By Mike Huntley
Even though superhero movies or films based on comic book
characters have been very popular ever since Batman's smashing success
in summer 1989, it seemed that the genre didn't really get the kick off
as a Hollywood trend until 2000 when Fox released X-Men, and in 2002 with
the massive success of Spider-Man as big motion pictures. Marvel
started becoming a household name and was pouring out a new film just
about every year or every other year. We got The Punisher, Hulk,
Fantastic Four, Daredevil, Elektra, Ghost Rider, and sequels to both
X-Men and Spider-Man. And while most, except for those Bryan Singer X-Men
movies and the first two Sam Raimi Spider-Man movies, are hated or have
audiences torn, Marvel decided to form its own studio to distribute the
rest of its superhero properties. Producer Kevin Feige formed Marvel
Studios and came up with the master plan to give longtime fans the
biggest wet dream of their fandom lives by forming a cinematic universe
just like in the Marvel comic books. In 2008, Marvel Studios released
their first attempts at this shared universe with Iron Man and a reboot
of The Incredible Hulk. Iron Man was a pretty decent success at the box
office with audiences, with long time fans falling in love with Robert
Downey Jr.'s now iconic portrayal of Tony Stark/Iron Man, who became one
of the best characters in the MCU. While definitely light years better
than the very disappointing Hulk movie in 2003, The Incredible Hulk
starring Edward Norton did okay but much smaller amounts of cash at the
box office. In 2010, Marvel released Iron Man 2 which did decent
business, even though it wasn't on par with the first film. Which brings
us to 2011, when Marvel gave the Asgardian God of Thunder his own movie
with Thor, as well as creating the best and most iconic villain in the
MCU to grace the big screen.
In a world light years away from our own, Asgard sits high
above the universe, looking down on the nine realms. Odin, king of
Asgard has two sons (Thor and Loki) and wishes that one of them will
take up the throne from him. The Frost Giants invade Asgard, leading
Thor to take his friends and brother into the Frost Giants' dark icy
kingdom to strike back. Thor's disobedience to his father causes Odin to
cast his son out of Asgard and send him to Earth after taking his
powers and hammer away. Odin places a spell on the hammer to only be
lifted by one who is worthy. Thor lands in the New Mexico desert where
he is discovered by research scientist Jane Foster, Dr. Selvig, and
Darcy. Meanwhile, Loki finds that he is not Odin's biological son and
lets his jealousy of Thor twist him into selfishness and he aims to take
the throne for himself and kill anyone who gets in his way, even his
own brother and father. Thor must find a way to stop Loki's reign of
dictatorship and attack on Earth, powers or not.
While I loved Iron Man, and enjoyed The Incredible Hulk and
Iron Man 2, Thor is probably my favorite film in Phase One, aside from
obviously The Avengers. For starters, Asgard and all of the special FX
are gorgeous to look at. This is how a sci-fi/fantasy movie should look
and feel. It's simply breathtaking! I just get so bewitched by the
visuals in this film, it's just incredible. I think another thing that
makes Thor stand out is how simple its narrative is. Iron Man,
Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2, and Captain America have very heavy
narratives. Thor is simple and feels like it is on a much bigger scale.
Probably because Thor is from a much more fantasy world, whereas Tony
Stark lives in our world, and so does Captain America except he's from a
completely different timeline. But, Thor and Loki are Gods and live high
above us in their land of beauty and wonder. My favorite scene from
this movie hands down is Thor and his army fighting the Frost Giants on
Odenheim. I want to see more epic fantasy battles with our God of
Thunder and it looks like Thor: The Dark World will explore the other
realms of this galaxy. More Asgard please!
Another thing that sticks out with many fans is that
villain you just love, which in this case is Thor's very jealous brother
Loki, who is known in mythology as the Night God of Mischief. Loki is a
ruler. He is like any great villain, his thirst for power consumes him.
But, what I love about Loki is how his voice sorta changes when he
turns from good brother to cold hearted and ruthless antagonist. He
starts out kinda quiet and has a soft spoken voice, but then it turns
into this cold accent where it sounds like he is talking down to you
from a very high throne and is about to sentence you to a dark dungeon
for all eternity. He almost feels more like an Aries God of War type,
but he likes to play on his brother's goodness and that's what makes him
one of the best villains in a comic book movie.
Lady Sif is another character that I have grown
completely fond of. She is a sexy warrior who may be easy on the eyes,
but she can just as easily cut those eyes off with a sword. I am a huge
fan of females who can be just as badass as the guys. While Marvel does
have some great strong and powerful women in their midst, I do feel that
DC Comics has the upper hand in this arena (Wonder Woman, Black Canary,
Huntress, Catwoman, Batgirl/Oracle, Supergirl, Hawkgirl, Lois Lane,
Lady Shiva, Poison Ivy, Zatanna, Katana). Sif is basically Marvel's
version of Wonder Woman, who in my opinion deserves a movie. But, Sif is
a great character who I am very much looking forward to learning more
about.
If I had any complaints about the film, it would be that Thor and
Jane's relationship happened rather quickly. I do feel that Jane's
characterization could have been stronger. But, this is just a small
nitpick. Hoping it is further developed in The Dark World.
The direction by Kenneth Branagh was incredible. Visuals were out of this world.
The cast was also great. Chris Hemsworth is fantastic as
Thor, giving us a superhero that is fun and charismatic. Anthony
Hopkins played Odin, king of Asgard, with class and heart. Natalie
Portman was okay as Jane Foster. Stellan Skarsgard was good as Dr.
Selvig. Kat Dennings was a bit annoying here and there as Darcy, but she
is one sexy gal. Idris Elba was great as the gatekeeper. Clark Gregg
was great as always as Agent Coulson. Jaimie Alexander makes for a great
strong female super heroine as Sif. I really hope she gets cast as
Wonder Woman. I know the characters are similar and that DC/WB and
Marvel are rivals but just let a God make it a reality. And how could I
end this without mentioning Tom Hiddleston as Loki? Hiddleston owns this
role. He is extremely charismatic and outshined almost everyone with
his devilish grin and dictator voice. He can talk down to anyone it
seems, well, except The Hulk but that's saved for a different review.
Overall, Thor is a great superhero movie. Definitely one
of Marvel's most fun and enjoyable films out there. Can't wait to check
out the sequel!
GRADE
A-
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