Born again sermon-sales trap disguised as a piece of absolute crap.

Rating: 2/10 (22 December 2009)

What I have a problem with is this heavy-handed proselytizing, thinly- veiled as crossover entertainment with wide appeal and fun for the whole family, regardless of their beliefs. It is dishonest trickery of the highest degree, worthy of the White Witch herself, who lures one of the children into her castle with promises of attaining King-hood and all the sweets he could eat and instead holds him captive chained to a wall in an attempt to lure the rest of the children into her castle and to their death.
Plenty of other films and literature (especially prevalent in the fantasy/sci-fi genre) are influenced by the bible (new and old testaments) including (but in no way limited to): Superman, The Day the Earth Stood Still, Blade Runner, The Terminator, The Matrix and the entire Star Wars series.
Of course, if you acknowledge the work of Carl Jung or Joseph Campbell and the nature of collective consciousness symbolism, mythology and archetypes, then you also can easily recognize any of these stories, including the bible itself, as following this mythological archetype symbolism quite specifically and directly. And much to the credit of the above mentioned films and their filmmakers, even if their underlying intent was to have the audience consider the teachings and/or stories of Jesus and/or the bible, they were smart enough to see that people could make those connections or draw those conclusions on their own without having to pander, overtly preach and advertise their co-opting of holy scripture. They understood that the influences upon which they drew for creative inspiration were thematically universal enough to appeal to anyone, anywhere, anytime.
The Chronicles of Narnia, however - at least in this film version of it - the new testament context is so in your face, that it is preachy, exclusive and offensive to a non-believer such as myself.
This film was made to get out the word of Christ - To further brain-wash children into believing that unless they 'follow the fold', they will live out eternity in a never-ending winter without the joy of receiving presents once a year. Lest not forget to reinforce the images that those who do not follow the 'King of Kings' are both a) against him; and b) dark-skinned, hook-nosed, evil creatures of the underworld.