Delightful story (not as intense as "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"), great special effects, but I couldn't stop comparing it to the "Lord of the Rings," though C. S. Lewis and Tolkien would agree, since both were members of an informal pub group that met between the early 1930s and 1949 wherein they and others shared ideas, critiqued their work, and drank a lot of beer. All of the members were devoted to narrative in their fiction and the creation of fantasy - while most were Christian in perspective, there were also atheists in the group.
The film is a great youth story (written for children) - every young teen should see it - I think it reaches into the character of a young person to reveal their courage and faith. I think of all the froth to which American youth are subjected - momentarily exciting but with no lasting value, and likely leaving them emptier than ever.
But lets get to the film - I love the kids, Aslan and the badger ... and the Narnians, especially the semi-cynical/philospher played so well by Peter Dinklage - who reminded me of a diminutive Hulk Hogan.
The bad guys weren't quite as bad as I would have liked ... the brief appearance of the Ice Queen gave a genuinely "chilling" moment of pure evil ... yet perhaps the "bad guys" were more an example of the banality of evil - but it's the Ice Queen who represents the purity of evil - beautiful to behold, utterly seductive and promising.
Prince Caspian is the story ... part of an evil empire or sorts by birth, he escapes death at the last minute at the hands of his uncle who wants to be king. Fleeing to the woods, he's taken by the Narnians who were thought to be extinct. In the moment of his capture, when he's not at all clear about his fate, he blows his hunting horn, which calls the kings and queens of old: the four young people who are otherwise back in their London schools during WW 2.
Walking through a portal in the subway, they enter Narnia many centuries after their first sojourn there. And so the story goes.
Though the religious dimension of Lewis' work is carefully managed, it's there - it's Lucy (Georgie Henley) who consistently believes in Aslan, and in the end, Lucy saves the day with Aslan. By the way, the two young ladies, Henley and Anna Popplewell, are extraordinary actors - powerfully expressive faces - Henley is incredibly endearing - a young girl who looks like a little old British lady - commonsensical, get-down-to-business, yet winsomely faithful. She has a great career ahead of her.
Theologically, the story touches upon the dynamics of "waiting in faith" or "taking things into our own hands."
Biblically, "taking things into our own hands" - the efforts of Sarah to provide an heir, and the Israelites invading the Promised Land when God forbade them after a cowardly retreat the first time - all of these self-designed projects led to abject failure.
A delight to watch - but get young people to see it and then talk about it with them - should provoke some very good discussion - what's faith, loyalty and courage? Lots of good things to chat about.
