FILM: Thor

I don’t know about you, but it’s only sitting through Thor that I realised MARVEL is Science and Mythology united. Actually, if we think about it, most superheroes are link to science by one way or another – with the exception of Batman and Superman who are inhumanly intelligent and the other one being an alien.

But sitting in that crowded cinema on cheapo-Tuesday made me think, “Oh my gosh – why am I only realising this now?!” Mind you, I’m not an acclaimed MARVEL Comic Book reader, but I do know my superheroes. I know of ‘Thor’, but I don’t know the story behind ‘Thor’, which is why I was glad my brother agreed to come see it with me. According to him the movie was accurate, I have faith in my brother, if you disagree tweet me or comment bellow. Regardless, I did like this film – but I’m not going to write about how well a comic book turned into a film, I’m writing from an every-day-person’s perspective.

The Story

Based on the comic book, Thor was the son of a legendary worrier named Odin (Anthony Hopkins). Odin was a man of victory and good value. He reigned the people of Asgard with justice and wisdom; all his actions were done with a purpose, hence the storyline of this film. Seeing his eldest son, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) undo a sacred packed between the waring worlds, Odin banishes his son to Earth, little does he know, his youngest son, Loki, has other things on his mind in regards to the kingdom.

The storyline stems from a mixture of mythical concepts, from the legend of Excalibur to the mythological realm of Olympus. I loved the marriage of science fiction and myth, along with contemporary technology and setting – seeing the old in the new. Seeing as Thor is being re-introduced to another generation, there has to be a consistent factor between those who grew up with the classical comic book figure and the expectation of a new hero on the big screen. Thor cannot not be fully ‘revamped’ like his fellow Avenger, Iron Man, because he is a mythical-like hero, not only in origin but also in style. Think of Thor as an ancient history class reading with a modern twist (like Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson Series) ; add a little bit of King Arthur; and finally a dab of M.I.B. attitude and humour and you’ve got Thor.

Cinematography

Setting – New Mexico is a perfect place to set Thor. Wide open spaces and isolated towns – exactly what you need for an extraterrestrial sighting and changed in weather patterns. You have to admit, most superhero film have two locations: wide open spaces and institutions.

Graphics – I understand that much of this film in regards to the other planets other than Earth needs to be in green/blue screen considering they’re fictional places, so I have to say I was impressed by their screen adaptation of the comic illustrations. One thing I will say though is, towards the end, where there’s supposedly a ‘big fight scene’ – or a precursor to, not too sure actually – I was disappointed to have a de ja vu moment back to the Power Ranger days. When I saw the opposing battle stance between the ‘good guys’ and the robotic alien, I was waiting for the Power Rangers theme song to come on. Neverthe less everything else was fantastic!

Casting

Chris Hemsworth did Australia proud as he graced the big screen with a well held British accent. Who knew that Kim from Home and Away would embody one of the most beloved superheroes for this generation? But his acting was also sensational – I’m not being biased because I am an Aussie, but I’m just calling it as it is. He was not just able to hold a British accent, but he was also able to deliver the vanity and pompousness of early-in-the-movie Thor as well as the transformed and wiser Thor at the end of the film. Hemsworth was believable in his portrayal and I only hope he did the character justice for Thor fans out there.

Tom Hiddleston who played Loki was also fantastic in his counter character role. He plays the character so well that you’re not too sure how you’re supposed to read him at first. Kudos to the writers for bringing out a character that matched the heroic qualities with such super villainous traits, Loki is definitely almost in league with The Joker. Kudos also to Hiddleston, his acting supported Hemsworth’s well and at times Loki almost overshadowed Thor, which is great because I think it suited the essence of the film.

Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgard and Kat Dennings were also amazing supporters in being the main source of comic relief. Playing off one another and Hemsworth allowed a sense of humanity in this supernaturalistic story. Granted, they were all super-geniuses, but they all had human qualities that kept this film ‘down to earth’.

No super hero would be complete without his band of helpers. Ray Stevenson, Tadanabu Asano, Josh Dallas and Jaimie Alexander were all fabulous in their roles as Thor’s fellow Asgardian worriers and friends. In their pursuit of saving their planet, the quadrant are contributors to a lot of the fighting sequences and storyline. This group were also great supporters to Hemsworth as they never overshadowed him but helped form a character profile of Thor.

Odin father of Thor, played by Anthony Hopkins was a brilliant character. Hopkins did an incredible job in bringing to life a character that is wise in advocating justice – even to his sons. He was a believable father figure and a great silent worrier. An applause for this man who made banishing your children to Earth by word look awesome within twenty minutes into the movie.

Costume

You cannot talk about a superhero movie without talking about costumes. Based on the fact that the people where Thor came from were supposedly worshipped by the Norwegians back in ancient times, there was no escaping the Viking-like attires. But there was room for modern additions like tones of gold and silver rather than rusty browns and worn-down greys. They retained red coat-like cape definitive of Thor to the classic comic illustrations, but his bold silver metallic bodice and scale-like cuffs, along with black manly boots brought out a definite modern twist to a classic.

This ‘old-in-the-new’ look was worn by all the Asgardian worriers, so obviously they’re going to standout on Earth – “We got Xena, Jackie Chan, Robin Hood…” was one of the lines in the film – no joke! But in all seriousness, the costumes were fantastic!

Overall thoughts...

I really did enjoy the film. It engaged me from beginning to end. Seeing as I did not know anything about Thor, I was really not anticipating most of what the storyline had, I wasn’t completely clueless, there was some things I could pin point, but I was nicely surprised by some things. The actions scenes were well crafted and kept you wanting more. The acting was top-notched and I was genuinely amazed at how well all the characters were portrayed so well.

This film calls for a sequel! Although, the credits are promising with, “Thor will return in The Avengers.” Until then, I’m looking forward to another MARVEL classic with Ryan Reynolds, “The Green Lantern”.

sL Star Rating: 4 Stars

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