I actually liked the film. Granted, it wasn't an entirely faithful interpretation, but I thought it stuck with the story pretty closely and in many ways gave each child more depth. In the books they largely melded together, with only Edmund standing out, and only for part of the time. But the film does have its weaknesses, including its emphasis on the action that was not really even discussed in the book. It was indeed trying to cash in on the LOTR hype. But at the same time, would it have appealed to as many if they didn't reveal more of the battle? Again, I liked it.

It seems that the movies have gotten further away with each subsequent release. Prince Caspian changed a lot more of the story (though it's actually my favorite of the three films), and Voyage of the Dawn Treader really made a completely different tale with similar themes. One thing not present in the books but that I enjoy about the films is that the White Witch continues to be a threat to Edmund's integrity and his errors in the first story continue to haunt him.

Those are my thoughts. I just felt I needed a new topic that was meaningful to me, but also wanted to look for a thread to bump :)