With Thor, the summer of block buster superhero movies, and Marvel Studios shifts its movie universe into the next phase. I loved Iron Man 1 and 2, and the Hulk was enjoyable but Thor dialed up the epic fantasy fun to the next level. Elements of science fiction, super heroics, and fantasy were all blended together to show us a corner of the marvel universe we’ve never seen before. Though Thor isn’t a perfect adaptation it has some very strong points, and ultimately is a successful film.
Thor is a powerful warrior and heir apparent to the throne of Asgard, and other worldly realm where science and magic are the same. When he leads a group of warriors into battle with the neighboring world of frost giants, Asgard’s delicate peace is threatened. As punishment Thor is stripped of his divinity and cast down unto Earth while his sinister brother Loki assumes his place as king. As a mortal Thor’s ego is taken down a peg or two, and only when he proves himself worthy, can he reclaim his rightful place in the heavens, and save his world.
Thor boasted excellent casting. Chris Hemsworth as our titular hero holds the screen as the lead. In the comics his characterization varies from viking barbarian who enjoys wine women and war, to flawlessly noble hero. Hemsworth played Thor the way I always imagined he should be played, a combination of both. Thor’s character arc is standard fare for Marvel heroes. He’s a cocky jerk who gets the wind knock out of his sales, learns humility and rises to become a hero. Thor’s over the top eloquence and viking vernacular runs the danger of being very hoaky and unbelievable, yet Hemsworth pulls it off by giving the character an emotional core, and a sense of humor. He brought wonderful fish out of water humor, while maintaining his dignity. My favorite comedic beat was when our former god of thunder goes into a pet store and asks for a horse. Upon being told they only have dogs cats and birds he asks for one big enough to ride. Hemsworth comes to embody everything the “Mighty Avenger” should be.
Loki was never one of my favorite villain in the comics, but thanks to Tom Hiddleston movie Loki is one of the best action movie villains yet. In the comics Loki lacked the depth of Dr. Doom, Magneto, or even the Red Skull. Their motivations for evil were all understandable. The God of Mischief always struck me as a mustache twirling villain, labial to tie a girl to the train tracks just to piss Thor off. Loki’s decent from mischief to out and out evil, is understandable. He is Cain to Thor’s Able. His actions to dishonor and one up his brother, to secure his place as favored son only drive him further down the dark path. Compile his inferiority complex, with the revelation that he is actually a frost giant, drives him to genocidal levels. Hiddleston’s preformce is so unfiltered and emotional vibrant. One moment he is happily laughing as your best friend, the next he is breaking down in tears, while sneakily plotting against everyone and finally he’s trying to tear your throat out. I really hope he is the “big bad” of the Avengers. Maybe he teams up with the Red Skull, or uses the Bifrost wormhole bridge to find the Skrulls.
The fantasy elements of Thor are by far the most entertaining elements of the film. Asgard, had a unique style that inspire grander. Every inch of the Eternal Realm was filled with details and design. The production crew definitely let heir imaginations go unleashed in drepicting what ancient Norwegians would only be able to conceive of gods. I wanted to see more of the Asgardian supporting cast. Anthony Hopkins was inspired casting as the king of the gods. He even looks like he’s related to Chris Hemsworth. The Warriors three and Sif brought alot of fun to screen but I didn’t see enough of them. Volstagg the Voluminous on his own could be a hillarious lead. Marvel should make a “Hercules the legendary Journey/ Xena” style series for them. I know there was alot of hoopla about casting Idris Elba (a black actor) as Heimdall (who is described as the whitest god in the myths). Though I consider myself a purist, Elba did such a god job as the Guardian of Worlds I don’t care. He was grim, bad ass, and looked incredible in his gold armor. Maybe because he was a different race that the rest of the cast he popped out a little bit more.
The supporting crew on Earth, wasn’t as successful. Although they provided Thor with a backdrop to be a stranger in a strange land, they lack the same epic levels of their Asgardian counterparts. This is very apparent in Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster character. I just couldn’t believe her as an astrophysicist. Nothing against Portman’s acting, she can be quite intelligent but in Thor she came off like a giggling little girl. It believable that if a gorgeous god came down to Earth and started flirting with a nerd, said nerd would be a little star struck. Not every romance needs to be one epic bad ass meeting another, but how does having a groupie make you decide to be a better person? If anything Thor’s change of heart came more about from Stellan Skarsgård heart to heart and the thought of Odin’s death. Whereas Iron Man’s romance with Pepper felt natural, Thor and Jane felt forced. It’s forgivable though, Skargard and Kat Dennings where entertaining as sidekicks. The little hints of the larger Marvel Universe were fun but were confusing to the non-nerd audience. It was cool to see Haweye in action, even if it is pre-costume for him. Agent Coulson is growing on me. He should get his own comic.
So where do we go from here? I know I know you’re gonna say the Avengers, but Thor opens up a whole new universe of possibilities. I want to see more of Asgard. Maybe a sequel could involve humans going to Asgard. Jane did seem to be trying to build an Einstein-Rosen Bridge at the end. I read that in Odin’s vault one of the ruins translates to a mention the ones above in darkness. In the comics the ones above in darkness, were gods to the gods that kept the Asgardians in a cycle of destruction and reincarnation feeding off the Ragnarok cycle. Humans have known Norse myth’s for centuries and known Loki was a betrayer and evil, even though he only just went bad in this movie. What if in a sequel Thor discovers this cycle of death and rebirth and has to stop it ?
This was a good start to the summer block busters . If Marvel keeps the standard this high than we’re in for a treat with the upcoming Avengers, and Captain America.
On a scale of 1 to Epic (Epic= 10) this film gets a 8.9