The Narnia Movie

Some of us got together over in Decorah yesterday and saw The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. My recommendation: go see it!

The movie was fairly true to the book, which is a rarity among movies adapted from books.

I first stumbled on the Chronicles of Narnia when I read the third volume, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, at age twelve. Oddly enough it didn't register on me that the book was by C.S. Lewis— I say "oddly enough," because I grew up in a home where C.S. Lewis was a household name. In the years since, I've read all seven volumes of the Chronicles of Narnia, as well as most of the rest of Lewis's writings, several times over.

Anyhow, the movie. The special effects are stunning, as we've come to expect in movies in recent years. CGI seamlessly melded with live action. Aslan comes across as a real lion. "And he's not a tame lion, you know."

The lantern. The snowy waste. Mr. Tumnus the faun. The Witch. The beavers. The four kids, and of course Lucy absolutely makes the movie. The movie captures not only the characters and contents of the book, but also the tone and atmosphere.

People keep calling the movie "controversial," which I don't get. It's "controversial," I suppose, to those who think Christianity, and any Christian allusions whatsoever, should be driven out of the public square and back into the catacombs. Are you going to let people like that lead you around by the nose? I know I sure won't.

One caveat about the movie for those with young children: it's considerably more violent than the PG rating might lead you to expect. About on a par with the Lord of the Rings movies, in fact, especially in the climactic battle scene. Of course I always enjoy the battle scenes in movies, but then again I'm hardly a youngster.

Overall an excellent movie, and faithful to the book. Like I say, go see it!