MadCap's Reel Thoughts - "Thor" (2011)

Thor is kind of an anomaly in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or at least it was until it came out and was a big hit much like the rest of the set up films of The Avengers.  Out of all the set up films, Thor was probably the biggest risk due to Thor himself not having been very heavily featured before.  Sure, he’d been in some of the animated films and had guest spots on several of the animated series (as well as being sort of featured in The Incredible Hulk Returns, but we tend to forget that).  So, needless to say, there was a lot of risk here.  So, how did Marvel handle this?

Well, chiefly, they got a charismatic and relatively then-unknown Australian actor by the name of Chris Hemsworth for the title role.  This has worked out ridiculously well for them.

Rounding at the cast with some strong choices for Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), and Odin (Anthony “with some fava beans” Hopkins) also contributes to this going well.  And while I would get into Heimdall (Idris Elba), Sif (Jaimie Alexander), and the Warriors Three (Joshua Dallas, Tadanobu Asano, and Ray Stevenson), they…don’t really do too much in this film.  Don’t get me wrong, they aren’t bad by any stretch – particularly Heimdall – but the film doesn’t really give them much of anything to do.

But as for the plot, like the other entries into Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic universe, it’s an origin story.  Odin narrates about the defeat of the Frost Giants, a force from one of the Nine Realms that was a great destructive force in the universe in the distant past – even going so far as to invade Earth and lay waste until Odin and the forces of Asgard curbstomped them and took the Casket of Infinite Winters.  Many, many years later – Odin is preparing to pass on his crown to his eldest son, Thor.  Thor is a cocky, arrogant, war-hungry young man who is so very, very eager to be king.  In fact, one could say that he just can’t wait to be king, as when his coronation is interrupted by Frost Giants let into Asgard by his brother Loki, he wants to immediately mount up his armies and go kick some Frost Giant ass.

So when Odin reminds him that he’s not King yet, Thor and his friends head across the Bifrost to do it anyway.

For this, Thor is stripped of his powers and banished to Earth where he meets physicist Jane Foster, Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) and Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) in the deserts of New Mexico.  Mind you, only Thor is punished for this transgression against the throne of Asgard.

Not the Warriors Three, who not only followed Thor into this, but happily.

Not Loki, who nobody manages to remember was the one who actually manipulated Thor into going to the realm of the Frost Giants (silver-tongued devil, my ass).

And not Heimdall, who willingly left the door open so that they could go through the Bifrost in the first place.

…eh, Thor is the only one with a lesson to learn here, apparently.

But, in a little town in New Mexico, Thor will spend three days learning the virtues of…whatever that make him a worthy king of Asgard from Anakin Skywalker’s ex (by the way, Natalie, major step up…since, y’know, Chris can act).  This is actually kind of an issue with the film, as Thor goes from being a war hungry manchild to being a compassionate, wise young man over a three day weekend because he hung out with a hot chick in the desert…then again, it is Natalie Portman and she’s been um…inspiring to many.

Fine Dwarven Craftsmanship:  A Nokia on a stick.

In the end, through some rather funny scenes and some trials and tribulations, Thor willingly sacrifices himself to save his newly gained human friends, as well as Sif and the Warriors Three, from total annihilation at the hands of Loki and the Destroyer, then has what is one of the most awesome scenes of all time in which is hammer returns to him, his armor reforms on him, and he proceeds to lay a smackdown upon the Destroyer before going back to Asgard and giving a smackdown to Loki.

Loki who, by the way, is the one who really gets the most sympathy from me…at least for this film.  He learns that his true heritage has been kept from him and, naturally, doesn’t take that well given exactly what he is.  The manipulator has himself been manipulated and lied to about where he came from for his entire life.  So, the real villain of Thor? Definitely Odin.  The guy’s a complete dick.

Mind you, my view of Loki changes drastically by the time of The Avengers (as should yours, take note, fangirls!), but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.  For now, I’d even go so far as to saying he’s pretty much justified in his actions…except for keeping Thor in exile when he has the opportunity to bring him back to Asgard, but then Thor just has to learn his lesson, apparently.

All in all, it's a great movie.  It's minor problems can be overlooked and it can be a very enjoyable summer blockbuster, which it was.

And, of course, we get the post-credits scene setting up The Avengers, which was by then quickly on its way with the hype built up to an absolute fever pitch.  However, it is now that we come to a film that I’ve been dreading…not necessarily because it’s bad, though I wouldn’t necessarily call it good…

....but we’ll save the adventures of the Not-So-Jolly Green Giant for next time.

Thor is now available from Marvel Studios and distributed by Paramount Pictures, and is available wherever movies are sold.

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