Ok, first off - DO NOT spend your hard-earned money on 3D versions of this movie. See it in good old fashioned 2D - you'll be happy you did. I saw Thor at the midnight screening Thursday night at Arclight Hollywood in the Cineramadome, one of my most preferred theaters in Southern California. Unfortunately, it was in 3D, so I had to deal with it. The glasses used for this showing were very large, heavy and seemingly more high-quality than most 3D glasses, such as the common "RealD" type that resemble 80's Ray-Bans. However, after awhile they were kind of more uncomfortable than normal ones, and darker too. I felt like I was watching the movie with sunglasses on, so I don't think I got the full effect of all the light and color. The film seemed a bit blurry at times due to these glasses as well. This is one of those situations where the movie wasn't shot with 3D cameras, it was just converted to 3D later. I learned during Clash Of The Titans that this is not a good idea. Avatar looked beautiful, and made tons of money, so it got the industry all fired up on 3D, but that film was using cutting-edge 3D cameras. I don't recommend EVER seeing anything in 3D unless it was shot in 3D. Let's not reward Hollywood for trying to rip us off! The ticket price for Thor in 3D at the Cineramadome was $18.50!!
Ok, enough of that, now on to the movie. [SPOILER ALERT!] I'll start by saying that this reviewer is an avid Marvel fan. My love of this universe is second only to my love for the Star Wars universe, and even then, it's a tight race. So I look forward to these movies quite a bit, as you might imagine. And this current run of Marvel superhero movies, consisting of Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, Thor, and Captain America (due out July 22), all existing within the same film universe (FINALLY!) and leading up to The Avengers, has been the dream of Marvelites for as long as you can imagine. They've done an amazing job on all of them thus far, and I think Thor is no different. I have to admit, I felt slightly underwhelmed at the end of the movie, but as I've reflected on it this past couple of days, that feeling has faded and I am eager to watch it again. I believe it may have had something to do with the somewhat abrupt ending, or maybe I was too busy trying to figure out what they were saying about Loki's true parentage and whether or not they were departing too far from the comics on that topic. I may have just felt that not enough actually happened.
Well, you may ask, what did they get right then? Casting, for one. I truly enjoyed Chris Hemsworth as Thor; no one else could have played the character as well as he. He has the right look, is the right size, and brought to the role an Asgardian joie de vivre that I truly believed. I also thought Tom Hiddleston as Loki was fantastic, he brought the character to life perfectly. So too did Anthony Hopkins as Odin, and of course you'd need someone with that kind of legendary status to play a mythological legend. He hit every note just right, from anger towards his arrogant son to the love he showed for both of his boys, and the bitter disappointment and sadness in Loki's actions. The supporting cast was every bit as wonderful, from Natalie Portman's beautiful and driven Jane Foster, to Kat Denning's comic relief as Jane's assistant. Not to mention Thor's friends- The Warriors Three, the Lady Sif and the scene-stealing Heimdall, guardian of the Rainbow Bridge. All were a pleasure to behold and brought their comic counterparts to life well.
There are some great action scenes, including Thor's assault on the Frost Giants; the Destroyer's attack on the sleepy little New Mexico town where Thor is hanging around; and the big climactic finale where Thor confronts Loki. I get giddy whenever a Marvel hero does one of their signature moves in a flick, and this one delivered Thor action in spades. There's nothing like seeing Thor chuck that hammer at someone's face. My particular favorite moment was when he was spinning it furiously and dug it into the frozen ground so as to hurl huge chunks of ice at his frosty foes. Oh, and his flight right through a bestial adversary's head. Good times.
The writing was solid, in that they got all the essences of the characters and situations down pretty accurately. As an introduction to most audiences unfamiliar with the comic book, I think they did a great job of making it accessible. The story, admittedly, is simple and direct, but there's nothing wrong with that. They squeezed in a significant amount of information without ever making it boring. Could there have been a little more character development for Thor? Sure. I'd also have liked to see a little more time spent on the relationship between Jane and Thor. But they had a lot of ground to cover, and I think they did a pretty good job of it all around.
Finally, it's just beautiful to look at. Asgard is an amazing visual landscape of shining buildings and lush terrain; the dark frozen wastelands of Jotunheim, land of the Frost Giants, is icy cold and forbidding. The costumes are amazing, they did just a phenomenal job of making them accurate to the comics while not looking silly. And of course, the cast is very easy on the eyes.
Thor might be a hard sell at the box office. Marvel fans will mostly love it, I think. But what about John Q. Public? Heroes like Iron Man and even The Hulk are more grounded in our own reality and therefore, people can relate enough to these characters to enjoy the films. Thor, however, is a god, from a magical realm we don't know of. To the uninitiated masses, he's not the most well-known character in the Marvel pantheon. He's tough as The Hulk, handsome as all get-out, and he acts like he should always have a flagon of mead in one hand and a turkey leg in the other. Let's face it, some people just won't relate. But I think the writers, director Kenneth Branagh, and Chris Hemsworth did a great job of making Thor charming without being cheesy, and tough without being over-the-top. I wonder if audiences will embrace Thor or not?
But hey, my aunt, who does not usually watch or care for these types of films, saw it and enjoyed it (she REALLY enjoyed Chris Hemsworth with no shirt on), so there is hope!
For Odin, FOR ASGARD!!!!
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