By John Clarke

June 9th, 2008

While everyone at the Candian Times headquarters (located in penthouse of the luxurious Canadian Times building in downtown Toronto) is excited about the release of Expelled: No Intelligence allowed, I find myself equally excited about another recent movie: Prince Caspian, the second film in the Narnia series.

C.S. Lewis is my favourite writer.  He was a professor at both Oxford and Cambridge, and was an expert in medieval literature as well as ancient myths.  His life seems eventful, from his battles - and injury - during the First World War, his close friendship with a circle of other great writers such as J.R.R. Tolkien (The Lord Of The Rings), and his great romance with the woman that became his wife (which itself has been filmed as Shadowlands with Anthony Hopkins as Lewis, and in the far superior BBC version of the same story).  However, he always seemed to love the simple pleasures such as a walk in the country, a good book, an evening with friends.

He was an atheist in his early days, but at age 33, God found a way to reach his heart.  His writings before his conversion were nothing special, but afterwards, he created a collection of brilliant books.

And what a diverse collection it is.  His book, Mere Christianity, may be the greatest defense of the logic of the Christian faith.  His satire The Screwtape Letters engages the mind, the heart and the funny bone, and demonstrates a keen understanding of human (and demonic) nature.  His science fiction trilogy went from the most fantastic (Out Of The Silent Planet where a character is kidnapped and taken to Mars) to the last novel, which seems fantastic until you read what some scientists believe (That Hideous Strength, which has more in common with Expelled than it does with Narnia, as it talks of the de-humanizing of man).

The Narnia series was the best selling series of childrens books until Harry Potter came along.  In each story some children are transported to the land of Narnia, which is ruled by a mysterious and magical lion named Aslan.  The stories are thrilling and magical for children, yet have a depth that adults can appreciate.  And in each story, there is a powerful metaphor of some aspect of the Christian faith.

In Prince Caspian, the Pevensie kids return to battle evil and protect a young prince from a usurper to his throne.  They are aided by the usual assortment of dwarves, talking animals, dryads, centaurs and other mythical creatures.  Can they battle the evil Telmarines using their skill and cunning...or should they turn to the only hope they truly have, the lion Aslan? 

One of my favourite Lewis characters is introduced here, a warrior who is like all three musketeers concentrated into the form of a tiny mouse.

While the movie might have run a little long, and one of my favourite parts from the book left out, I loved the movie.  The bad guys seem more dangerous (to be honest, they were a little stupid in the book), and the battles were quite exciting. The first movie in the series had a powerful theme of atonement.  This one is about how we should not trust in our own strength, but lean on...well, you know.

I loved it, and I am now looking forward to the next story in the series, The Voyage Of The Dawn Treader, from one of my favourite books. It will be released in 2010.

Meanwhile, I will be seeing Expelled during a special screening this week.  While I doubt there will be any trolls, I do expect to see Dr. Richard Dawkins interviewed.  Trust me, he's scarier than an army of Telmarines.