To me, for all the CGI and extra money, the films aren't as good as BBC Narnia in a crucial aspect: the movies make you feel like your witnessing an epic, while because of their lower budget and production values, the BBC Chronicles feel like you're having a cosy, intimate adventure with friends.
When it comes to the BBC ones, I've only seen
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe -- when I was in the third grade, my teacher read it to the class, and as the other movie was not out yet (they were still working on it -- it came out when I was in the fourth grade), she showed us the BBC version.
Her reading to us and then showing us the BBC version of
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was my first real introduction to Narnia, so the BBC one certainly has a special place in my heart and I have a copy of it on DVD...For me, it was technicalities I liked better, like Jadis more closely fitting the description given in the books.
There is also something to be said for the effort that goes into such productions using costumes and animatronics (or whatever Aslan was in BBC...? It's been a long time, for me, lol) and building sets. I have a bigger appreciation for many older films and such because it seems to me that they had to care a lot more about the project, to put that much work in rather than being like "Oh, we'll just put that in with CGI."
To me it's kind of like recording over and over and over to get it right as opposed to fixing it right away with autotune to save time. (Although that can be a helpful timesaver and doesn't always mean the artist isn't genuinely talented, but I digress.)
I have a lot of respect for what they can do with motion capture and CGI and whatnot. (For example, I thought Smaug was absolutely beautifully done in the Hobbit flicks.) I'm just saying, I also have immense respect for some of the beautiful films that were put together in the past WITHOUT relying on CGI. (Like the sets in
The Ten Commandments. I'm still impressed with those.)
And I agree, there is much more focus on battle sequences, not just in the Narnia flicks, but in fantasy flicks in general these days. Even if adapted from intellectual plot and/or character based novels, they feel the need to really push the battle sequences...and as one who gets immensely bored during battles in TV/film as well as in books, this is a bit tiresome and annoying. I'd rather see plot and character development than a bunch of people running and yelling and slashing at each other, lol. Just my personal opinion.
I must admit, though, as with many young people, it was the new movies that caused me to become somewhat obsessed with the series, lol. Big part of my late childhood/preteens.
(This is also where I shamefully admit I've only read three of the books. I have the entire set, though. One day, I'll read them all!! I like to think that one day when I have children I'll read them to them, and thus end up finishing them myself, finally, lol. My interests have admittedly shifted, though, as I said, Narnia will always have its place in my heart.)