Thor: A-

Two changes could have made it near-perfect...

Review Opinion
By CBMcontributor - May 13, 2011 05:05 AM EST
Filed Under: Thor

When I kept hearing that the movie "Thor" doesn't take itself too seriously, I thought, "okay, that's a warning that there's going to be a lot of goofy, cornball humor." Thankfully, it was kept to a minimum.

Personally, I don't understand why a movie should not take itself "too seriously"; Will some movie-goers suffer spontaneous human combustion if a movie doesn't have one-liners in it, or doesn't have a fart joke, or doesn't have a cute little cg character that says idiotic things during tense moments? But I digress...

I give Thor an "A-". First of all, to bring a character like Thor to the big screen, without it appearing silly, is an immense accomplishment. Also, as others have noted, the acting is very good.

For me, there was only one major flaw in the movie: The Thor/Destroyer fight. Like the final fight scene in Iron Man 2, it ended way too quickly. I don't mind Thor kicking butt, but it's rather anti-climactic when he does it so easily. I mean, c'mon, comics are about action...so give us a longer fight scene, with each character getting in a few licks.

After the fight scene with the Destroyer, Thor walks out of the fight-dust-cloud and Natalie Portman says "Is this how you normally dress?" This is a prime example of how a one-liner can detract from a movie. In an unneeded attempt to "not take itself too seriously"--and get a one-liner in there, the battle scene is trimmed down.

So, if the Thor/Destroyer fight was extended, and the "is this how you normally dress" one-liner removed, the movie would have been a solid "A".

But the movie was very, very good. Definitely better than the uninspired, mediocre Iron Man 2, but not quite to the level of Iron Man. And it's a great precursor to Avengers, without sacrificing the story that you're actually watching in the theater (i.e., not weighed down with Avenger teasers).

Thor finally gets his day in the theaters!

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thunderforce
thunderforce - 5/13/2011, 6:59 AM
I think that is a valid point and I think the battle scenes in all of the marvel movies are too short ,except TIH , the Hulk Abomination scrap was epic . Now I realize that these fights are probably the most expensive things in these movies but climax battles need to be longer and not just a one punch and over , having short final battles can make the difference between a good movie and a movie that will forever be remembered as fantastic . So I would say to marvel when you plan these movies plan for an epic battle at the end even if you have to make a few cut backs in other places .
sniktkc
sniktkc - 5/13/2011, 12:09 PM
totally agree, would loved to have seen at least a giant lightning bolt from thor to help take down the destroyer. and its the destroyer! he shouldnt go down so easily being a creation to defend the weapons vault for asgard. still a 9/10 for me tho, sitting right next to (not above or below) ironman 1.
Gmoney84
Gmoney84 - 5/13/2011, 1:27 PM
I have to disagree with you. The fact that the main fight in the film was with Loki, the Destroyer fight had to be handled as it was. I agree that it shouldn't have been that easy for Thor to pawn him the way he did but it was a good fight nonetheless.

Oh, and Iron Man 2 was a good film. I don't understand why people continue to ride the bandwagon of hate for it. It had problems just like every other movie, but it was a solid film.
golden123
golden123 - 5/13/2011, 1:35 PM
I'm sorry but this is a horrible Review. Not because I disagree with it, though.
THORION76
THORION76 - 5/13/2011, 1:58 PM
I agree the DESTROYER fight should have been longer and had about two minute's of toe to toe action, and that would show us what it would look like when THOR scrap's with the HULK. The DESTROYER in the movie was powerful enough to fight the ABOMANATION and HULK at the same time, so i think they missed the mark right there. Gmoney84 i agree with you i enjoyed IRON MAN 2. The thing that bothered me was all the military drone's, i think that was a little over the top. It would have been better and alot more beleivable if there were only four of them.
12almonds
12almonds - 5/13/2011, 3:13 PM
golden123: Well, I could have regurgitated what's already been written in other reviews ad nauseum, but I thought I would take a different approach.

thunderforce: I agree, the Hulk/Abomination fight was done very well.

Gmoney: I still think there could have been an extra 3-5 minutes put into the Thor/Destroyer fight, but I understand what you're saying...that it wasn't necessarily intended to be THE main fight.

With respect to Iron Man 2: IM2 just lacked spirit, it felt empty. A lot of razzle dazzle, but not much substance. Some of it is the sophomore jinx (i.e., the first one being so good). But a lot of it is just explained by quick Hollywood packaging, and not enough attention to making an interesting story. I think Hollywood has a track record--with sequels--in sacrificing story for gimmick and fireworks. I think IM2 fell prey to that.
12almonds
12almonds - 5/13/2011, 3:15 PM
Oh, and don't ask me why my name isn't showing up in the review above....maybe I wasn't signed in correctly?
MaximusRodd
MaximusRodd - 5/14/2011, 1:09 AM
Great review and I agree.

Only I would have added at least 15-20 minutes to the film to make his gaining humility and the romance with Jane seem less forced. I thought Portman was the weakest link, but this could be due to the fact they needed extra film time.

Also, this would allow for the Destroyer fight to last longer and give breathe-time after the fight.

Her question, "Is this how you normally look?" would have played better if it wasn't the minute the fight ended. When he scooped her up and flew away, they should have had a shot of them in flight and THAT is when she should've asked that question. It would have played then as more of a lovestruck comment as opposed to a quippy one-liner.
LordHuck
LordHuck - 5/14/2011, 5:50 PM
Yes everyone wanted the Destroyer fight scene to be longer. Me too. Guess what? It wasn’t in the budget.


The film was short as it is. The Destroyer fight sequence is NOT shorter because of Portman’s “One Liner” The destroyer fight sequence was short because of budgetary concerns.


You don’t understand a damn thing about how films are made if you really think Portman’s line "Is this how you normally dress?" Took any time away from the Destroyer.
DEFENDER
DEFENDER - 5/14/2011, 8:22 PM
there is one other very very important item to mention that would have made the movie near perfect and that's thor's helmet which he only wore for one minute.had he wore it in all of the fight scenes it like loki and heimdall the movie would have been more ejoyable.
DEFENDER
DEFENDER - 5/14/2011, 8:30 PM
thor's helmet was the biggest thing missing from the movie. he should have been wearing it fighting the frost giants and the destroyer.the scene with him and the pet shop should have been deleted,that wasn't funny at all.
DEFENDER
DEFENDER - 5/14/2011, 8:32 PM
let's all pray they do a much better job for the sequel and keep the helmet on his head where it belongs.
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