Narnia… bad was good and good was bad

So, we went to The Chronicles of Narna this weekend. Overall, I was happy with the effort. I felt like it remained true to the book. I thought Georgie Henl (Lucy) was amazing and the true star.

I think I’d give it a “B” as the movie is never as good as the book. For comparison, I thought The Goblet of Fire was a “C” as there was too much in the book to capture in a two-hour movie.

So there was only one thing that frustrated me– Aslan. I think the movie really missed on Aslan’s character. The quote is true… Aslan is kind… but not tame. In this move, Aslan seemed tame. Too small. Too manageable. When he talked, I felt like I was at a puppet show. I think Lewis’ Aslan is much bigger, more wild, a blur.

So how can a movie miss on the central character? In contrast, I thought the white witch (Tilda Swinton) was incredible. She was portrayed as one with limitations except in her cruelty.

Do you think that we, as people, are more capable of creating a more believable evil than a believable good? If so, why?

The question scares me a bit. It scares me to think, what we are capable of... and how much more “natural” it is to create hell than heaven on earth.

And the only finger I’m pointing is in the direction of my own heart.