Review of Thor (2011) by El_Cid — 07 May 2011

This was an astoundingly huge, incredibly well done movie. Brannagh has taught a lot of filmmakers 'this is how it's done'. It is *not* a superhero movie. It's a battle between gods, and a classic drama of struggles with a king as his heirs, and a fantasy epic, and the frequent theme in mythology of a god fallen to Earth, to live and move with mortals. Asgard and everything in it is thought through far better than it ever was in the comic.

The special effects were examples of what the best filmmakers do: they don't just throw a budget and a bunch of code monkeys at it; they think through what an effect really should be doing, and how it makes sense. That's why the effects, though technically great, really impress.

When there are "superhero', or Asgardian warrior, action, it's jaw-droppingly well done. And when Thor is on Earth, there's constant challenge, humor, and lively interaction with every character. This is not a case of a movie trying to live up to a comic book: now, the comics have to learn to live up to the epic on screen.

Don't worry about the comic books. You don't need to know them to watch the movie. You don't *have* to know all about Greek mythology to watch movies about battles between those gods and demigods and mortals and so forth, and when is it confusing if the very powerful become so arrogant or power-hungry that they are damaged and cause damage to those around them for their hubris? This movie is like that.

And I read the pro's and users here talking about how 'dumb' it was, boring, etc. I guess it didn't have the sort of brilliant writing of Fast Five or Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or a scene in a strip club, or the touching directing talents of George Lucas. How come there was all that boring talk in Henry V? Why is there no Michael Becerra or 'homages' to crappy kung fu movies like "Kill Bill"? How come there aren't 50 scenes of Natalie Portman bending over a motorcycle? Why isn't it filled with a bunch of magic kids who never express any emotion and who are always saved by a newly discovered relic? Obviously "Thor" can live up to none of these high standards.

I would like to think it's a movie which will continue to grow in popularity based on word of mouth; it's not too often I go in thinking a movie will be a lot of fun, and then see something far above my expectations. From what I've heard, especially from people who didn't know too much about the character, I think that's likely.

If you aren't the kind of person who likes intelligently written, large-scale epics with brilliant direction, gorgeous special effects, rivalry for the throne, big action scenes, and characters with depth and most of whom are played by fantastic actors, then this movie's not for you.

Others should really go and watch it.