Thor the comic book character isn't one I know a ton about, but I do like him as a hero. He was one of the last characters you could unlock in Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 (don't ask me which system I played on because I don't remember) and when you did no one stood a chance. He's a GOD! And he may have an old school costume and a hammer, but man can he f*ck sh*t up. That was perfectly shown in the movie. Mjolnir (the hammer) allows him all kinds of cool abilities. Flying, thunder bolts, beating people's faces off, it was great! Of course, the hammer and Thor himself are from an actual myth. As I'm sure you know, Thor was worshiped as a Norse god way back in the day, and Thursday is named after him: Thor's Day. For better or for worse I think that made this film feel less like a superhero movie and more like a fantasy film. That didn't bother me, but it was unexpected.
Thor was a really fun movie, and was the perfect type of film to prepare everyone for the barrage of big blockbusters coming up this summer. The film did a great job making Asgard and the Bifrost and all the rest of it not seem cheesy. I thought Chris Hemsworth's portrayal of Thor was excellent, a LOT better than I thought it might be when I heard about his casting. Thor is portrayed here as a hero of extremes, either he's angry and in a fightin' mood, or he's jolly and in a fightin' mood. In both cases I thought he was really entertaining. In jolly mode he kind of makes me think of a young and buff Santa Claus. My only problem with Thor is that he waxes his chest...he looks amazing, but it doesn't really fit with his rough Viking persona OR his beard.
I only had a few issues with this film, but they are enough to mean I probably won't buy the DVD, except maybe as a gift for my dad. I thought the editing was not great. There were a ton of abrupt scene changes and odd transitions, usually when going from New Mexico to the Asgard storyline. I also thought the editing and/or writing was uneven in that the film began with a decent length intro, then a long sequence in Asgard, but as the film went on the story jumped back and forth between earth and Asgard a lot quicker. There were maybe two minutes in the car with Thor and Jane and then the film would jump back into space. They should have kept going with the longer segments, I think it would have made the love story better. I didn't dislike the love story, I liked Natalie's Jane and she and Thor were sweet, but I really didn't give two rat poos if they got together or not.
My other main issue with the film was the huge amount of supporting characters. Thor is an origin movie, and it had about 14 other characters, with names and lines and all the rest of it. This means that less time is actually spent with Thor, the main character, and that's no good. Look at Superman, Spiderman, and Batman Begins. All very good movies and all successful origin movies. They all have only about 8 characters you actually need to remember: hero, villain, love interest, and a few supporting characters. For some reason the writers of Thor wanted to include the Warrior's Three, plus Sif, plus Thor's mother, plus give Jane two assistants. (I'd actually be vehemently defending giving Jane two assistants had Darcy been played by Aubrey Plaza, and I like Skarsgard because he's the only Scandinavian in a movie dealing with Norse mythology.) Plus there were three villains: S.H.I.E.L.D, Loki, and the Jotunheim frost giants (In Norse mythology Jotunheim is also home to rock giants) It was just way too crowded for an origin story. I would have liked more Thor.
My request for the sequel, drop Thor into a huge metropolitan center, in his outfit WITH the helmet, and let him beat the crap out of stuff here on earth.
