As I write this I think it's important for you to know that I've just come home from watching Marvel's spring/summer opener comicbookmovie "Thor". I am completely new to the character, though I once thought it was simply the usual Thor, which I know a great deal of, but obviously Marvel's Thor isn't exactly like Thor in so many ways. He is a superhero; in my world Thor is an old Norse god who most definitely does not speak English.
I am also writing this as it's fresh for me. The experience is at its peak so I feel it's a good idea to write while I am in this state. I should mention I saw this movie with completely new eyes; honestly trying to enjoy it, setting aside my bias and whatnot .And I really think did.
Whatever conclusion, I hope you go and see Thor as soon as it comes out wherever you are in the world support comicbookmovies so we get to see more.
I should probably mention that I am not exactly a Marvel fan. I don’t have anything against Marvel. I don't read Marvel, the reason why is just don't have the time, nothing against the company except from some un/healthy rivalry. Though I tried to remain unbiased there is a chance of me not being completely able to be so.
From a standard grade (at least here in Norway), ranking from "F" to "A", F being Jonah Hex and the A being Superman 1, Thor falls under Thor was for me a "D". It is a decent movie. It will be really hard to explain why I gave it a D without explaining and deliberate giving spoilers. So comparing it to a comicbookmovie picture it would perfect to compare it with Iron-Man 2. Thor really is like Iron-Man 2 on so many levels. It’s supposed to be an introduction into a new character and world in the Marvel universe but it just doesn’t seem that way. The family issues make me think about Tony Stark in Iron-Man 2. And the villain is also reminiscent because of the previous sentence.
The presence of Iron-Man 2 essence was all over this movie. Though it did not have the exact same essence like the previous mentioned, there was something in the air. It stood on its own two feet proud but there was something surrounding it. I know they are going all out on “The Avengers” next summer and that's all good, however the picture seemed to suffer from it. Like it was building up to the inevitable which it could not escape.
I am completely neutral to “The Avengers” coming out but I’ve come to not like it that it feels like a plan-b excuse for movies to rest solely on that fact. Thor just like Iron-Man 2 feels like chapter 1 to “The Avengers” which it probably might be but it just seems strange. Especially for those who have no idea about the set-up. Establish what you want and then perhaps move on if the time is right and the character and story has matured enough. Don’t rest on the next project.
Now Thor is the hero. He is the superhero in this movie but he does not come across as a superhero at all. I still don’t get what he is supposed to be but he is more along the lines of an alien with incredible powers and technology than something supernatural. The amazing part of Thor doesn’t agree with itself. Sometimes it’s all human or then it’s all Asgardian-alien. That’s one of the single reasons I love my superheroes human, you connect so much more to them. Sure you can understand or even feel sympathy towards the vain, cruel boy Thor in the beginning and especially towards the end, but simply because he is not enough like Superman he ends up feeling fake. Some of the reasons for this are that the emotional parts are not being explored enough. They are rushed through. I would believe emotions as great connecters to the general audience and Thor does not connect on the point, not enough anyhow. The relationship between Jane Foster and Thor which supposedly exists to ground him and make him in many ways human doesn’t work in this movie.
It is a visually stunning movie. Everything looks really great, like it's not fiction but that's also its weakest part. When the comicbook stuff comes into play it just becomes too absurd. I might be overanalyzing it a bit now but it just didn't seem as fun when we found ourselves halfway through the film. It starts taking itself too serious and that’s when it becomes strange.
It’s really cool and great to see Asgard in all its might but when people think of aliens they do not think of Viking like beings far into space. They want to see the clichés. In that part Thor is completely original and I liked that they were not the norm. But the picture seems to suffer from it, or so I got from the discussion after it was done. It tries to be fantastic and real, something it doesn’t fix. Sometimes it feels completely magical, then scientific and then real but it cannot be both. It’s hard to explain in English but it feels so contradicting, like something really is amiss. And that’s what my biggest problem with the movie was. In some sense Asgard reminded me of Star Wars Naboo: idyllic, beautiful and in a perpetual sunset, or sunrise, in other words: some sort of paradise. Absolutely stunning no matter how you look at it. The designs are just amazing. Unfortunately I care more about the essence of the hero’s struggle; the reasons why he continues to fight than how it looks. And if Thor was more emotional invested it would’ve probably gone to a C+ in my scale. The graphics are there, the story wasn’t completely.
The overanalyzing part might actually come from underlying hype I've read but never heard. This might be a false impression but that's how I simply feel. Most people on this site has been cheering and proclaiming it to be the next coming of Iron-Man 1 but it simply isn’t. It is a cool and exciting movie but it’s just that. Also claiming a movie to insanely great without really knowing why is a tad strange but we all are part of the same hypocrisy mind you. You will always on the frontlines fighting for Green Lantern but I am by no means dogmatic in my stance.
Both Green Lantern and Captain America needs to place the viewer in an emotional mood to keep you hooked and they both will. Both those characters are nothing more than human. Hal Jordan is a screw up and Steve Rogers is Superman without his incredible and outlandish powers. I think it’s better to start with a human given a great gift rather than going the other way around. It makes it more interesting for me, at least.
Of all the superheroes I am closest to Hal Jordan, or Green Lantern as almost everyone in here knows. I have seen and read everything and anything about Green Lantern because I just care about it more than anything else. When it comes to Thor I have just seen two trailers I think and that’s about it. I haven't read anything really except some few comments and mentions of reviews.
And to be completely honest, I am probably not as a diehard comicbook fan as you or at least the most of you are so there you have it.
I didn’t know where to put this part so I put it perhaps unfittingly here: I don't know if any of you have noticed but I've always put my money on Green Lantern and Captain America regarding comicbookmovies this year. After watching Thor I fairly certain that Captain America will be great, if not even greater than Iron-Man 1 which still stands as my favorite modern Marvel film today.
After watching Thor I find myself even more excited about the next upcoming comicbookmovies in the likes of Green Lantern and Captain America. When it came to my excitement regarding Thor I was more or less: "Meh". I don’t know exactly why but that just how I felt about Thor. And after watching it I’m more like “Meh +”.
I enjoyed Thor from beginning to end though not so much at the end, and the after-credits was cool(I hope this isn't a spoiler. I think this is generally known to be a Marvel thing). Thor is big, raw and it's interesting. Thor works in mysterious ways, sometimes too mysterious.
I have to mention that in some sense I feel like I've seen Thor before. The trailers do a really decent job portraying the movie as it really is. For a guy not knowing much about the character, I did somehow know a lot when I saw it, strange huh?
Now, Kenneth Branagh does what he does and he does it well. It just seems he wasn’t given enough time. He introduces a completely new comicbook character in all his glory and he does that well. And on that part I would like to congratulate all Marvel and comicbook fans out there on that! We are finally seeing more of our beloved characters coming to the silver screen. Let’s just hope this continues!
One thing you simply cannot rain down on is the cast of this movie. The greatest performances were given by Loki himself and actually Hemsworth, who really was decent though I had my doubts. I was somewhat surprised by this. Hiddleston is just so different from all the other characters, he seems so real not like some action-toy. I am still kinda shocked about Hemsworth who was never the film's biggest problem from my point of view. He was charming, vain, fun and cool to watch and follow. However when you over it you soon realize that Hemsworth cannot not act when he is up against the likes of the beautiful Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins, both who is always is just a joy to watch(especially Portman!) Elba as Heimdal is a joy to watch as he demonstrates confidence, solitude and power.
And do not worry about Kat Denning, I barely even noticed her during the almost 2 hour long picture.
For a Marvel fan Thor might be a really incredible movie, an amazing graphical accomplishment of fantasy but for me and others unfamiliar with the titular it was a strange experience. Some scenes were really great and got me going but I just didn’t find myself connect. I didn’t even cheer for him to fight the bad guys. I didn’t really care. I find myself cheering more for Loki than I did for Thor because you feel sorry for Loki, even more than Thor. My friends were there with me on that.
After we were done watching it my friend Thomas said it was felt like Lord of the Rings mixed with Hercules. I do not try to offend but that's what my friend said and I kinda agree.
And of course some of my friends remarked "Why the hell aren't they speaking Norse?" which I had to rectify but it ended up a mess because I don't know that much about this character.
We all agreed it was a movie full of wonder but it was not wonderful enough. I was however disappointed when I left the cinema because there were no frost giants and no lightning.
I know my first edition of this article was too apologetic and for that I do not apologize! It’s hard to explain without spoiling anything so please forgive my raw honesty which might come across as dumb. Maybe when you see Thor some of you, perhaps rather few of you will agree with me. I watched this movie with 16 friends, with only me being to one with the firmest grasp on comicbooks. The general consensus was that it was an entertaining film but it was no Iron-Man 1, no matter what the reviewers say.
Now I am at the end of this review-ish editorial mishap. I feel I should clear up that D is not bad, it’s average and being a comicbookmovie that’s quite good. My personal views will of course differ with the whole lot of you but it's not the greatest comicbookmovie of all time, if there ever will be one. It is not Iron-Man 1. It doesn’t feel like it, it doesn’t look like it and it surely doesn’t play like it.
This brings me perhaps to the biggest problem of the picture: to me this wasn't really a superhero movie, it was perhaps a comicbookmovie but it was not a superhero movie. It might convince you of it but it didn’t convince me. Thor wasn’t my kind of superhero movie, but anyways:
It's going to be a great summer and while Thor made us look to the stars, we will soon look again when Green Lantern arrives. In other words: Thor is a great start to an even greater summer!
As I've said, Thor is not Iron-Man 1. It's more Iron-Man 2. It certainly had it faults. Being too rushed and not emotional package was probably its biggest faults. We all will respond to it differently, so I might be a bit more emotional distant than you are but it wasn't only me who felt that way about it.
The story was okay and could’ve been better. The acting however was overall great and nothing to rain down on there! Actually, I think I will give Thor a D+ now when I think about it. Thor is overall a steady, graphical wonder action-filled fantasy film and an entertaining picture which will make you escape into a fantasy world, leaving you ever so disappointed over the fact that it's not real.
I don't know the character Thor but I want to see where else this character will go in the future!