Thor

THOR! GOD OF THUNDER! One of the few Marvel characters who can battle the Hulk and have any chance of winning, he is one of the true powerhouses of the Marvel universe. Of course, he comes with a lot of baggage - namely, Asgard and its entire mythology. The inclusion of deities can be difficult to reconcile with other stories, and the relatively realistic feel of the Marvel Cinematic Universe isn't an easy fit with high fantasy. So, does Thor fit in with the greater MCU and, more importantly, is it a good movie? As always, expect full spoilers ahead.

 I wasn't a big Thor fan growing up, as I mostly read Spider-Man and Batman, with some other DC comics mixed in. It wasn't until 2007 that I started reading, with the J. Michael Straczynski reboot. I quickly became a fan, which probably isn't surprising considering that it combines my love of superheroes with my love of mythology. It also helped that it was one of the most consistently good comics that year.


Going into the movie, I was simultaneously excited because of how good the MCU has been so far, but worried because of how little the concept seems to fit with the rest of the MCU. They solved this by focusing on pseudo-science that makes it work... mostly. There are some odd moments that don't quite fit in, but overall it works.


There's a quick bit in the beginning that shows Earth and the scientists that we get to know later, and we get our first glimpse of the Bifrost. Then we get some backstory, along with our first look at the fantastic special effects at work here - Asgard looks gorgeous! Thor's crowning, which shows off his arrogance nicely, gets interrupted by the Jotun and we get to see the Destroyer, which looks BADASS, for the first time. Sidenote: I feel bad for anyone who didn't know how to spell Jotun before seeing this, because it's pronounced Yodin. I enjoy the dialogue in this and the following scene, with Loki coming off as the smarmy, manipulative jackass that he is. He clearly manipulates Thor into attacking Jotunheim, but I'm not sure how malicious he is at this point - I don't think he starts to change to full on villainy until the battle in Jotunheim, which is fantastic. I love how Loki fights like you would expect a trickster to. He uses trickery and deceit to kill opponents who are much more dangerous.


And then, finally, Thor gets banished! Some good dialogue and one of the best taser moments in film follow, along with some plot advancement, and... Honestly, I'm not in love with the scenes set on Earth, and I was always excited to get back to Asgard. The Warriors Three are great, though Sif doesn't feel like she does a whole lot and feels kind of extraneous. Loki really steals the show at this point in the movie, and Tom Hiddleston portrays him perfectly, as you can really feel his pain as he struggles to come to terms with his Jotun heritage.


The action scene where Thor tries to get to Mjolnir is good enough, but its nothing special. Clint Barton's cameo here seems completely pointless, and he could have been replaced with any random soldier without anything being lost. I chuckled a little when I realized who it was, but overall... meh. Chris Hemsworth does a good job in the next scene, showing how depressed Thor is successfully without being annoying. When Loki appears, it reminded me of the scene from Ultimates 2, and it is just as eerie here as it was there. Also, can I take a moment to say how great Clark Gregg is as Agent Coulson again? I'd rather have him representing S.H.I.E.L.D. rather than Samuel L. Jackson.


Idris Elba has some good moments as Heimdall, and then we get to see the Warriors Three + Sif go to Midgard (lolvikings) and the Warriors once again are the best. The fight takes a lot less time than I thought it would, and the Destroyer comes out looking kind of like a chump. The ad campaign made it seem like it would be the big fight, but they couldn't have shown any clips from the real final battle without spoiling it.


During this final sequence, starting when Thor stops the Destroyer, there are still some surprises in store. First and foremost, Loki isn't a traitor, but really is just desperate for his father's approval. One of the things I love is that Loki chose Odin as his true father, despite the fact that Laufey was his biological father. Most of the time when the villain is an orphan, he becomes evil by choosing his biological parent - it's nice to see a different take on it. The final battle is... honestly, it's a bit clumsy at first, but I like that Loki uses the illusions that he used earlier in the film again, and I loved it when he created a whole crowd, as that's one of my favorite super powers. Of course, Thor's response was great, just blasting all of them, and putting Mjolnir on Loki was clever.


Overall, I'd say this was a very good movie. There were a few weird moments, and I wish they had spent even more time in Asgard, Jotunheim or the six other realms we didn't get a chance to see - I can't wait for the next one, because it will hopefully show it off. There are a few plot hooks that stick out to me, obviously Hawkeye is meant as a preview of the Avengers. I liked the quick references to the Hulk and Iron Man, and I think that's more the way they should link the movies.


In case you hadn't noticed, I quite liked this one. Not as much as The Incredible Hulk, but I'm a Hulk fanboy, so that's to be expected. If you liked the other MCU movies, you'll like this, but I think it has a broader appeal than that, as all the actors do a fantastic job.


As a final note, the scene after the credits is the most significant stinger in any of the movies, setting up the central conflict of the Avengers. I mean, they have a COSMIC CUBE! I freaked out when Sam Jackson opened that case, and freaked out even more when Loki showed up. VERY excited for the Avengers.