“Your ancestors called it magic, and you call it science; I come from a place where they’re one in the same.” So the God of Thunder himself explains how he can exist in the Marvel Comics film universe, a world populated by a billionaire playboy with a flying robotic suit, a real-life Jekyll and Hyde, and a frozen human guinea pig from World War II.
You see, Thor’s eponymous hero and his Norse mythology brethren aren’t gods per se, but super-powered aliens mistaken for gods by ignorant Vikings. No, it certainly doesn’t make for the most plausible of Marvel’s origin stories, but, of the company’s stable of stinkers, Thor is the most entertaining bit of comic book cinema since 2008’s Iron Man.
Joss Whedon’s The Avengers, a one-eyed Anthony Hopkins and more after the jump.
You see, Thor’s eponymous hero and his Norse mythology brethren aren’t gods per se, but super-powered aliens mistaken for gods by ignorant Vikings. No, it certainly doesn’t make for the most plausible of Marvel’s origin stories, but, of the company’s stable of stinkers, Thor is the most entertaining bit of comic book cinema since 2008’s Iron Man.
Joss Whedon’s The Avengers, a one-eyed Anthony Hopkins and more after the jump.
The legend is born when King Odin of Asgard (Anthony Hopkins) travels to the Earth realm to save its people from slaughter at the hands of the Frost Giants. Icy baddies defeated, Odin returns to his home world — a garish place that looks to be a gilded amalgamation of Tim Burton’s take on Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory and Peter Jackson’s vision of Middle-earth. Centuries pass, and Odin prepares to pass the crown to his eldest son Thor (Aussie soap opera star Chris Hemsworth), but a surprise attack from the Frost Giants and the events that follow lead Thor to be banished to Earth and stripped of his powers.
Admittedly, things start out iffy.
Computer animated towers of gold, a rainbow bridge between the realms, blue-faced villains with elemental powers, rapid-cut fights scenes, Hopkins’ laughably bad eyepatch — every fear you would have about a movie with an opening sequence like the one described above seems to be coming true. Then, somewhere along the way as Thor and co. battle an endless army of Frost Giants and beasts, you’re hooked. (I realize that Thor may still sound horrible to you, but trust me on this.)
As the action is coming to a boil, things shift to comedy with Thor’s exile. Thor’s Superman-like tale could have suffered from a flat protagonist like the man of steel in Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns, but, fortunately, Hemsworth is charming — particularly as a clueless Thor who finds himself powerless and out of place in a small desert town. Just as with Iron Man, there are some laugh-out-loud moments here and a pinch of romantic interest.
While the earthlings are for the most part forgettable, Thor’s co-stars from the world of Asgard shine. Thor’s brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), is a surprising and subtle villain who honestly believes he has his planet’s best interest in mind as he seems to be betraying it — he may even be right. On the other side of the good-bad divide, it’s impossible not to be captivated by the stoic deity-ness from Asgard’s gate-keeping badass, Heimdall (Idris Elba, best known as The Wire’s Stringer Bell).
Thor marks Marvel’s first foray into the world of 3D, and while it is inoffensive for the most part, some scenes on the fantastical, CGI-ed world of Asgard feel cartoony and suffer from a weird blur — perhaps an artifact of the 3D being tacked on post-production.
Thor is the first in a crowded field of Marvel flicks slated for this summer (Thor, May 6; X-Men: First Class, June 3; Captain American: The First Avenger, July 22).2 If Thor is any indication of what we can expect from Marvel’s other films this summer, the superhero movie may be on the rise once again.
1. I can buy that Thor is an alien from a far away universe, but you can’t tell me a burly Scandinavian monster of a man like Thor would be interested in a twig like Jane (Natalie Portman) when the more meaty and voluptuous Darcy (Kat Dennings) is also available.
2. Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or are a female), you likely know that all of this comes to a head with next summer’s Joss Whedon-helmed superhero supergroup flick, The Avengers. This blockbuster in the making will somehow attempt to include Iron Man, the Hulk (recast once more as Mark Ruffalo), Thor, Captain America, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson from Iron Man 2), Nick Fury (Samuel Jackson) and a whole gang of other superheros and villains no one (well, no one save the people who will cheer at a ham-handed cameo by one of the Avengers in Thor) have ever heard of. I’m skeptical, but I was skeptical of Thor and Iron Man and they were both pretty rad, so, fingers crossed.
--Eric Pulsifer
Admittedly, things start out iffy.
Computer animated towers of gold, a rainbow bridge between the realms, blue-faced villains with elemental powers, rapid-cut fights scenes, Hopkins’ laughably bad eyepatch — every fear you would have about a movie with an opening sequence like the one described above seems to be coming true. Then, somewhere along the way as Thor and co. battle an endless army of Frost Giants and beasts, you’re hooked. (I realize that Thor may still sound horrible to you, but trust me on this.)
As the action is coming to a boil, things shift to comedy with Thor’s exile. Thor’s Superman-like tale could have suffered from a flat protagonist like the man of steel in Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns, but, fortunately, Hemsworth is charming — particularly as a clueless Thor who finds himself powerless and out of place in a small desert town. Just as with Iron Man, there are some laugh-out-loud moments here and a pinch of romantic interest.
While the earthlings are for the most part forgettable, Thor’s co-stars from the world of Asgard shine. Thor’s brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), is a surprising and subtle villain who honestly believes he has his planet’s best interest in mind as he seems to be betraying it — he may even be right. On the other side of the good-bad divide, it’s impossible not to be captivated by the stoic deity-ness from Asgard’s gate-keeping badass, Heimdall (Idris Elba, best known as The Wire’s Stringer Bell).
Thor marks Marvel’s first foray into the world of 3D, and while it is inoffensive for the most part, some scenes on the fantastical, CGI-ed world of Asgard feel cartoony and suffer from a weird blur — perhaps an artifact of the 3D being tacked on post-production.
Thor is the first in a crowded field of Marvel flicks slated for this summer (Thor, May 6; X-Men: First Class, June 3; Captain American: The First Avenger, July 22).2 If Thor is any indication of what we can expect from Marvel’s other films this summer, the superhero movie may be on the rise once again.
1. I can buy that Thor is an alien from a far away universe, but you can’t tell me a burly Scandinavian monster of a man like Thor would be interested in a twig like Jane (Natalie Portman) when the more meaty and voluptuous Darcy (Kat Dennings) is also available.
2. Unless you’ve been living under a rock (or are a female), you likely know that all of this comes to a head with next summer’s Joss Whedon-helmed superhero supergroup flick, The Avengers. This blockbuster in the making will somehow attempt to include Iron Man, the Hulk (recast once more as Mark Ruffalo), Thor, Captain America, Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson from Iron Man 2), Nick Fury (Samuel Jackson) and a whole gang of other superheros and villains no one (well, no one save the people who will cheer at a ham-handed cameo by one of the Avengers in Thor) have ever heard of. I’m skeptical, but I was skeptical of Thor and Iron Man and they were both pretty rad, so, fingers crossed.
--Eric Pulsifer
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