THOR - Review

Hey everyone, i'm new to the site but obviously I love movies. I thought I would use this opportunity to post my very first review and I would love to hear your thoughts about it (be it good or bad) as long as it's constructive. Any feedback at all is appreciated I'll post the review here, as well as the link to the website where I will be posting reviews regularly. If you want you can leave comments here and on the actual website would be even better. Thx in advance and I hope you enjoy it!

Thor (2011) - Review

Thor has few suprises in store for those that have seen Spiderman, Iron Man, X-Men, or any other comic book related movie but that's not to say it's a bad movie. Far from it in fact. Thor gets more things right than it gets wrong and hits a lot of the right notes. More importantly, it stays true to the comic and will certainly please fans of the Norse God of Thunder.


Synopsis:


Thor opens on the planet 'Asgard', which is recovering from a war with 'Jotunheim' (an inhospitable planet inhabited by so called ice giants). As to be expected the peace between the two mythical realms is not meant to last, and hostilities arise once again when Asgard is attacked by a small party of ice giants. Thor(Chris Hemsworth), who is heir throne and soon to be king, sees this as an act of war and decides to respond with aggresive action. Despite the counsil of his father, king Odin (Anthony Hopkins), Thor proceeds with his plan. His plan fails and Odin has to step in to save the day. However, Thor's actions cause Odin to believe that he is not worthy of the throne and Thor is banished to Earth indefinitely.


Analysis:


It is at this point where Thor's main drawback becomes apparent. When the viewer resides in the colorful and beautifully realised Asgard all is well. But when the focus shifts to planet Earth the movie slows down and becomes void of the most interesting parts of the movie. The scenes on Earth seem far more generic and the development of the relationship between Thor and Jane (Natalie Portman) feels rushed to say the least. Luckily, the movie spends plenty of time in the more exotic Asgard and Jotunheim.


Despite the more bland scenes on Earth, Thor is still thorougly entertaining from start to finish. There is the obligatory dose of humor, which is excuted fairly well (one scene is particularly funny when Thor's comrades find him on Earth). Fans will also be happy to see there is plenty of hammer throwing action, which is certainly one of the best parts of the movie. The special effects that go along with the action are gorgeous but the 3D is once again dissapointing.


Where the special effects are top-notch, the art style is kind of a mixed bag. Fans will probably appreciate the loyalty and respect the art style and costume design pays to the comics but to non comic book lovers it's a bit campy and maybe a bit over the top. Also, some moments are a bit silly and are untentintionally funny, but these moments are rare.


In terms of acting I was pleasantly surprised by Thor. Chris Hemsworth does a good job at portraying Thor as the overly-confident, hammer slinging hero that he is. Loki, Thor's brother (played by Tom Hiddleston) puts on quite a show and his character is by far the most noteworthy performance. He is relatively subtle and does justice to the michievous character, which is easier said than done knowing the source material is often deliberately loud and in your face.


Thor is without a doubt a solid entry in the superhero genre and deserves credit for turning something that could have been incredibly campy and over the top into a believable story. This was easily the hardest character to bring to the big screen, due to its oulandish mythology, but it succeeds. Thor, above all else, manages to entertain and has me excited to watch the God of Thunder swing his hammer in the Avengers movie coming out next year.

SCORE: 8/10

Think you had pretty much the same feelings as I did on the film, except I let the slightly slower pace of Earth scenes slide as Natalie Portman lights up my life

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Haha, well that's certainly true

I absolutely loved this movie.

9.5/10

Thor is an exquisite film. I thought it was smart, well written, very well directed, and struck just the right tone for the material. There’s really no other movie you can compare this one too. It’s part psychodrama that explores the depth of human relationships but still delivers great action. It also gives us a human element to which most anyone should be able to relate. This movie really is exceptional. From the epic opening set on Asgard, to the awesome battle with the Destroyer back on Earth, Thor is filled with plenty of action, a compelling story and some superb direction from Branagh. Yes, I said superb. Everything I wanted in a film such as this and, actually, quite a bit more.


It’s easy to see why Kenneth Branagh is considered a film making master. He delivered a film that looks and feels exactly like a live action Thor comic. (The good ones anyway) His detailed yet not too busy screen is filled with tender as well as cerebral moments but when it’s Hammer time... run for cover!! I can’t believe how much I enjoyed this film. This critic quote sums it up best for me…

“More broadly, though, Thor has a real emotional depth - it's unusually soulful for a superhero film. Yes, Christopher Nolan's Batman efforts had a similar sensitivity, though it came from a darker and, thus, ultimately less interesting place; Thor is more bittersweet. There's a hopefulness to the film, particularly its ending, that verges on elegiac. A winning blend of thrill and feeling, respect and irreverence, Thor lifts Marvel's movie stocks considerably”

Wow. great review. I will freely admit, i thought when Thor was announced, through the casting i thought this had Dud written all over it.

One of these years, I'm just gonna have to trust Marvel and their decision making.

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"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it." - Michelangelo.

Comic book adaptations have found a formula and show no signs of alteration. A group of epic fight scenes (aligned with 10000% special effects), some hearty jokes, and main character growth all equate to a summer blockbuster, and with good reason as it’s perfect escapism for the general man, of whom the studios are interested in purely. Thor is arguably the best example of this. However, questions arise from anything depending on its subject matter, and since that is Norse mythology, or what has turned into “Norse for Teenyboppers”, many elements are iffy. I question any other race who speaks English for one (stop fearing subtitles), as well as why Odin is human-size, but these can partially be disqualified because the film is based on the comic rather than the myth. There’s no question the visual aspect is brilliant, but that comes with the territory these days, and luckily this is in tandem with the cinematographer showing skills unlike the other comic book films sans Batman, so why is there seemingly no room for improvement?

We are introduced to the god of thunder as a child in a man’s body, so naturally his growth process will be to overcome his pride and wants. However, he goes about that in a rather sneakily easy manner (I’m looking at you scriptwriters). The moment of his self-sacrifice had no personal build-up and seemingly came out of nowhere. Also, there is no reason the Guardian couldn’t have incinerated him (other than the film would have ended), so there’s one hell of a loophole there. Outside of that, no one else changes at all, SHIELD namedrops Iron Man, and Hollywood once again holds a cold shoulder to a much more appropriate soundtrack (how many Scandinavian metal bands know more about Norse than anyone involved in this project? All of them) and instead use a ho-hum composer as usual.

Thor is good entertainment and keeps in line with the overall arc of the Marvel film franchise and the actors do well. But that’s about it. This isn’t coming from the “film buff” of my brain but rather the question of why settle for less (even when the answer is money, naturally), and so it seems a bit of eternal doom is present in that sense. Oh well. This won’t translate well in home televisions by the way.

6.5/10

8.5/10

Excellent entertainment.

I was half thinking here we go again another Z list comic book hero wheeled out onto the Big Screen with non stop meaningless action sequences.

I'm glad I made the trip though. Best Ive seen this year so far. Visually stunning.

@wintertrianlges
Although I disagree with you, I can understand your point of view. However, there a couple of errors in your review. firstly, its subject matter is not "Norse Mythology", it is the comic book Thor. The comic book contains elements of Norse mythology but it doesn't adapt it directly. In relation to its source material the movie can most certainly not be criticized for being a departure from its roots. Also, you can hardly blame Marvel for wanting it to be in English, it is after all a business, money must be made and choosing another language would alienate a big chunk of the potential audience. In addition, I don't think most people would see this as a point of concern.

He actually mentioned that:

"...but these can partially be disqualified because the film is based on the comic rather than the myth."

I regret to inform that an "error" does not have anything to do with preference.

I'm not concerned, I'm curious, don't be so morbid.

Sir, I have identified yet another egregious mistake in your highly flawed, arrogant, and overall disrespectful post. By my count*, there were at least 29183.55554% special effects in at least three of the epic fight sequences. In future circumstance I highly recommend that you do your homework first before going on to make such bombastic, idiotic, and frankly racist, stereotypes about the beloved Marvel films. Honestly, you should be ashamed of yourself, sir. Have you no decency?

Good day,
A Gentleman and a Scholar

*Note: I have seen the film over six times since it's premier.

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"Loves them? They need them, like they need the air."

This was WAY better than I thought it was going to be, and I will be seeing it again, as an unabashed fan this time round. I went into it knowing pretty much doodley squat about the premise, and I only skimmed a couple of ratings Friday here on MoFo as I modded the thread.

Lisa and I were both greatly entertained, and I think Branagh did a superb job with the material.

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How does everyone feel it stands in the Marvel Canon thus far then?

It's one of the best, IMO.

Arwh, how come this became the main 'Thor' thread?

Ah, I will add the link to the other thread as well...

WAY better than I thought it was going to be. Loki was cast perfectly, as was Thor. My only complaint is that this film wasn't longer!

Pertaining to Thor:
I think it's a worthy introduction and will appeal to newcomers. However, I happen to have read some excellent Thor comics as well and those stories surpass the movie in countless ways. The director was of course limited because he had to tell an origin story and was consequently unable to explore the universe completely and unlock its true potential. Nonetheless, Thor is a good first entry and i'm hopeful that the sequel will be even better, (if it performs at the box office of course).

Marvel:
In terms of the entire marvel universe (and I am just referring to the movies here), I think it it's a return to form for Marvel and an unquestionable home-run.

Marvel was not afraid to embrace the more fantastical elements of Thor and showed great respect for the series. It is, in a way, different than any superhero to date because it doesn't hold back on the 'superhero' part of a superhero movie.

Iron Man was a huge hit because it was so grounded and believable, not unlike chris nolan's take on Batman, there are no real out of this world characters or environments. Thor does the exact opposite and lets loose all of the crazy superhero antics in pure comic book fashion, and it works because it's so refreshing and new. To sum up, Tho

Thor does something radically different in a genre that seemed to be headed in the direction of Iron Man and Batman. This is what makes Thor special and one the best entries in the Marvel line up, it stays completely faithful to its source material and refuses to do the predictable.


If the movie has anyone excited to read the comics here are some excellent reads:
Thor: The Mighty Avenger Vol. 1 & 2
Thor by J. Michael Straczynski Omnibus
Thor: Tales of Asgard
Avengers Disassembled: Thor
Ultimate Comics Thor

Glad you liked it. First thing I commented on in my review as well was how much better it was than I thought it could be. And yes Tom Hiddlestone and Chris Hemsworth were just about perfect for those roles.

I think it's length actually worked for it. Even though they had a lot to fit in, to do it in less than 2 hours really kept the pace flying along. I don't think it's the type of film were they want you to sit around and start thinking! They just want you caught up in it so you'll go along with the glorious daftness of it

Well, I think they could have extended the film to two hours and fleshed out Sif and the Warriors Three a bit more. There were interesting and fun characters, but were little more than set pieces, for the most part. They didn't need to go all ensemble cast on us, but they could have spent a bit more time on them.