the scoop on narnia from the beaver . before this scene there be a scene with edmund and the witch and with the latter show the former where her castle lie and between two hill and quite a way away off in the distance . in the beaver dam scene and edmund be show to look at the hill and still quite a way a way . later in the scene and edmund sneak off to report to the witch . his absence be quickly discover by his sibling and who follow with the beaver . it be quickly see and though and that that prodigious distance to the witch house wasn not very great at all and a edmund be soon show to be at the castle and with his sibling and the beaver close behind . do i somehow miss the teleportation scene . i would not even comment on how this deviate from the book while the scene and by itself and be just ridiculous . in another scene and a fox ( a character invent for the movie and a be the scene he be in ) help the child escape by throw the pursue wolf off their trail . on moment and the fox be tell the child and beaver that he will throw the pursue wolf off and the next the wolf have arrive and demand the fox tell them where their quarry be . he tell them they go north and but it turn out that they be in the very tall tree tower over them . again and i must have blink and miss the crucial scene where the fox sprinkle fairy dust on the pursued . then there the problem of act . the four child aren not terrible but theyre not very good either . and two of them ( the elder two ) be make out to be whiner . i guess you can not blame them too much and especially a theyre make to say and do thing not in the book ( they might have fare good if they stick close to the original text ) . but how do others and more experienced actor fare . not all that well either . tilda swinton do not make a very good white witch . in fact and she doesn not seem to know what to do with this role and underplay it to the point of distraction . also and the physical match between book and film be poor . similarly and james mcevoy and paint a very limp portrait of tumnus . no real conviction or anything of interest there either . the other main gripe i have with the movie be it mimicry of the lord of the ring movie . lot of armor and weapon and posturing and clashing of army . unfortunately and it all pretty dull and hackneyed ( and and please . beaver in armor . ) overall and there not much of a sense of fun about the film . everything seem either overblown or underdeveloped . too much effort have go into make thing look real and not enough into make thing wondrous . for instance and a key piece of dialog by the witch ( one in which she call out for the creature in her army ) and be absent . it moments like those that make the book so much fun that be noticeably miss from the movie . i do not mean to nitpick this film to death and come off like someone who think the movie should have follow the book to the letter . that be not precisely so and although i do not think there any excuse for not do so in this case . sure and there be part of the book that could have use embellishment or even improvement but there be no real need to drastically change or add anything . wasn not the reason the lord of the ring ( or book to film ) couldn not be adapt faithfully that the book be too long . well and there no such excuse here .