SELECTED REVIEW OF THE DAY: Thor (2011)

In honor of the release of Thor: The Dark World tomorrow, I feel it would be appropriate to review the first film released two years ago. Thor is the fourth entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as well as the fourth Avengers tie-in film. The film is about the Norse God of Thunder Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the crowned prince of the realm Asgard. His father is Odin (Anthony Hopkins), his brother is Loki (Tom Hiddleston), God of Mischief, and his fellow friends are Sif (Jamie Alexander) and the Warriors Three Volstagg (Ray Stevenson), Fandral (Joshua Dallas), and Hogun (Tadanobu Asano). When the fierce Frost Giants invade the realm of Asgard to try to steal a treasure they once possessed, Thor is enraged as they not only invaded and threatened his home but ruined his big day of finally becoming king of Asgard. Thor defies his father of starting a war with the Frost Giants and because of his careless actions and lack of humility for his friends and loved ones, Odin casts out and banishes him, sending him to Earth. There he meets the beautiful astrophysicist, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who Thor helps in making her discover that there are indeed other worlds beyond her own, and she in turn is responsible for showing Thor about care and humility. But meanwhile Thor's devious brother Loki plots his own plan of taking the throne of Asgard for himself. 


I never in my life picked up a Thor comic book, but from what I hear he's kind of like the Wonder Woman of Marvel. A deity from a world based on some sort of mythology, who frequently interacts with the mortal world. From what I also hear his character in the comics is very noble, loyal, wise, and heroic. From the beginning of the film, he's nothing like that. He pretty much starts off as an arrogant, bratty, and selfish jerk. It is not till probably the second act of the film, Thor pretty much starts to grow up and be responsible. Many can see this as a major annoyance and quite different from what they are used to, but to be honest I kind of like this. We are always used to the superhero origin where the hero gets his powers, learns how to use them, and always start of as the most moral of the cast. Heroes like Superman, Batman, and Spider-Man from the beginning have always made their mind of what responsibilities they have to their talents by mid first act, and if they did something wrong, it was just a mistake not intentional, and they admit it. We don't get that from Thor and to me its very interesting to see. He already has his power, his glory, and his respect from the beginning of the film, heck he's a GOD! I like that he has to have his powers taken away to the point where he can't even pick up his trusty hammer. It's rare to see someone who had so much power and then see them have to deal with their mistakes. It would have been just easy to make Thor just an honorable guy with morals and incredible manners. It makes sense, because hey he's a mythical god, a lot of gods in mythology are arrogant and selfish jerks because they feel they have all the power. So I really like this story about some figure of divinity suddenly having to gain his respect and glory back the ethical way. Not forgetting Chris Hemsworth's great performance. The guy is Thor! Every delivery and expression is believable and you feel like you are watching the God of Thunder. He is able to sell drama, action, and comedy. He continues to be as charismatic in The Avengers, and hopefully he will in this film's upcoming sequel. Tom Hiddleston plays Thor's evil brother Loki. The character's fame and popularity didn't really peak until The Avengers, but Hiddleston gives a devoted and charismatic performance as he did in the other film. On top of that the character is completely three dimensional and is one of the most respectable villains we have seen in a long time. He does some of his acts to be mischievous, out of vengeance, for his own glory, or sometimes just to impress his father Odin. But most of the time there are solid explanations for his actions and he succeeds to be sympathetic as well. He's definitely a character the audience can feel a whole barrel of emotions for. Then there is Jane Foster played by my favorite actress, the beautiful Natalie Portman. No matter how good or bad the film is, somehow Portman still comes across as amazingly entertaining and talented, simply because she is fully devoted to her role and takes it seriously. And her character, Jane Foster is no exception. Like Thor, Jane also appears to be selfish from the beginning of the film. She goes to great lengths in getting what she wants in order to complete her work and experiments, even if it is to her intern Darcy (Kat Dennings) and mentor Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard)'s dismay. This is a very different superhero love interest, heck probably the most original I have ever seen. Most love interests are typically just plain supportive, beautiful, and the usual girl next door. That is not really what Jane is. Jane is the type of no-nonsense woman who doesn't take dirt from anyone and will not let anyone get in her way of doing something she loves a lot, her work, even S.H.I.E.L.D. But you know what, that's totally original! I hardly see any female love interest who are like this in comic book superhero films. I hardly see any of them who are selfish. That makes it so much interesting and you can play a lot with it! On top of that, it's a good reason, she loves her work as a scientist and his passionate about it. Most conflicts dealing with love interests like Mary Jane from Spider-Man, Rachel Dawes from the Christopher Nolan Batman films, or heck even Vicki Vale, all have to do with them worrying if the hero truly loves them or not and that most of the time makes them seem to clingy. In this film Jane falls in Thor because of what he showed her and proved to her that her work is more than worth it. They equally helped solved one another's problems and dilemmas. It's a believable romance, and plus the two share great chemistry whenever they are on screen together. Plus there a lot of criticisms pertaining to the change of Jane's character from the comics as she was a nurse, not a scientist. Well, let's be honest people it ties in the story too well with Thor actually being from another world and it helped developed the romance. I can't see what you can do that much with her being a nurse. Anthony Hopkins as Odin is as well enjoyable. Though not in the film a whole lot, Hopkins still continues to be the charismatic actor we all know and love. His deliveries are dynamic and intriguing and the personality of the character is decently fleshed out. Though stern, he proves to be a loving father, such as when he feels sadness and remorse when he has to banish Thor and when he has to tell Loki a horrible truth about his past. Jane's partners Darcy and Erik are a lot of fun. They provide decent comic relief and frequently they get a funny line. Sif and The Warriors Three are fun as well. I think director Kenneth Branagh had the most fun with these characters, especially Volstagg and Fandral as they are constantly doing entertaining and funny deliveries and actions. 




The action scenes are a lot of fun to watch. They are filled with the right amount of fast-paced action, adrenaline, and suspense. The set design is also nice, especially with Asgard. Yeah most of it, especially the establishing shots are CGI, but the visuals of the place nonetheless, look outstanding. Even if a good number of it was done on computers. To set most of the time in the human world in Santa Fe, New Mexico may seem boring and dull, seeing how its mostly desert, but I think its fitting. They could have just easily placed Thor in somewhere metropolitan like New York, Los Angeles, or Chicago, but the setting of this small town surrounded by desert really fits with the whole theme of being lost, isolated, and being somewhere that's very unfamiliar. The visual effects however are hit and miss. There some that are stunning to look at but I remember there was this giant Frost Monster that Thor had to battle while fighting the Frost Giants, and yeah that looks obviously CGI, straight out of a Star Wars prequel. There are a good amount of  moments where things like that were distracting, but it did not hurt the action scenes they were usually in, plus we get a equal amount of good affects. I just wished there were more good effects. But director Kenneth Branagh proved that he can make a decent action flick.


As decent and solid as the story is, there a problems with its pacing. Yes, I'm not going to act like this film is perfect or flawless. Though I do really like seeing Thor dealing with not having his powers, I can see where the other side of the coin is coming from and the frustration some people feel about it. I agree there could have been more time for action scenes and to develop the characters a little more, just so they can be more understandable. This film is not a great one, but it certainly is a solidly good one. The story has problems sure, but I still buy it, which I think is what counts. I like the characters enough, I like their interactions enough, I like the action scenes, enough, and I like the story enough. Some things are new and seem outstanding such as the portrayals of both Thor , Loki, and Jane, but most of it is just solid, and comes across as solidly entertaining. But that's all what counts to be good in my back. HAVE AT THEE! 

GRADE: P