Thor

(2011)
I was initially reluctant to see this movie not only because, unlike the rest of the world, I didnt think Iron Man was all that great and the idea that I needed to see like six movies to be able to follow The Avengers kind of put me off. That, and I am overly fond and protective of Norse Myth, which most people misunderstand and get dead wrong most of the time. I knew that Marvels Thor has little to do with real Norse Myth (unless Walt Simonson is at the helm), but still, even though this was a Marvel film, I sensed that their approach might rankle my sensitivities in that area a little. But word of mouth said it was pretty good, so I decided to give it a shot despite my misgivings. Thors origin isnt as well known as most of the other Marvel heroes; dad Odin (Anthony Hopkins) tosses him out on his ass after he proves to be an overly proud and boastful lout. In the original, hes cursed to be a weak human who can only turn into Thor occasionally; but that plays too much like The Hulk (same guy came up with it), so thats dispensed with here; Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is banished from technocolor Asgard and rendered merely a beefy, overly strong human on Earth. No superpowers other than a really killer bod. Here he stumbles into almost literally Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and her research crew, a trio of stormchasers (kinda) who detect the wormhole opening up and dropping Thor onto Earth. From there we get a little stranger in a strange land vibe as Thor acts, well, like Thor, basically crashing around the place, though often getting pulled out of the fire by Portman and Co. because, well, when you look like that, girls will do the wacky to help you. Meanwhile Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has plotted to take over Asgard and pretty much cuts Thor off on Earth, securing his spot as the new king and plotting all sorts of nastiness with the frost giants. Though Asgard is overdone from a design standpoint and suggests a sort of hyperbolic Wagnerian bombast, both the dialogue and acting are surprisingly refreshingly restrained. Odin and Thor yell at one another a little, but Loki manages to retain his role from myth, being sometimes an ally and sometimes an enemy; but theres no mustache twirling here Hiddleston plays him just right. On Earth, well, this kind of stuff is really no stretch for Portman or her mentor (Stellan Skaarsgard), but theyre both very comfortable here (Saarsgard is particularly enjoyable). Hopkins brings suitable gravitas to Odin an exceptionally complex character in the myth and does him service. Hemsworth, luckily, is just perfect as Thor, not too bright, but hunky and heroic, charming, armed with a winning smile and a warmth I didnt expect from the character. I didnt really care for the Warriors Three (Thors version of the Yancy Street Gang, swiped rather liberally from Shakespeare Volstagg is Falstaff, we get it); theyre mostly there to get beat on in the movie, although an early fight scene with the frost

giants demonstrates just how bad of an ass Thor is. I did, however, simply love Sif (Jaimie Alexander); perfect casting, perfectly played (though in myth, Sif is Thors wife, and here, seems to sort of just be his buddy with boobs). The story flows easily enough and takes itself just seriously enough but never comes near the self-importance of, say, a Nolan Batman flick. This is summer entertainment, and it delivers exactly what it promises some neat fights, some eye-popping visuals, a little romance, and just a little moral lesson tucked away that thinking of others first is really the right way to approach life, and especially leadership (if only we could force the Tea Party to watch this movie). Its light fare, but its served up with some style and fun, and is probably the best and most enjoyable Marvel film Ive seen since X2. September 14, 2011 This is where the review really ends; the rest is just nitpicky stuff (and spoilery), so read on forewarned. I found Asgard to be overdone, designed on the theory that if a little is good A LOT IS GREAT! The basic ideas were fine, but would have been more effective if taken to a moderate length, rather than the extreme we go to here. Ditto the Frost Giants they just look stupid, not menacing (and Laufey is Lokis mom, not his dad, in the myth). I didnt care for the decision to make the Asgardians super-powered aliens; theyre basically Kryptonians in funny hats (especially Lokis), and the Bifrost bridge as a transporter, eh. These are conscious story choices and variations from the myths and even the comics. I should point out that for the story purposes, they work fine, and that is the most important thing (and it helps to explain why we have a multi-cultural Asgard), but for me in some ways it was like taking the myth out of it. I was also really put off by the whole sword-in-the-stone bit with the hammer (the fun of Stan Lee and the hicks trying to remove it notwithstanding); its just silly, and it was blatant foreshadowing for what comes later down the road. The Destroyer robot, though, was amazingly well done; a dopey idea in the comics, he was rivetingly menacing here, and the fight scene with him on Earth was remarkably well done (I favored the fight at the beginning of the film, but only because Thor kicks so much ass there). Basically the movie missed on a lot of the details with me, but I still really enjoyed it because of the overall warmth in tone and the superb casting. Everyone was simply perfect in their roles; yeah, the production design is a little overdone, but the note-perfect cast (well, not Rene Russo, but everybody else) more than makes up for any flaws in the design or story set-up department. The movies a lot of fun, certainly worth a rental.