Prince Caspian

Went to see Prince Caspian today. That's the second of The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. I'll preface this by saying that I didn't think it was quite as good as the first one. Also, the forthcoming The Magician's Nephew is my favorite of the books.

That said, this was a pretty good movie. If you liked The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, you will enjoy this one. You have the same four kids from the first one. It's always nice when you can get the same cast for the sequels. Kind of like what Harry Potter has managed to do. They're all a little older, but they've had to readjust to being kids again. Remember how they aged twenty years at the end of the last movie? Back in the real world, they're still kids.

The biggest personal struggle seems to come from Peter, who was so used to being treated as a high king in Narnia, now being treated like a commoner. This also becomes evident once he comes into contact with Caspian, who at this point in Narnia's history is the rightful ruler of Narnia. Oh yeah, I said it'd been a year, but that's our time. In Narnia, 1300 years have passed.

The true Narnians are all in hiding. See, Caspian's forefathers conquered Narnia and nearly wiped out the creatures we came to know in the first film. But as Caspian's corrupt uncle usurps the throne, Caspian joins the Narnian resistance, along with the previous kings and queens of Narnia.

For much of the movie, Aslan remains unseen. You'll remember Aslan as the lion and actual king of Narnia. He is conspicuously missing until the last twenty minutes or so. And this, I believe, brings us to one of the most important messages of the film.

C.S. Lewis, a brilliant Christian writer, always had a message or a lesson to convey with his works. In this one, and correct me if I'm wrong, we see what happens when we lose faith. From the beginning, Lucy (the youngest) was expecting Aslan to arrive. And at times, she caught glimpses of him. But the others ignored him or chose not to see him. They weren't expecting him to do big things. It wasn't until Peter had a true crisis of faith that Lucy was allowed to go out and seek Aslan. And it wasn't until Aslan was sought that he could be found.

How many times do we lose our faith in God? He never gives up on us, but we get so wrapped up in our day-to-day lives that we forget to turn to Him, even though we need Him in our day-to-day lives. When we pull away from Him, He's still there, waiting for us to seek Him. He's still there, waiting for us to find Him, willing to help us through everything. He's willing to help us fight our battles. He's willing to protect us when we're in danger. And He's willing to help us find our way home.

It's a good movie. Go see it.