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I have just seen X-Men Origins: Wolverine for the second time, and I’m a bigger fan than I already was.
Science fiction and fantasy were favorite reading materials in my home growing up… they belonged to my parents. Most of the well-known writers were represented, some of whom were scientists and physicists and researchers, as well as authors.
I was attracted by the fact that so much of what had been fiction a few years earlier had become fact. Over these last 50+ years, much more of the science fiction/fantasy I read as a teenager has become fact, practical applications that today we take for granted.
Which isn’t to say that X-Men will do likewise. But there is a story line to all these episodes, even if some reviewers seem to miss it. Several subplots involving different sets of characters. Lots of action, good versus evil. Some romance and some tragedy.
And there is science in there too: dark scientific and military applications most of us would consider impossible to achieve, and too evil to contemplate. World War II should teach us not to underestimate monsters in human form…
So far none of the multiple reviews I’ve read even hint at recognizing a spiritual thread running through the story. Yet one comes through quite clearly and obviously to me.
I asked the Lord one day why some Christians (myself included) are so fascinated by the supernatural. His answer came back instantly – “Well, duh…” as if I shouldn’t even have to ask that question.
No, I guess I already know why. Our God is a supernatural being. We have a violent, evil, deceiving enemy out to destroy us. One who at times may look like an ordinary human being; one who can make a lie sound convincing, deceiving us, pulling us in. We shouldn’t be taken in, but too often we are.
After seeing Wolverine the first time, I went out and bought the other three movies on DVD. I have now watched each one several times, making mental notes of some things in those that make scenes from this prequel suddenly more meaningful.
And I find them not just entertaining, but a vivid, albeit fantastic reminder that there is indeed another world around us. Another real world, more menacing than anything portrayed in these fantasy movies. It’s one we will all be forced to acknowledge and confront some day, maybe sooner than we think.
