Today the family went to see The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I’m a huge Narnia fan, so my standards for this film were high. The film didn’t let me down. It is a fabulous, mostly faithful portrayal of the book. The acting and graphics are top-notch, and the characterizations are generally spot-on.
The one place where I felt just a bit — just a bit — let down is in the characterization of Aslan. In the books, Aslan clearly is a picture of Jesus, probably one of the most amazing and deep pictures of Jesus outside the gospels. For the most part, the film captured Aslan’s mix of kingly power and sacrificial love. There is one critical scene, however, where Aslan explains to the children that the White Witch does not know the “deeper magic” of Narnia. In the book, it’s clear that the “deeper magic” isn’t somehow “higher” than Aslan. In that one scene in the film, Aslan almost slips into some kind of panentheism — the “deeper magic” is kind of like “The Force” and Aslan is beholden to it. Later in the film, though, Aslan roars that he was “there when it [the deeper magic] was created,” bringing things more into line with a Christology drawn from John 1.
But that’s just a quibble. Go watch the film, it’s fabulous. And, if you haven’t done so, read the books. They are life changing.