Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Review - Thor



I am a comic geek, but I have to admit that I don’t read nearly enough comics. Mostly I stick to the X-Men. And Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8. Maybe I am just a comic fan or comic reader?

But I do know a thing or two about comic superheroes. This summer, we’re getting a bunch of superhero movies, beginning with Thor, followed by the Green Lantern, X-Men (First Class) and Captain America.

So the first one out in cinemas is Thor, the Norse God of Thunder.

You know, this movie was foreshadowed in Iron Man 2. After the credits, there was a short clip of Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, being discovered.

The cast of this movie consists of Chris Hemsworth (A Perfect Getaway) as Thor, Anthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs) as Odin, Tom Hiddleton as Loki and a barely recognizable Rene Russo as Odin’s mother.

The human cast consists of Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Stellan Skasgard as Dr Selvig, Kat Dennings as Darcy and Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson.

Kenneth Brannagh, who is notable as an actor and director of a bunch of Shakespearean movies, directed this movie. At first I thought it was John Favreau, directing because it had touches of Iron Man in it but I suppose there’s not much leeway when it comes to superhero movies, especially two from the same stable. And it is not necessarily a bad thing. Iron Man was a delicious movie that was full of heart and action and was anchored by a great leading man who is charming, sexy and a bit dark. J

Chris Hemsworth is definitely not Robert Downey Jr but he did not do a bad job with Thor. He is charismatic and tall and blonde and hot and sexy… and cocky … just like Thor.

Natalie Portman’s role as Jane Foster should be a walk in the park for an actress of her caliber, especially after Black Swan.


The supporting casts is quite good here, bringing a level of humor and lightheartedness to the movie that would not have been there because Thor and Jane are far too serious here.

So… was the movie good enough for a summer blockbuster? For a superhero movie? For a Marvel movie? Yes definitely.

But I do think it’s missing a bit more action. Like for example… when Thor, Sif and the Warriors Three rushed back to Asgard to thwart off Loki, there was no fighting left, other than the inevitable fight between Thor and Loki. What of the Frost Giants? There should be a big final battle at the end. But I guess that was wishful thinking on my part.

The ending of this movie did not really suggest Thor 2 but of course, much was left hanging and since this movie was quite good, I am thinking that there might be more Thor after this. But we’ll have to wait and see for the box-office figures yes? But definitely more Thor in the upcoming Avengers movie.

Ooh, ooh, speaking of the Avengers… Hawkman has a cameo in this movie. When I saw Jeremy Renner’s face, I was deliriously happy and clapping like a loony. Unfortunately, I wished he’d do more than just stand around.

Like every other Marvel superhero movie, there is a post-credits scene where Dr Selvig is taken to a S.H.I.E.L.D. facility where he meets Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson) and was asked to study a recently discovered Cosmic Cube. It was also revealed that Selvig was under the control of Loki, who had been transported to Earth.

In case you had to leave before the credits end… :)

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