Thor

Posted by benjamin on May 15, 2011

The summer superhero season kicks off with Marvel’s latest comic to film presentation of Thor, the Norse god of thunder. We must wait until the end of the summer months to determine how it stacks up against Green Lantern and Captain America, but we can at least joy what we have to date.

The movie follows Thor’s time in Asgard, his fall to Earth due to his arrogance, and his eventual rise after understanding that his actions were wrong prior and that he must be a better god and leader in order to represent his people. The real strength of the story lies within Thor’s time on Earth, a.k.a. Midgard. During this time, the interactions seem genuine, easy to relate, and very entertaining. Thor’s simple misunderstanding that a diner does not bring more to drink when one smashes a cup on the floor demanding sustenance is humorous and allows the audience to understand that Thor has lost everything but is still a Norse god at heart. However, when we venture beyond Earth things are more sporadic and confusing. There are a multitude of characters that are introduced, which are important within the comics, but seem to be more in a filler role here. Why not just save those for another film or build the characters so that they have some actual personality to build upon. If Thor had been left to Earth without returning to Asgard, I would have enjoyed the movie much more than I did.

Even if I downplay the lack of growth with many of the minor characters within the film, I must applaud the casting of Thor. Hemsworth as Thor and Hiddleston as Loki was remarkable. They really shined in their roles. Hemsworth had the manners and look perfected. Hiddleston provided great growth in a character that is by far one of the more interesting villians within the Marvel universe (in my opinion). I’m interested to seeing both possibly reprising their roles within next year’s Avengers movie (Thor has been confirmed, Loki has not), but Marvel should tone back the build up for the Avengers to some degree. This movie and Captain America should not feel like a filler until next summer. They should stand their own without the need to reflect on what is to come.

I must applaud Kenneth Branagh’s work within this film but also provide my criticism for certain choices. For the praise, I must say that he took a subject and story that could have been delivered in an over the top manner, but he contained it well enough that it never seemed cheesy. Any other director would have last the majority of the audience within the first 15 minutes. Maybe it was his past experience with Shakespeare or maybe it was simply Hemsworth’s charisma, but whatever it was it worked and I’d be happy with him continuing to build this universe and set of characters. Now for the criticism. The costumes were just too rubbery for my taste. I would let this slide as there were times when the look on film worked well, but after seeing Thor’s mighty hammer, I just couldn’t accept it any longer. The hammer decided to strike fear into all that face Thor seemed more like some new toy that would be on the shelves of stores in a matter of months. I wanted….no….needed a hammer forged in something of the Earth, not something forged from a McDonald’s happy meal toy.

With all of this being said, I’m still torn between feeling if I loved the movie or want to toss it to the side. I laughed. I was entertained. But I wanted and expected something more. Is that the hype that is talking or someone who just though the film overall fell short of its potential and thus must suffer a rating of such? Until I can figure out my real thoughts, I must give a rating that is undecisive.

Two final notes. The first is that though Thor is advertised for 3D do not spend the money to watch it in 3D. It did not use the technology well enough to warrant the need to see the film in this way. The second is to stay through the credits. As is normal fashion prior to the Avengers, Marvel provides us small scenes which help build towards the mega superhero team up.

The Verdict:

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