Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 9/10

Blasphemy: None http://www.thenameofgod.com

Caveat: Rich in Christian symbolism for those who wish to see it.

The long awaited movie “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” is finally available for previews and will shortly be on circuit. I saw it yesterday.

I was introduced to the world of Narnia quite late in life, being in my matric year when I read the series. By that stage I had already had a thorough training in Christianity and the Christian symbolism in the series was not lost on me despite the fact that it is never spelled out in as many words and one is free to ignore this aspect of the fantasy books if one wishes. The same is true of the movie. It is not “preachy” or forceful of any viewpoint. The rich Christian symbolism is there for those who know it, and one is free to make of it what one will, much like the gospel message itself.

The characters are delightful and it is a pleasure to meet these four childen, Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, as well as the numerous fantastic characters in Narnia. I loved the transition from winter white to summer bright, as well as the dull grey with which so much of the evil was portrayed. While the change from winter to summer is documented in the storyline, the grey of evil is all cinematic device, and clever device at that.

The story line is mainly untampered with, and the action will touch all but the most hardened hearts, regardless of religious conviction, especially if the atheists choose to ignore the Christian symbolism, preferring to deal with the story purely on its own merits. However, it is still a movie that Christians will not want to miss.

I loved the book and couldn’t wait to get to the other six. I loved this movie and can’t wait (although I’ll have to, I suppose) for the others in the series.