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Last night I saw The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and while I don't intend to review it here, I think the movie is visually absorbing and very faithful to the C.S. Lewis book. Though a bit short on wonder and narrative drive, it's a solid film that should do well. Not a home run, perhaps, but a well-hit double, at least.
I believe the religious battle that many expect over the movie will not occur, or, if it does occur, will be brief and muted. The film is not as thumpingly Christian as some hoped and others feared.
Why many secularists have worked themselves up over the movie is a mystery. Many myths feature the death and resurrection theme. Movies that do appear to reflect the Christ story, mostly the work of Jewish producers and directors, have long been conventional in Hollywood. Harry Potter is pretty much a Christ figure, doing regular battle with his private Satan, Lord Voldemort. Close Encounters of the Third Kind was a Christ story seen from the perspective of an ordinary worker, the Richard Dreyfus character, converted by a force he doesn't understand (grace) into an apostle at Devil's Tower, no less, where he ascends to heaven with the briefly glimpsed alien-Christ figure, who strikes a Jesus pose familiar in Christian art. (I keep meaning to count the number of astronaut-apostles to see if they number exactly 12.)
The most explicit of the Christ movies was E.T., complete with miracles, the gathering of apostles, death, resurrection, and ascension, and even an unmissable touch of Catholic iconography–the glowing sacred heart. None of these movies set off a fuss over religion. This one probably won't either.
Posted at 04:00 PM by John Leo
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