A Thinking Reed

The mystical C.S. Lewis

Written by

Lee M.

in

Books & Culture reviews a new book on Lewis’ mystical side – a word not usually associated with him (via Thunderstruck).

We saw The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe last week. I liked it quite a lot, but couldn’t help comparing it to Lord of the Rings, which is more epic in scale and set in a more fully-realized alternate world. On the other hand, I’ve always liked the Narnian idea of an alternate universe lurking just “beside” our own – one into which characters stumble by accident.

It’s been a long time since I read the Narnia books, so I can’t really say how faithfully the movie followed the book. I did like how the [ALERT: SPOILER] repentant Edmund saves Peter at a crucial moment, something which I don’t think was in the original. Though, is it just me or does the battle loom much larger in the movie?

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2 responses to “The mystical C.S. Lewis”

  1. d.klein

    In the book Edmund doesn’t save Peter in the battle, but it does say that Edmund is a particularly fierce fighter. The battle scene in the book lasts for a just a few paragraphs too.

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  2. Caleb

    It wasn’t just you: the battle loomed much larger in the movie, and to my mind, disturbingly so. Part of it is no doubt due to the Lord of the Rings effect; apparently American movie audiences like to watch grotesque ogre-like beasts getting their heads knocked together. It was disturbing, though, since the movie is being aggressively marketed as a Christian movie, and the implication of the film is that Aslan, the Christ-figure, exists primarily to help his followers win wars.

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