Saw Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe this afternoon. I must admit, I was slightly apprehensive about the film as I heard so much about it – good, bad and all those in between. So I decided I’d go into the cinema with the intention of finding out for myself and coming to my own conclusions.

After sitting through over 2 hours of cinema, I walked out suitably impressed. I thought this was a great film.

As with all film adaptations from books, the main issue was its faithfulness to the original narrative. In this respect, it was almost perfect. The main themes were all there, from the ideas of a world in need of salvation, to sacrifice and redemption. Fortunately, the story in the book is a fine narrative and needs no alteration to become a great narrative in a film.

As a film in and of itself, the pace was good and the special effects were most imperceptible, with only a few minor glitches. (In some cases, the portrayal of certain creatures seemed a little odd to me, but then, most of it portrays a world which is truly fictional. Who’s to say my interpretation is any better or worse than the film directors?)

As a film for use in evangelism, I think its use must be understood to be used effectively. I think the society we live in, certainly in the UK, has very little idea of why Jesus Christ came to earth, and the fallen state of creation and of mankind. The film can be used to illustrate these bibilical truths, but these biblical truths need to be shown to be grounded in reality, in the world around us, rather than just part of a fictional narrative. As such, Christians will still be required to speak of their Lord and Saviour, rather than leaving a film to do all the work.

With all this in mind, I look forward to seeing the next film in the series!