This one's less fresh in my memory, but I'll do my best.
I'll start with basic plot for those of you who ignore all commercials/previews:
- The Norse gods are actually immortals from another planet, led by Odin (portrayed by Anthony Hopkins for. . . some reason, but it works well). They fight the Frost Giants, steal their power to punish them, and live happily ever after. . . for a time. Then, on the day of Thor's coronation as King (taking over from his father Odin), the Frost Giants break into the fortress of Asgard to try to steal back that power source. Thor responds by returning to the Frost Giants planet and igniting a war, which results in his banishment to Earth, minus his super powers. Thor has to regain his powers and return to Asgard to save his kingdom. Pretty basic comic book stuff.
The first thing that struck me about this movie was the fact that the first time you really see Thor conscious (don't ask, just see the movie) he's emoting. I mean really, truly, full-on smiling. I'm just not used to that. And Chris Hemsworth (Thor) is a surprisingly good actor. A few may know his younger brother Liam from that one Nicholas Sparks movie (that's like all the rest, but people still go to them) "The Last Song." If you do know that, and you paid money to see that movie in theaters, go ram your head into a wall for me. Done? Good, let's get back to movies that are worth our time, shall we? Chris Hemsworth's superhero is fresh because he seems genuine n his emotions. Did you catch the plural there? Because he has a whole slew of them, and all of them are appropriate for the scene he's in. Now don't get me wrong; I love me some Wolverine and Iron Man and Spiderman (when I can stomach Tobey Maguire), but even the two that I just mentioned that are played by really good actors are pretty two-dimensional: they're angry or acerbic. While those are two qualities that are important in our comic book superheroes (or that one guy on the subway in Berkley), there could be more and Chris Hemsworth proves that.
Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), recent Oscar winner, doesn't live up to her potential, though that isn't really her fault. The movie crunches a lot of plot into a two hour movie, which doesn't leave much for characters that are pretty secondary to the main plot of the movie. She's got some good comedic moments though, and all the guys in the audience will be appeased by her looking as good as ever. Other notable mentions include Tom Hiddleston (Thor's brother Loki), Stellan Skarsgård (Erik Selvig), and Kat Dennings (Darcy Lewis). Skarsgård is funnier than I've seen him in a long time and, while mostly a plot driver, is entertaining. Dennings, who people might know from "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist" among other things, is in her element as a sarcastic secondary character; her character is unnecessary, but if given the choice I'd definitely keep her in. Finally, Hiddleston gives you creepy and caring and morally confused, which shows great potential in the actor who has done little of note prior to this. We'll get to see more of the character in 2012's "Avengers".
This is easily one of the most lighthearted comic book movies in a long time and I've got to say I like the change. It's got all of the fight scenes and sweet effects that you got in the previous films, but with more likable characters. I love Tony Stark, but he's not a guy I'd want to grab margaritas with. Thor is such a sweetie by the end of the film that I feel like going to build-a-bear with him, and he'd like it. I'm still confused by casting Hopkins and Renee Russo as Odin and Frigga, but it works; just don't think about their previous work.
Finally, my favorite part of the film is, oddly, the end credits. That's not to say the film wasn't fantastic, because it was. The final credits are just such a beautifully crafted view of a fictional galaxy. I doubt this would have the same power in the 2D movie, so definitely see it in 3D (you may notice a pattern in my suggesting 3D over 2D). It's more than worth it.
4 stars out of 5
No comments:
Post a Comment