‘Thor’ (2011): A Love Letter

“Cross the rainbow bridge of Asgard, where the booming heavens roar, you’ll behold in breathless wonder, the God of thunder, MIGHTY THOR!” This theme song to the 1960’s cartoon rang true in my childhood, along with countless other Marvel themes. These characters conceived by the genius Stan Lee, a God himself in the realm of creativity, are still dear to my heart. Enough so that when Disney bought the rights to Marvel comics, and I swear this to be true, I began to cry. I have no shame in admitting this. These are the characters that instilled in me creativity daily–in drawing, in pretending, in idolizing and wishing to be one of them—and that gave me countless hours of joy and release through troubled times. These are the characters and stories that made me an artist and assuredly have influenced in very real ways my decision to go to art school, and more generally encouraged the creative person that I am today. So yes, I cried–I almost wept—out of fear of what Disney would do to my beloved heroes. Over the short time that Marvel has been in the grip of Disney, the wonder and innovation killer, some small things have changed, but overall (and thankfully), the Marvel universe remains intact.

Thor, is my favorite of all the heroes of my childhood. Thor, my friend growing up, my fictional idol, has been brought into the realm of reality and flesh. Upon hearing of this, with the knowledge of such film catastrophes as the ‘X-Men’(2000, 2003, 2006) series, ‘Hulk’(2003), ‘Daredevil’(2003), and others, a fear began to eat at me. During all of the hype for the film, my worry grew larger week to week. I went through the Kubler-Ross stages of loss before even seeing the film. Even up until I saw it in theaters I found myself accepting that it wouldn’t be good, and that another hero of mine, the greatest of them all, would be turned into another reason for kids not to care about the heroes that so inspired me. The heroes that still do inspire me today through amazing comics, illustrations, and more. Well, to conclude in as few words as possible, after seeing ‘Thor’, I’m still proud to be a Thor fanatic.

First and foremost, ‘Thor’ is good; even more, for those who love anything to do with Thor it was awesome. The issue was that it left me wanting to see the God of Thunder annihilate more foes immediately after the film ended, because he’s a complete badass. Chris Hemsworth was the selection to play mighty Thor under the film direction of Kenneth Branagh. The talented and Academy Award winning Natalie Portman played Jane Foster, Thor’s love interest. Anthony Hopkins (also an Oscar winner) played the Norse “all father” Odin. Stellan Skarsgard played the scientist Erik Selvig, and added quite a bit for a side role to the film. However, the best performance undoubtedly came from Tom Hiddleston, who played Loki. These mortals of the Hollywood world made the divine one of Asgard a great experience. In some of the lesser roles of the film the acting is a bit goofy at times, such as that of “Thor’s friends,” but it is overpowered by the much better acting of the main characters. Two-time Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner played a peculiar and miniscule role in the film as well, foreshadowing his future role in ‘The Avengers’. However, the focus is of course on the man himself: Thor. Chris Hemsworth really did nail a performance as the young, enthusiastic, and charming, but also arrogant and stubborn God of Thunder. Also, he looks the part, and by that I mean he is built, highly attractive and he pulls off blonde hair better than most natural blondes (but perhaps I am biased in this field).

Thor’s attire was also very true to character, at least from the waist up. For true fans, Thor’s boots are one of his defining cosmetic features, and should have been represented accordingly. Instead loose leather pants led to lackluster footwear. This was very disappointing when observing the god’s battle armor. Some may say that cosmetic and modern touchups were needed, but that argument is lame, and I shout blasphemy at whoever would make such a claim! Thor is a mythic God of olden times, and if the over-the-top-look is applied to everything else in Asgard, then Thor’s lower half should have matched the original costume in style at the least.

Asgard is also incredible, and the focus on the beauty of outer space is breathtaking. The rainbow bridge is actually rainbow colored and is the best part about the home to the Gods. The storyline moved quickly, and to cover so much ground in the short time it probably needed to do so. However, again for true Thor fans, a four-hour feature wouldn’t have been any issue to sit through at this film’s caliber. For everyone else, the film moves very fast. The story is compelling and is one that engages old fans and average moviegoers alike. You feel for the characters, but not as much as I wanted to, because at times the movie can feel rushed where I wanted more moderate pacing. This includes interactions between Hemsworth and Portman, which is good news in a film genre where romance usually is not desired as much as action.

The action itself was also great, but it was short-lived at times. Thor has such mighty strength and abilities that the battle scenes were over almost as quickly as they began. When seeing Thor begin to fight you’re immediately excited and pumped and you’re thinking, “alright here we go!” and then…the fighting ends. Thor’s beat down was only seen in glimpses of glory. This was as disappointing as the pants and boots!  However, it is only because the blonde-haired, blue-eyed God displays such badass potential during the fight scenes that gives you this feeling–you just crave more Thor.

This review is more personal than my others, and will be probably the most personal of the reviews that I write. Thor, the mighty God of Thunder, is the greatest of the Marvel universe, and his film is worth his prestige. It is a great feature that I recommend seeing. This film could have been just another passable Marvel flick, but it isn’t, and it stands out in the superhero film genre.  As a biased Thor mega-fan, I am a tough critic for anything that isn’t the standard and usual representation of the God of Thunder, and even I give this film two big thunderclaps!

-littleredbutton