Hollywood Heroes – Review

I am a huge fan of comic book movies, as well as science fiction/fantasy. I am also a Christian who seeks to communicate the truth of the gospel. When all of this comes together, I am very happy. Thanks to Frank and Zach Turek and their book, Hollywood Heroes, we have the best of both worlds.

There has been a huge influx of big blockbusters, many of which revolve around a hero or a fellowship of heroes that are fighting evil. With advances of CGI, these movies are able to present their source material on the big screen like no other time. It is a great time to be a fan.

But are these movies just random action scenes and explosions. What if they point toward something bigger, something the writers may or may not have intended?

The Tureks tackle this in Hollywood Heroes, where they look at the recent movies about Captain America, Iron Man, Harry Potter, Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, Batman, and Wonder Woman. This is a great list as it represents some of the best movies, as well as some spiritual imagery.

One of the things that I appreciated is that the Tureks don’t claim that all of these movies are Christian allegories. Some writers had more Christian influence than others, but each of the movies point in their own way toward Jesus.

The reason for this is that we are built to look for heroes, and this hero can only be fulfilled in Jesus. But along the way, the heroes of fantasy and movies help to awaken these longings.

Another thing I appreciated is the treatment of Harry Potter. When the books came out, many Christians saw them as pure Satanism. Not only do the Tureks see some redeeming features in Harry Potter, they actually see Harry Potter as the most Christ-like characters that they look at.

I thoroughly enjoyed Hollywood Heroes. Instead of attacking “secular” culture, they thoughtfully reflect what is found in movies and demonstrate that they point us to Jesus. This is similar to Augustine’s concept of “plundering the Egyptians,” taking what is valuable and using it for God’s glory.

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