The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

This movie wasn't really what I was expecting.  I thought there would be the candy coated fantastical realm of yore, the one that we saw in the excellent first installment of the Narnia Chronicles.  Instead I saw a darker and deeply thoughtful film.  It has the wonderful action set pieces through out, but the movie also deals with the results of your actions, taking responsiblity for what you have done, and living life beyond unwise choices.

Sometimes we have to know that our bad choices are not the end of our lives.  We often have to go on and reclaim or restore that which is good and just in ourselves, while not falling to those traits that lead us astray in the first place.

Think that theme isn't in this movie? See it for yourself.

Here is a brief synopsis:

From the birthing scene at the start of the filme, I could tell that Prince Caspian would be a darker take on the land of Narnia then the first installment.  This didn't bother me, since the book it is based on is much more melancholy then the first book.  We find the prince escaping for his life as his professor leads him to freedom; the child that was just born was a son to the general of the Telmarian Army that has conquered the land of Narnia.  His plan? Get rid of the legitimate kind and put himself on the throne.  Now that he has an heir, there is nothing left to loose...

It turns out that the prince uses the horn of Queen Susan, summoning the help he so desperately needs.

And that help? Why the four ancient Rulers of Narnia that were whisked back to our reality at the end of the first movie.  When we meet the four young people, we find their previous adventure has changed them.  Peter has grown to be a bit more moody and sullen, feeling that his life in Narnia has been cut short.  He is prone to fights and sends fists flying with the slightest provocation.  Edmund is much more of a man; he has explored his darker side and came out stronger then he thought he could be.  Susan is more introspective, her thoughts seem to be a bit deeper then she has been before.  Lucy has the faith of the group always knowing that they would go back.

And back to Narnia they go.

What follows is two hours of magic laced with a sense of adventure, action, longing, loss, and completion.  The four children find a Narnia much changed from what they had known before, the magical nature of the realm seeming to no longer be in existence.  The prince finds that his help isn't quite what he was expecting, leading him to find the source of belief in himself that he needs to lead the assemble people (and dwarves, animals, centaurs..etc) of Narnia.   Aslan the Lion, the analog to Christ, is present throughout the movie, even if his isn't physically seen a whole heck of a lot.  The group just arn't looking for him, except for the ever faithful Lucy.

As I said before this is a much more melancholy movie then I expected; but not in a bad way.  The movie often seems like it is paralleling the pains of just growing older; how sometimes you have to leave certain ideas and perceptions behind.  Yet you should never leave the part of you that sees the magic in the world; the creation that God has given us and the beauty that humanity has to offer.  There is no denying the Christian themes in this movie, from self sacrifice to the non condemning  nature of our Creator.

Even when we screw up, God does not love us any less.

I know people will come away from this movie just seeing something akin to "Lord of the Rings" Lite.  Honestly, if someone asked me to choose either to go to Middle Earth or Narnia, I would have to choose Narnia.  While Middle Earth always seems to be a struggle of Good over the Encroaching vileness that lives in our souls, Narnia has always seemed to be a struggle of Evil against the inherent good that we can accomplish.

Besides, I love fantasy creatures.

I could go on about how cool the effects were, which is true.  Or how neat it is to see some awesome rendering of the previously mentioned fantastical Creatures, which is also true.  Or even the excellent score that the movie has, capped with an emtionally charged ending tune by a surprise singer, Regina Spektor.  But those are just elements elements that help push the themes of the movie forward. 

I did have a few problems, but honestly why point them out? The movie surpasses those odd issues.

I'm still mulling this movie over since it has made me think about my own life on so many levels. I'll just leave you with this thought:  Sometimes God is there with you all along, you just have to pay attention when you want to see his presence.