Perhaps the weakest part of Prince Caspian is how much is left out in order to make room for all the extra war. The wonderful development of the relationship between Trumpkin and the Pevensie children is severely truncated, as is the key relationship between Caspian and his tutor. The element of faith that's such a key part of the book is also pushed to the background in order to help move the story along, sacrificing some depth and drama for pacing (a necessary move in a film that's already a wee bit too long).

While many may debate the faith elements or the lack thereof in this movie version, the main theme isn't really about that but rather where we should turn to for help. There are times when we all get in over our head, and the question is where will we turn for help in those times. I'm sure many of us would like to have a magic horn to summon aid to our side, much like how Caspian uses Susan's horn. But most of us (I'd say about 99.995% of us) don't have that option. So again, the question is where will we turn for help. Peter also faces that question in the film, as does Caspian, and they turn to several sources for aid including themselves and even reaching out to the White Witch. Of course none of these options provide the help they really need. It's not until they finally relent and truly seek help from Aslan that they receive the help needed.

The same is true with us. We can turn to all sorts of places for help, but they will all ultimately fall short. Psalm 122:1-2 (NKJV) tells us "I will lift my eyes to the hills; from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made the heaven and the earth." When we need help, we have the option of turning to the one who created all that we behold. You may wonder why he would help us, but the answer to that is quite simple; he loves us. Yes, God loves you and cares about what happens in your life, which is why he is always there, ready to help you. In fact, Jesus Christ came to this earth, died on cross for our sins and then rose from the dead so that we'll always have the option of turning to a holy God for help. Granted, he may not help us the way we might think is the best way to help us, but we can be assured that he knows exactly what we need in times of trouble. As a wise person once said, "Sometimes God calms the storm, and sometimes he calms us as he takes us through the storm." When your Narnia is invaded and in trouble, where will you turn to for help? Always keep in mind that you can turn to the very one who created all you see. He loves you and wants to help you; isn't that amazing and wonderful?

Despite a few weak patches, The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian is a far superior film to its predecessor. It has much more convincing special effects, performances, pacing, and storytelling. This is an epic that is still an "epic-lite," but much less obviously so. Should the Narnia series continue to improve this way with future installments, and should the key characters for Dawn Treader such as Caspian, Edmund and Reepicheep retain the solid foundation they laid in this film, then I can honestly say that Narnia may yet carve a niche for itself in the fantasy genre much like it's epic big brother, The Lord of the Rings. However, Narnia continues to languish in the shadow of that franchise, and doesn't look like it's going to come out from beneath that shadow any time soon

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