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There are lines from the book that have etched their way into my heart and soul that will forever be there. And whenever I have become too bogged down by my attempts to classify and systematize God, Aslan is there to make sure that I see God in ways that are wholly other than the tamed God I often make Him out to be.

For me, The Chronicles of Narnia would be the one set of books I would want to be stranded on a desert island with, and they are a schooling in what I believe it means to live out our faith and beliefs in this world. The Chronicles of Narnia are practial theology set down in story form. They keep the ivory tower theologian from residing away and solely in his or her books, and they challenge all Christians to understand God in ways that are beyond our comprehension.

So as I sat down to watch Narnia last night there were many things flying through my mind. It is almost as if I was fearful of what I had been imagining in my mind for over twenty years to not be equaled on the screen. Seeing this movie brought home more realities than the sake of being entertained on a Sunday night. It was the culmination of seeing on screen the books that my mother began to read to me when I was a child. It was a culmination of seeing on screen the work of a figure that helped me wrestle my way through college and understand my faith in a new light after reading Mere Christianity. It was the culmination of seeing on the screen the work of the figure that I could relate to most intimately after learning that Clive Staples and I had both lost our mothers in early childhood. A Grief Observed brought home this reality, and the reality of losing someone to cancer. It was also the culmination of seeing on the screen a love for Narnia, its characters, stories and themes, that was instilled in me one summer school session up at Regent College in Vancouver, BC by Lewis afficionado Earl Palmer. When he read parts of the Chronicles out loud to us in class, these stories helped me connect a childhood appreciation for narrative with a maturing Christian faith that was sometimes too embedded in systematics, and away from the stories that I think Jesus loves.

That is a lot of weight and expectation for a movie to carry. It was a few years ago, when Lewis' friend, J.R.R. Tolkien had his own books, The Lord of the Rings, made into a move. It was then that I began to hear rumors and whispers that Chronicles was next. I wasn't sure what I thought about that. I was excited on one hand, hoping that my favorite books would come to life on the big screen, and fearful on the other hand, wondering if the big screen would do them justice.

Hopes realized, or hopes fallen short, I have been anticipating this movie for the last couple of years, with increasing excitement as each month brought us closer to December. With popcorn and coke in hand, and a few napkins readily available to wipe the certain tears from my eyes, I was ready.

From the beginning to the end I believe that the film told a remarkably accurate re-telling of the book itself. And I think that purists could not complain about Hollywood taking liberties with a book, or characters that they have grown to love all these years. As the movie began to progress I really wondered how anyone could possibly pull off a movie such as this.

There were times during the movie that I felt like my expectations were met, and there were times when I felt like I will stick with the imaginations that my mind has conjured up over the years. If you have never read the books before, then you came to this movie with no huge expectation perhaps, and I think the movie more than delivered. If you came to this movie, having read the books over and over, I think the movie picked up on a lot of nuances that casual readers would have missed, and so I think it delivered.

It was a great movie, but the only critique I have is that it can not match the actualy literary work of C.S. Lewis himself. Compared against any other film, it is magnificent. Compared against Lewis's book and the imaginations of many, built up over many years, I think the film is good, but falls way short of the imagery that has played through my mind time and time again.

One of my favorite relationships in all of the books is of that between Aslan, and the youngest female child, Lucy. Lucy, unlike any other character picks up on all the spiritual realities within her world especially Aslan. Her and Aslan share a special kinship. I think Lucy and Aslan captured this in many ways, and I thought the character of Lucy was pretty much dead-on.

When it came to Aslan though, that is a tricky one I must admit. I mean, who can play Aslan? This must have been some of the difficulty Mel Gibson experienced in trying to play Christ in The Passion. In these books, I think Lewis did the most amazing job of capturing God in the form of the lion Aslan, almost to the point in my own life that when I think of Aslan, I think of God. The lion has come to personify God Himself in a certain sense. So who can compete with that? I was somewhat disappointed with the voice of Aslan, feeling like it lacked a sense of authority, love, fear, joy, etc., that I experienced in Lewis' writings. I also missed some of the conversations about Aslan, or between Aslan and others.

One of my favorite sayings in all of the books is "Aslan is on the move." But coming out of the mouth of the beaver on the screen didn't strike the awe, or reverence, or fear that the book seemed to strike in me. Or this other favorite scene of mine. Mark Roberts puts his thoughts into words that I resonate with as well:

I found myself disappointed and surprised by one bit of the book that didn't make it into the movie. For me, it's one of the most moving and enticing parts of the novel. I'm referring to the dialogue between the children and the beavers, in which they discover who Aslan is, that he's not a man, but a lion. Susan asks, "Is he – quite safe?" Mr. Beaver responds, "'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you." A new revised standard version of this line made it into the film, but only at the end. I wish the original dialogue had been left intact and in place.

I could go on and on, but let me stop here and conclude. I think that the movie is a great movie, one that I will see time and time again, and one that I am glad they made. It is a faithful re-telling of Lewis's story, but a story nonetheless that captures me more than anything when I read the books and imagine the characters and story without the help of Hollywood. Maybe in the end I share the sentiments of Lewis himself as expressed in this letter of his:

The Kilns,
Headington Quarry,
Oxford
18 Dec. 1959

[Letter to BBC producer Lance Sieveking (1896-1972), who has written at the top: 'The Magician's Nephew' and, after the address, the phone number "62963".]

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Maybe the great thing about God is that no matter how we portray Him, whether it be in book, or film, or story....He is so much greater than we can imagine Him to be. (I think Lewis has a quote similar to this...which would be apropos). And just maybe the great thing about this movie, is that these beloved books have been introduced to a whole new generation of people, both Christians and non-Christians. And what a remarkable story it is.