Post 6: The Undiscovered Country

Hello everyone and welcome back to the blog. It was a pretty awesome weekend hanging out with friends. With friends coming into town and us going to some local favorite spots that we haven't been to in a while it was definitely a good time. During all of the good times and visiting we made time to see a fairly good movie as well. Today I will be talking about Thor. A movie that all of us agreed was good but some liked it more than others. I will let you know my opinion after the break. Here is another preview for those of you that have no idea what movie I'm talking about.


Thor Preview 2

Thor is the Norse God of Thunder that lives with all the other Norse Gods in a world known as Asgard. He carries around a hammer named Mjǫlnir (pronounced myol-neer). This hammer is too heavy for anyone but Thor and when he throws it, it returns to him at his will. Thor is a warrior, he kicks everyone's ass and never loses. This makes him arrogant and prideful. He decides to bite off a little more than he can chew with a race of frost giants. Thor's father and king of Asgard, Odin banishes Thor to earth, stripping his powers and taking his hammer, for starting a war that shouldn't have happened.

During the time that Thor is banished, his brother Loki has begun all types of shenanigans that would ultimately lead to the destruction of an entire world and claim the lives of countless innocent individuals. Thor must figure out how to reclaim his powers, put an end to his brother's machinations and prove that he is capable of ascending to the throne of Asgard, all while navigating the strange world of modern day Earth and falling in love with a mere mortal.

Overall Thor is a movie that everyone can enjoy. There are moments of humor, drama, love and action. The characters are all very believable and the casting seemed spot on for the most part. Chris Hemsworth does an awesome job as Thor pulling off the look and the bravado of an arrogant Norse warrior without making it cheesy. Anthony Hopkins as the old and wise Odin was excellent and Kat Dennings as the scientist sidekick added some levity to several scenes.

I did feel that Tom Hiddleston as Loki was a little flat and when he did show emotion it was a little over the top, although that can be seen as Loki's character since, being a trickster he would want to suppress his true emotions for the majority of the time. So I'll give him the benefit of the doubt here and see how he does in the Avengers movie.

My biggest criticism of the whole movie is of Natalie Portman. I like Natalie Portman but I do not believe her as a scientist. It seemed like they gave her big words to say to sound scientific but when she said them I felt like she didn't really know what she was talking about.

The storyline is obviously predictable, you know from the outset what the overall arc will be but the way the characters get to the end is what makes this movie fascinating. The director Kenneth Branagh takes you on a journey between worlds and makes you feel like you are in a totally different realm with each world you visit. The action sequences are awesome and you truly get a sense of how powerful Thor actually is and how devastating being banished is for him.

I really liked how there were little things throughout the movie that tied other Marvel comic movies to this one. Natalie Portman's partner talked about never hearing from an expert on gamma radiation after SHIELD visited him (assuming he is speaking of Bruce Banner AKA the Hulk). One of the agents asks if a giant machine sent to destroy Thor was one of Stark's, alluding to Tony Stark of Iron Man and the most obvious was the fact that after the credits rolled it said that Thor would return for the Avengers movie.

The character of Hawkeye was introduced and was briefly in the film. He's played by Jeremy Renner and should be returning for a much larger role in the Avengers movie. And as with most Marvel movies leading up to the Avengers there is a final scene after the credits with Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury that you should check out.

I would say that this movie is very well done. It is definitely worth a trip to the theater to see it. I personally would not put it in my top 5 comic book movies as I am not personally a huge fan of Thor. I am partial to many other heroes but it is an adventure worth seeing and definitely makes you want to see more.

Well, that's all for today. Let me know what you think and I will blog with you tomorrow.