I’m going to change it up this week and share my thoughts on the first big comic book movie release of the year, THOR.
THOR (starring Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman): THOR follows virtually the same formula as the first IRON MAN film: title character starts as a jerk, is humbled, becomes a hero, and then there’s a battle tacked on the end. I don’t mean that as a criticism because IRON MAN was an excellent super hero film, so using the same structure was certainly not a bad idea.
The casting is spot-on. This film will make Hemsworth a star. Natalie Portman, unlike Jessica Alba in the FANTASTIC FOUR films, can successfully remain smoking hot while being believable as a scientist. Kat Dennings provides a bunch of comic relief. Tom Hiddleston is the perfect Loki. The worst thing I can say, in relation to casting, is I wish Ray Stevenson’s Volstagg had been fatter.
While all the fish-out-of-water stuff on Earth is brilliant, there are a few issues with the Asgard/Jotunheim scenes that bookend Thor’s story on Midgard. All the bits in Jotunheim, the land of the frost giants, are so dark, you can barely see what’s going on. I saw THOR in 2D, so I can only imagine how difficult it would be to follow the action while wearing 3D glasses that further dim the picture. The other issue I have with the film is the final battle. I’ll do my best to avoid spoilers here, but there are two battles scenes towards the end of the film. The first makes total sense and redefines Thor as a hero. The second feels totally unnecessary.
Overall though, THOR kicks ass. The film moves at a brisk pace, it’s funny, and pretty much delivers everything you want from a summer action flick. Grade: A-
Blog-A-Day Challenge: Day 30!
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