It's seems as though every review that has been posted in the last week or two have all been about the new movie that hits U.S. theaters this Friday, "Thor". While I have not read EVERY review, I have found a lot of the reviews to be a bit one sided, if not completely forth coming. While each review does have it's own merit and level of truth, I feel that there were several aspects of the film that were left out. Now, this does NOT mean that I am going to spend this entire article bashing "Thor" and making it sound like a terrible movie, because it's not. However, I do feel that it is only fair to present what I feel are some major flaws in this film. I will say one more time before continuing: I am not writing this review to deter you from seeing this movie, but I would like to give you a clear vision of what to expect.
When seeing a comic book movie for the first time, I think the most important aspect is the story. Often times, with big blockbuster movies like these, it is often times easy to stray from the comic book source material or try to cram too much lore and information into one movie. I am very happy to say that with the help of J. Michael Straczinski, comic book writer on the Thor title, this movie stayed very true to the origins. Yes, when we first see Thor in Asgard, he is every bit the arrogent and postumous son of Odin that we have all read about. He doesn't so much gloat in his own glory or achievements as much as he is bound and determined to match or surpass his father's accomplishments. He wants to be as respected and revered as Odin. I was glad to see that they took that route because I think seeing two hours of, "YOU DARE THREATEN THOR!!" would have been extremely boring.
Loki is also portrayed very accurately, as well. Like recently revealed in the comics, Loki is in fact the spawn of Frost Giants. Upon learning this information, Loki becomes very mischievous and tainted. In the scene where Loki confronts Odin with the knowledge he learns of being the son of Frost Giants, Loki shows true anger and scorn towards Odin. Tom Hiddleston did a good job in that scene. Later in the film, it is stated in dialogue that Loki was always jealous of Thor when they were younger, but it isn't until after Loki assumes the throne of Asgard that we actually SEE that jealousy. This was one of the bigger problems that I had with this film. I realize that Loki is the god of mischief and he is a trickster; befriending people and making them believe that his suggestions are in their best interests. But to me Loki is also a plotter. He spends months, if not years, plotting his schemes in the comics. In the movie, it seems like he's making it up as he goes along. But, Hiddleston was a great choice for this role and really brought out the anger and jealousy that Loki has for his older brother.
It is because of Thor's desire to be feared and respected by the Frost Giants of Jhotenheim that leads to his infiltration into their world with Sif, Loki, and The Warriors Three. After Odin's hand is forced to save these Asgardians, Odin immediately banishes Thor to Earth/Midgard. This is where I started to have a bit of a problem. For me, the story progresses and resolves way too fast from this point forward. Thor is immediately banished, realizes he has no power, gets admitted to the hospital, ESCAPES from the hospital, and then meets up again with Jane Foster and her team. Then, in the very same day, he travels to the site where Mjolneir landed, infiltrates the S.H.I.E.L.D. base camp, relizes he is not worthy to lift the hammer, gets interrogated by Agent Coulson, and is then let go when Selvig comes to pick him up. Granted, not being able to lift the hammer was obviously a very humbling experience for Thor, but the very next day he's serving breakfast and wanting to protect humans. Everything just moves far too quickly and all the problems are resolved even quicker.
Another major story element in the movie is the relationship between Jane Foster and Thor. Many people in their reviews have said that they thought their budding relationship seemed natural and well paced. I disagree to a certain regard. It's a little bit hard to believe that these two characters fall this madly in love with each other in the course of two days. While their on screen chemistry is very good and very sweet, it just feels a bit rushed, especially considering the personality of Jane Foster, who is extremely invested in her work and her mind runs a mile a minute. It just didn't seem like she would have fallen that hard that quickly for Thor in my opinion, but then again, Margot Kidder's Lois Lane fell that hard for Superman in the 1978 film Superman The Movie.
Another big aspect of the film that I think most people are looking forward to are the fight sequences. The fight near the beginning of the film when Thor, Loki, Sif, and the Warriors Three invade Jhotenheim was very well done. It is extremely obvious that it was a great decision on director Ken Branagh's part to shoot on a real set instead of a green screen. The fight choreography was very well done for this scene and shows just how good these Asgardians are at kicking ass. However, probably the biggest disappointment for me was the fight near the end of the movie between Thor and The Destroyer. It starts out so well when Thor summons a giant tornado that sucks them both up, but the fight was very short lived. The Destroyer is by and far one of the most powerful weapons in all of Asgard and is practically indestructable, yet Thor takes him out in about a minute, further proving my previous statement that conflicts in the film are resolved far too quickly. There was very little struggle for Thor in this fight.
The final fight between Thor and Loki at the Bi-Frost/Rainbow Bridge was very well done. It reminded me of the face off between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi in "A New Hope". You see the rage that Loki has for Thor. He wants Thor to fight him so badly, yet Thor refuses at first to fight his own brother. When the fight finally does break out, it's pretty intense and leads to some pretty cool special effects at the end.
One of the weakest parts of this film, in my opinion, was the editing. In good films, the transitions from place to place flow easily and feel natural. In "Thor", the transitions were too immediate and felt jaring to the senses. It jumps from place to place without a good sense of flow. The sudden jumps from Earth to Asgard to Jhotenheim to Earth, then back to Asgard. I feel as though more time should have been spent on the editing. It would have made the story flow much better and it probably wouldn't have made things feel like they happen so quickly.
Now, my favorite part of the film was the scoring. Patrick Doyle uses the perfect combination of piano, horns, and strings to create a very epic sounding score. It really creates all the emotions that are felt in each scene and even better, intensifies them. For example, before Thor is proven worthy to weild Mjolneir again, and he is walking up to face The Destroyer and speaking to Loki, the score that is playing nearly brings a tear to your eye. It is by far the best scoring of Patrick Doyle's that I have ever heard.
All things considered, I think "Thor" is a fun movie. I don't think that it was as spectacular as everyone has been making it sound. I don't think it stands anywhere near the same level of Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, or Iron Man. The biggest problem for me was just how quickly everything was fixed and resolved. Everything was just very cut and dry. Yes, you're seeing Thor, Odin, Loki, Asgard, and Thor going up against The Destroyer, but it was not a very engrossing story for me. There were really only two moments in the film where I was actually invested in what was happening: When Thor couldn't lift the hammer and when Thor first gets hit by The Destroyer. At the end of the day, I would give "Thor" a 7/10. It's fun to watch, but it wasn't anything spectacular in my mind.