Ever since 2008's Iron Man, it's been clear that Marvel is gearing up to bring the Avengers to the big screen, with Iron Man, The Hulk, and now Thor. Let's face it; chances are Thor wasn't on your list of favourite comics. All most people know about him is that he's the God of Thunder, based off the Norse God of the same name. With this character so out of the norm with the rest of the Avengers, people wanted to see how they could pull it off. Well, Thor is here. Does it work? Here's my review.
Remember that this is MY opinion on the movie. Your opinion may very well differ from mine.
Story
The story follows Thor, God of Thunder, of the realm of Asgard. He is Asgard's mightiest warrior, the soon-to-be-king after father Odin..... and kind of a douchebag. Though crazy strong and loved, he is quite arrogant and selfish. When he disobeys Odin's orders and attacks the Asgardian's enemies, the Ice Giants, thus breaking their truce and bringing Asgard to the brink of war, Odin has had enough. He strips Thor of all his power and his hammer, Mjolnir, and casts him down to Earth until he learns to be noble and humble. Thor must now find a way to get back to Asgard, while his brother Loki, God of Mischief, begins his own rise to power.
The director of this movie is known for doing Shakespearean films, and now he's doing a Marvel superhero. You would think that strange, but when you see the movie, you realize just how much it plays out like a Shakespeare play. Family, loss, betrayal, trust, all themes that are heavily used in this movie, and are done very well. What is done very well is the relationship between Thor and Loki. Despite that they are in conflict and have opposing ideas about what they want, it's clear that Thor doesn't actually have any hatred for Loki, but has no choice but to try and stop him, and that's done very well. The Avengers is hinted at, but not thrown into your face like in Iron Man 2. And stay after the credits, and you might see something interesting...
Once it gets back to Earth, the movie becomes a typical 'fish out of water' story. Thor, dealing with the shock of losing his Godhood, must cope with life on Earth... AND WACKY HIJYNX ENSUES!!!! To be honest, the things they pull in this scenario are pretty funny, but it does feel kind of familiar. Also, Thor spends maybe 2-3 days on Earth. It is kind of hard to believe that he can completely change his ways and find himself a love interest by the end of the weekend.
Acting
Despite how over-the-top the entire movie is. I'm glad to say that the acting is solid all around. Anthony Hopkins is great as Odin, and Chris Hemsworth gives a surprisingly good performance as Thor. Tom Hiddleston steals the show as Loki, who does an amazing job portraying the God of Mischief's fall into insanity and hatred for Thor. Every scene he's in, he does amazing in.
Amazingly, the only real weak link in the movie was Natalie Portman. Not to say she did a bad job, but compared to the rest of the cast, a good portion of whom are pretty unknown, you would think the Oscar-winning actress would be the best. But she's just 'alright', and it feels like she wasn't giving it her all.
Presentation
One of the main ideas of the movie is 'what is the difference between science and magic?' And this is best seen in Asgard. The world looks beautiful and extremely detailed, and makes you wonder if it's science or magic they use. The answer: it's the same thing. The effects, for the most part, are great.
The movie is never boring. There is plenty of action, and all those scenes are great. There are moments where the camera gets a bit close, but that's pretty minor. However, the best scenes are when Thor is in God Mode (pun intended). What we see Thor do at times is downright amazing. The final fight was a bit of a letdown, but I can look past that.
Verdict
So I give Thor a:
9/10
This movie is on par with the first Iron Man. Almost everything is done right here. Though there are a couple problems, they aren't anything that breaks the movie. Highly reccomended.
Ever since 2008's Iron Man, it's been clear that Marvel is gearing up to bring the Avengers to the big screen, with Iron Man, The Hulk, and now Thor. Let's face it; chances are Thor wasn't on your list of favourite comics. All most people know about him is that he's the God of Thunder, based off the Norse God of the same name. With this character so out of the norm with the rest of the Avengers, people wanted to see how they could pull it off. Well, Thor is here. Does it work? Here's my review.
Remember that this is MY opinion on the movie. Your opinion may very well differ from mine.
Story
The story follows Thor, God of Thunder, of the realm of Asgard. He is Asgard's mightiest warrior, the soon-to-be-king after father Odin..... and kind of a douchebag. Though crazy strong and loved, he is quite arrogant and selfish. When he disobeys Odin's orders and attacks the Asgardian's enemies, the Ice Giants, thus breaking their truce and bringing Asgard to the brink of war, Odin has had enough. He strips Thor of all his power and his hammer, Mjolnir, and casts him down to Earth until he learns to be noble and humble. Thor must now find a way to get back to Asgard, while his brother Loki, God of Mischief, begins his own rise to power.
The director of this movie is known for doing Shakespearean films, and now he's doing a Marvel superhero. You would think that strange, but when you see the movie, you realize just how much it plays out like a Shakespeare play. Family, loss, betrayal, trust, all themes that are heavily used in this movie, and are done very well. What is done very well is the relationship between Thor and Loki. Despite that they are in conflict and have opposing ideas about what they want, it's clear that Thor doesn't actually have any hatred for Loki, but has no choice but to try and stop him, and that's done very well. The Avengers is hinted at, but not thrown into your face like in Iron Man 2. And stay after the credits, and you might see something interesting...
Once it gets back to Earth, the movie becomes a typical 'fish out of water' story. Thor, dealing with the shock of losing his Godhood, must cope with life on Earth... AND WACKY HIJYNX ENSUES!!!! To be honest, the things they pull in this scenario are pretty funny, but it does feel kind of familiar. Also, Thor spends maybe 2-3 days on Earth. It is kind of hard to believe that he can completely change his ways and find himself a love interest by the end of the weekend.
Acting
Despite how over-the-top the entire movie is. I'm glad to say that the acting is solid all around. Anthony Hopkins is great as Odin, and Chris Hemsworth gives a surprisingly good performance as Thor. Tom Hiddleston steals the show as Loki, who does an amazing job portraying the God of Mischief's fall into insanity and hatred for Thor. Every scene he's in, he does amazing in.
Amazingly, the only real weak link in the movie was Natalie Portman. Not to say she did a bad job, but compared to the rest of the cast, a good portion of whom are pretty unknown, you would think the Oscar-winning actress would be the best. But she's just 'alright', and it feels like she wasn't giving it her all.
Presentation
One of the main ideas of the movie is 'what is the difference between science and magic?' And this is best seen in Asgard. The world looks beautiful and extremely detailed, and makes you wonder if it's science or magic they use. The answer: it's the same thing. The effects, for the most part, are great.
The movie is never boring. There is plenty of action, and all those scenes are great. There are moments where the camera gets a bit close, but that's pretty minor. However, the best scenes are when Thor is in God Mode (pun intended). What we see Thor do at times is downright amazing. The final fight was a bit of a letdown, but I can look past that.
Verdict
So I give Thor a:
9/10
This movie is on par with the first Iron Man. Almost everything is done right here. Though there are a couple problems, they aren't anything that breaks the movie. Highly reccomended.
baylaust out.