Review of Thor (2011) by Alex G — 11 Nov 2013

To be honest Thor was such a minor note in the scheme of Marvel that I never thought twice about him. The film and his inclusion in the Avengers did wonders but when I first reviewed this film I was more or less critiquing the character rather than the film. Years later I think I've finally figured out just what I have to say about The Mighty Avengers.

The Good: Good performances from Hemsworth, Hiddelston and Hopkines, Novel origins story, Culture clash, Fantastic visuals, Self deprecating humor and Actual character progression.

The Bad: Suffers from bland characters, Never really proves Science, Extra-terrestrials are too human and Magic theory, Romantic sub plot is very weak.

The Ugly: Pointless Avenger plug in.

The Good.

Thor is very, very well cast, the character. Hemsworth brings to the role a self entitled swagger that is very convincing along with the physicality to make you believe he will rock your world. Hemsworth is also capable of delivering very emotional lines as well as the typical hero fare, and interacts really well with the cast. As does especially Hiddelston that had he been given more screen time might have stolen the show, he is an impish clever and deeply intelligent character. It's almost not fair to call him an antagonist he wants in essence what Thor wants and he very nearly gets it, at some points I may have been sort of hoping he got the throne. Hopkins is a very convincing god, he speaks with gravity, authority and his deliverance is impeccable. Including someone like Hopkins brought talent as well as star power to the film.

Have you ever really seen an origins story like this? No this was really novel, he had everything but his fall and climb back up is really unique and strange. The narrative shouldn't have worked like this but it paid off really well.

Much of the humor that defines the film comes from the culture clash. The asgardians live an almost cartoonish life-style and Thor's fall from grace into mortality is hilarious. Smashing coffee cups, hospitals, eating is all a hilarious culture clash story and it is Thor's greatest strength. One of the best lines of exposition comes from Selvic and Thor in the bar together where Jane and the stakes of the universe are discussed with honky tonk playing in the back ground.

This film really is a visual treat, the costumes are strange and unique, Asgard is beautiful and even the icy planet of Jodenheim is strangely beautiful. The best scenes aren't of Thor swinging the hammer but of the bifrost which was a unique presentation.

What moves the film along the most and is the most satisfying part is Thor actually changing. Thor starts as a spoiled brat and is irritating. When we see him crash it's almost pathetic but when he finally rises, he may not be a unique character in his delivery but it is rewarding all the same.

The Bad.

The amount of useless characters in this movie, or worse yet, unconvincing and bland characters is annoying and shocking. Natalie Portman, a generally good actor, gives a stale and unconvincing performance as Jane Foster. Even worse is the warriors three, I felt zero connection to them despite their large role and they felt like archetypes of heroes meant to serve Thor rather than change him. Its unconvincing and seriously brings the film down.

The line saying Thor comes from a land where science and magic are one and the same is interesting and I believed it at first, but think about it when did the film prove that? It proved it was just science, of another culture. The line almost just broadens the scope of the marvel universe instead of enhancing it.

Speaking of Natalie portman a paragraph ago, do you know when I checked my phone for what time it was? The scene with Thor and Jane atop the trailer. Jane Foster is a weak representation, she is a brilliant scientist who swoons after Thor like a love sick school girl. The romantic sub plot is annoying, distracting and the two stars really don't have any chemistry to speak of.

Aside from Thor, Loki and Odin the other Asgardians can almost be traced back to very human heroes. My point is that there are very few instances where I think of the Asgardians as extra-terrestrials, they're just humans that have read too many stories. The point is the Asgardians severely lacked a culture and it took away from the film.

The Ugly.

Why was Hawkeye in this movie? There isn't a good reason, it was useless. This close up served no purpose except to say, "Hey! Remember the Avengers is coming out! This guy with the bow is one of them! Cool eh?" It's not even an easter egg its shameless plugging.

For a relatively unknown marvel title Thor does do well for itself, maybe not for the character but it does broaden the Marvel Universe beyond the bounds of earth. Hemsworth and a few other fine performances along with the humor and clever narrative save the film from what would otherwise have been a generic super hero film. However bland characters and useless sub plots really lower what could have been an intriguing piece if it just would have gone deeper. 6/10.