When Marvel Studios was created, their debut film “Iron Man” knocked the worlds collective socks off. Here was a comic book film that wasn’t just about telling it’s own story (which it did) or making a lot of money (which it also did) but also about developing storylines and characters that could be used in upcoming movies in the future. Agent Colson, The Avengers, Tony Stark, Nick Fury, all of these characters first showed up in the first Iron Man film and have all since appeared in several other of Marvel Studios films. Thor not only continues that tradition, but it also brings things just a little bit closer together so fans can get a pretty good idea where The Avengers is going.
But don’t be fooled, Thor isn’t just a prequel story to The Avengers, it’s a pretty great film in it’s own right.
***Before going further, it should be noted that Marvel has NEVER tried to stay true to Norse Mythology. Yes, Thor is the god of thunder and yes Odin is his father, the rest of the material Marvel has created is pretty much made up aside from some key appearances of characters like Heimdall. There are probably teachers and professors across the world throwing a cumulative fit over Marvels bastardization of Norse Mythos. So I say this and only this, it’s a movie based on a comic book character who is part of the public domain. And it’s a good one. Enjoy it and don’t read too much into it.***
SPOILER ALERT: If you don’t know anything about Thor as a character, stop reading. If you don’t know who Thor’s main antagonist is, then prepare yourself for an original story and go watch the film. If you DO know who Thor’s main antagonist is, then your free to read on.
The story of Thor is one that was pretty much expected. In fact if you’ve been following this film through trailers and news tidbits, or you’ve been a fan of Thor through the comics and other materials, you probably could have written the story yourself. Thor is destined to be king of Asgard, but Asgard is attacked by the Frost Giants before he’s given thr thrown. Thor, in his immaturity, refuses to look past the attack and wildly confronts the Frost Giants. Odin is not happy, banishes Thor to Earth, Thor meets some chick named Jane (Natalie Portmans character) She teaches him to love and matures him and eventually you find out the whole thing is Loki’s fault. Thor returns to Asgard and saves the kingdom.
That may be slightly dumbed down but really, the story isn’t that complicated which isn’t necessarily a bad thing because the success of a movie like this is partially based on its ability to sell toys and expand to a wider audience.
It should be noted that Natalie Portman doesn’t do a bad job in her role; she’s as lovable as she’s ever been. It’s just that her character could have been played by just about anyone. There’s no depth to Jane whatsoever. She’s a scientist whose obsessed with reading the stars and comes to New Mexico to explain the weird fluctuations in the sky that she later finds out is Asgards Bridge to Earth. Hence how she meets Thor, and the rest goes from there. In Janes crew is Darcey (Kat Dennings) who provides a bit of comic relief, and Erik (Stellen Skarsgard) who is Jane’s mentor or something. He offers almost nothing to the film except for a tiny scene after the credits.
But Thor’s somewhat flat storyline is made up by so many other elements.
For starters, Chris Hemsworth is awesome. What a great job Marvel has done by putting Downey Jr. in as Tony Stark and now this man as Thor. Their casting has been brilliant and Hemsworth absolutely owns this role. He’s funny, he’s strong, and yes he’s down right beautiful. Thor was a very difficult role to play. In some ways most humans look at Thor as if he’s insane because he simply isn’t adjusted to mortal life, but nevertheless Thor has always been noble. Hemsworth’s portrayal shows these traits perfectly and there’s no doubt in my mind that Hemwsorth is a super star waiting to happen. The only fear about Hemsworth playing Thor is that one day he might not want to play him anymore.
Secondly, as mentioned before, Marvel has done an incredible job setting up The Avengers and making all of their movies exist in the same universe. For instance, when Odin’s Destroyer Suit makes its first appearance on Earth (which is basically an awful looking metal suit that should instantly remind you of a Power Rangers villain) one shield agent says to agent Colson “Is that one of Starks?” Lines like that, plus agent Colson himself (Clark Gregg), and an awesome cameo by Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), show that all of these movies are connected. All that’s left is one more red, white and blue piece of the puzzle and The Avengers are ready to roll.
Thor has its shortcomings. The costumes are little over the top on occasions, the story is a little thin and it certainly has a rather large plot hole near the end, but what you take away from the film outweighs the negatives. And what you take away is this, Thor is pretty awesome and Loki’s a deceitful bastard. In the end, Thor and Loki are both going to be in The Avengers and the fact that they both shine so brightly in this film is a very good thing.
Marvel is batting a thousand when it comes to their film properties. Next up: Captain America.
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