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I also thought the acting in Narnia overall was several notches above that in LotR
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I totally agree, Bethberry. Firstly, I thought the four children acted the socks off the four hobbit performers in LotR. I find Lewis a "cheesier" author than Tolkien, but the films were the reverse, LotR was I felt often marred by "cheesy" performances, but in Narnia, a lot of the acting was interesting and even subversive. Iīm particularly talking about James McElvoy and Tilda Swinton. Swintonīs White Witch was no caricature villainess, at times she verged dangerously close to provoking admiration and even sympathy. (I wonder what her real life children made of her creepy maternal act...) McElvoy created a more complicated Tumnus than the cuddly faun of the books and I liked his performance very much.
The beasts of Narnia were beautifully done and the various monsters better characterised than the grubby rabble of LotR.
However, despite everything, I still prefer LotR. I enjoyed Narnia but I didnīt immediately want to see it again, which was my reaction to LotR.
Of course, I much prefer Tolkienīs work so that could have something to do with it. But I also felt that despite all the flaws there were moments of real grandeur in the Jackson films which the Narnia film, almost, but not quite attained. (The flying battle gryphons were the closest it got, I think.)
A couple of things about both films: I wish I could force any modern film director making a film set or written in the 1940 and 50s, to watch Brief Encounter ten times before he starts the cameras rolling. There was a better attempt to recreate the "stiff upper lip" in this film than in LotR, but there is still too much 21st century emotional incontinence going on. This is especially important in Narnia - a wild and natural country which liberates the Pevensie children from their 1940s uncomfortable and rigid clothes, food, manners and behaviour. Too much was made of the war, not enough of the rigidity.
Also, I think the transition from child to hero, which occurs in both Tolkien and Lewis, was not done convincingly enough in the films.
This was particularly bad with Frodo in LotR, who went straight from child to psycho with very little heroism in between. But the children in the Narnia film were whinging about going home, even in the midst of battle. Iīm sure that didnīt happen in the book. I thought of the children, only Peter made a fairly convincing transition, I would have liked to have seen the other children change more, too, in bearing and manner.