The Culture War Is a Bust
The reviews for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe continue to trickle in, and they continue to be uniformly mixed. So rather than post a bunch of links to a host of reviews that pretty much duplicate what's already been said, we thought it more productive to observe that, in general, the reviews do NOT reflect the cultural tug-of-war exhibited in the press during the lead-up to the movie's debut. So much for this round of the culture war, apparently.
So what's that mean, precisely? Except for a very few cases—ones that are very clearly driven by ideological agendas—almost no one out-and-out dislikes the movie; in roughly equal proportions, mainstream and religious reviewers are split between lukewarm reviews and enthusiastic receptions. And the dividing issue is the same across the board also: most enthusiastic reviews rave about the movie's value as family entertainment, and lukewarm reviews concede that point while regretting the movie's failure to be artistically challenging.
The big follow-on stories will be: First, the question of boxoffice. Will the movie have "legs," as they say in the industry, and sustain the kind of numbers the movie posted for its opening? Will it achieve blockbuster status and launch a franchise?
Second, the question of marketing to Christian audiences. What does the failure of Christian film critics to uniformly line up behind this movie mean? Will the Christian leaders who helped promote the movie, sight unseen, still assert that this is a "great Christian movie" even though many Christian cultural gatekeepers find the movie neither "great" nor as "Christian" as was hoped? Will the Christian audience even pay attention to what the critics think?
Interestingly, the latest promotional email from Motive Entertainment, Paul Lauer's public relations firm that's been pitching the film to Christian audiences, urges "Friends of Narnia" to "do everything you can to help us keep Narnia at the #1 spot this weekend. If you haven\'t already seen the movie, PLEASE GO THIS WEEKEND. If you have, PLEASE GO AGAIN and BRING A FRIEND!"
And which critics does Lauer blurb to push this follow-on effort? Joel Siegel, Christopher Tookey, Jim Ferguson, and Ebert & Roeper. Mainstream critics, not reviewers from Christian publications. What does that mean, exactly? We're not sure.
Well, time will tell. What an interesting holiday season! (And yes—the holidays DO include Christmas!)
So what's that mean, precisely? Except for a very few cases—ones that are very clearly driven by ideological agendas—almost no one out-and-out dislikes the movie; in roughly equal proportions, mainstream and religious reviewers are split between lukewarm reviews and enthusiastic receptions. And the dividing issue is the same across the board also: most enthusiastic reviews rave about the movie's value as family entertainment, and lukewarm reviews concede that point while regretting the movie's failure to be artistically challenging.
The big follow-on stories will be: First, the question of boxoffice. Will the movie have "legs," as they say in the industry, and sustain the kind of numbers the movie posted for its opening? Will it achieve blockbuster status and launch a franchise?
Second, the question of marketing to Christian audiences. What does the failure of Christian film critics to uniformly line up behind this movie mean? Will the Christian leaders who helped promote the movie, sight unseen, still assert that this is a "great Christian movie" even though many Christian cultural gatekeepers find the movie neither "great" nor as "Christian" as was hoped? Will the Christian audience even pay attention to what the critics think?
Interestingly, the latest promotional email from Motive Entertainment, Paul Lauer's public relations firm that's been pitching the film to Christian audiences, urges "Friends of Narnia" to "do everything you can to help us keep Narnia at the #1 spot this weekend. If you haven\'t already seen the movie, PLEASE GO THIS WEEKEND. If you have, PLEASE GO AGAIN and BRING A FRIEND!"
And which critics does Lauer blurb to push this follow-on effort? Joel Siegel, Christopher Tookey, Jim Ferguson, and Ebert & Roeper. Mainstream critics, not reviewers from Christian publications. What does that mean, exactly? We're not sure.
Well, time will tell. What an interesting holiday season! (And yes—the holidays DO include Christmas!)
posted by Greg Wright at 16.12.05
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