Odin’s beard! And Thor’s hammer! And another Avenger…
Grab your seats, class is in session.
Let me get this out of the way: Thor was a good movie. And a very well done comic book adaptation. I’ll try, as always, to stay away from the spoilers but if you are one of those “I avoid all commercials so the entire movie surprises me!” people, well…something is bound to get ruined for you somewhere.
One of the main things that sticks out to me about Thor are the visuals. The CG used to create Asguard and the Destroyer were amazing. The live sets used for different parts of Asguard were really well done. Even the costumes used on all Asguardian characters were beautifully put together. They looked as if they stepped out of the comic. The only complaint I have in that aspect is that you only ever see Thor in his helm once, but I can understand why. At least you see Loki with his trademark horns several times.
The acting is even on point. Yes, it has it’s moments, all the comic book movies do, but this one is surprisingly good. I mean, Natalie Portman is Natalie Portman. Outside her venture into Star Wars, it’s kind of hard to find something she wasn’t good in. Chris Hemsworth was fantastic. Though I’m not sure why, I honestly expected him to be over the top, and he wasn’t at all. He was exactly what I would picture Thor to be. I can’t say there would have been a better choice for Odin than Sir Anthony Hopkins. Very regal, very powerful, and yet very weak as well. Have to see it to understand what I mean. The biggest surprise of the major players for me was Tom Hiddleston and his work as Thor’s brother, Loki. I don’t recall ever seeing him in anything else, but won’t at all be surprised if I do now. He does a great job as the Prince of Lies.
I was even impressed with the minor players, if you will. Clark Gregg reprises his role as S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson and just like the Iron Man movies, he’s awesome. Just enough smarmy cockiness to be the perfect secret government agent. Kat Dennings has a minor role, but it’s just enough. Much more of her particular character would have been annoying. I’ve also been a fan of Stellan Skarsgard since Good Will Hunting. While another smaller role, he doesn’t disappoint. In fact, it appears as though his character is going to play a big role in the Avengers. Stay after the credits, kids, and you’ll understand. The Warriors Three as very well represented by Ray Stevenson (Volstagg), Tadanobu Asano (Hogun), and Josh Dallas (Fandral), while the very lovely Jaimie Alexander plays a very good Lady Sif. They don’t get a ton of screen time, but they make the most of it, as does the last real minor player, Idris Elba, who plays Heimdall.
I was also a real fan of the fact they this movie stays very close to the comic. It’s clear that Kenneth Branagh did his homework and was determined to make a good Thor adaptation. In my opinion, he very much succeeded. I would definitely tell all comic fans to go check this one out. If you aren’t a comic fan, you may not enjoy it as much, but it’s still a good movie either way.
As for the “other Avenger”? Well, I’ll say this, which for comic fans is a big spoiler. Yeah, I know I said earlier I try to avoid spoilers, but when S.H.I.E.L.D Agent Barton is up in a Crow’s Nest position with a bow in his hands, well….I definitely geeked pretty hard. Not quite as hard as I did after the credits though. As I said earlier, stick around after the credits. There is an old school object that makes an appearance, definitely leading to the Avengers, full of awesomeness.
Oh, and yes, there is the expected Stan “the Man” Lee appearance too. Don’t blink though, you may miss it.
Excelsior!
Class dismissed.
