So, Thor came out on DVD and I watched it, having missed it in the theaters.
I'm not going to bother reviewing the whole story because you already know it, even if you've never seen it. That's the problem, it's the same story as every other superhero movie. Here are the tired, recycled, and predictable story elements:
1. A bad guy who wants to take over the world (Malekith, or whatever his name is. Does it matter?)
2. A bunch of fierce looking warriors (Dark Elves) who, ultimately, aren't that fierce (a student intern knocks a bunch of them out of commission).
3. The pretty girl and the token love story ("Jane & Thor, sittin' in a tree").
4. The hero who gets beat down, but then comes back and saves the day (Thor, with the help of a bunch of Star Trek-ish techno babble from Jane Foster and Dr. Selvig).
5. A death that really isn't a death (Loki).
6. A character who lightens the mood with humor (usually bad humor), lest we movie-goers get too scared (Darcy).
But the worst part about this horrible movie is that it made tons of money, thereby reinforcing Hollywood's belief that the movie-going public doesn't require creative, fresh story-telling. The only thing they require is a predictable formula. Thus, every future Marvel movie is going to contain the same 6 elements I listed above. To me, that's boring. But obviously I'm in the minority. I mean, my goodness, I knew how this movie was going to progress, and how it was going to end, within five minutes of hitting the play button.
At some point we have to say enough is enough. We have to demand more creativity. Kisses, explosions, and heroes who save the world after getting knocked down 16 times, is getting old.