The summer superhero movie season has officially begun, with Marvel’s legendary Thor starting out of the gate. It’s not the best showing this genre has seen, but that’s not to say it’s a trip at the start, perhaps it’s just a sluggish half-step into full gear.
Most know by now this is one of the several pre-emptive films prepping Hollywood audiences for the comic geek’s wet dream: the upcoming Avengers movie.
So far our cast has been gradually gathering in post-credits teasers, each tying into the next film. Audiences at Iron Man 2 were treated to the briefest glimpse of Thor’s hammer a year ago, now given full stage with this film, and it’s not as terrible as the early production shots could have led you to believe.
Though a part of the Marvel’s superhero lore, Thor has an understandably more magical, mythological tilt to its story. This is then twisted to find a little fantasy logic in order to fit it safely into Marvel’s established movie universe.
The Nordic gods are more like aliens, Asgard being their home planet, and the magical rainbow bridge of the old tales is on display as a kind of laser cannon shooting riders from world to world. Mythology intermingles with a more science fiction style of interpretation, giving the characters a mindset different – but not utterly disconnected – from the kind of grandeur one usually expects from their ancient gods.
A big problem this movie has is its own history tied to the pivotal characters (Natalie Portman’s forgettable, obligatory female not being among them), where much must be said, but the film is already two hours and 15 minutes, so sacrifices had to be made.
Still, the gist is there, and it’s not all as predictable as one is led to believe at the get-go: the main conflicts of an arrogant jock learning humility and the struggle of the jealous brother leading to villainy appear pretty cut and dry for a good deal of the film, but there is enough of a twist – at least, in the case of the brother drama – where one can still have their eyebrows raised by a surprise move.
There is still a lot lacking in the story to keep those twists compelling enough. Characters are entertaining but fairly flat and easy to forget – with the exception of the film’s troublemaker, Loki.
There is a complexity and drive behind his actions making him more than a typical villain-of-the-month, something that some of the other Marvel hero movies have had a hard time with.
Tom Hiddleston’s subtle facial work keeps you guessing about just what is going on in his mind and strikes a more compelling note than even titular Thor himself.
As far as the action goes, it’s fair and rather exciting in places. It’s not going to leave any lasting imprints of the most innovative or memorable bits of combat by comparison to other films, but there is something extremely satisfying and exciting about seeing a superhuman creating a tornado by his own brute force, smashing all in his path to bits.
The hammer does its job well, and when the film takes a break with trying to make its characters likable, sitting back and enjoying the mindless violence is satisfying. In fact, the movie digs into this action right away, giving the audience a feast of fantasy carnage with some interesting CGI baddies.
Unfortunately, these moments of glory are short-lived. It becomes all-too disappointing to leave the action on Asgard and follow the boring lives of the mere mortals helping their kind-of-sort-of god friend.
For those seeking an interesting or unique romantic dynamic in the superhero genre, look elsewhere. It’s the most cringeworthy facet of the entire film and coated much of the final
conflict in a layer of cheese that is hard to recover from as the credits roll.
Speaking of which: die-hards looking for more clues to the upcoming Avengers film? Stay after the credits. There’s a brief little teaser waiting for you, same as the other movies before this one.
Lastly, if you’re going to see this movie, avoid the 3D. It’s entirely unnecessary, adds nothing – if anything, it actually hinders the action sequences. A regular, cheaper ticket will not rid you of any extra excitement.
Thor is, at the end of it all, pretty much what you’d expect from a summer action flick, but richer if only by its association with its Marvel predecessors. Now that our god of thunder has been properly introduced in his own right, one can only hope he gets a chance to shine all the brighter with the 2012 team-up of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.
