Wednesday 4 May 2011

Thor – is it really hammertime?

So Marvel finally took the leap into the “unreal” world and launched onto the big screen Thor as a precursor to Captain America and as another puzzle piece to The Avengers which is due next year.

Now I’ve read around the character so I know about some of the mythology thanks to history lessons, video games, and even some TV series’ an d walking into this movie I decided I wasn’t going to have an opinion. I’ve even read some of the comics for the Marvel series where the character is part human and seen in some books to be a mental patient which is a great idea. So I knew sort of what was going on. Then I came to the trailer....

Watching this I thought “uh oh, this doesn’t look like it’s going to do well” and “oh please don’t be another Hulk”. I mean the cast (Natalie Portman, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston and Anthony Hopkins) showed promise with the director (Kenneth Branagh) all mixing together. The action look a bit stiff and it all looked like it wasn’t going to fit very well – like a clown car in real life.
So I walked into the movie theatre with an open mind putting the trailer out of my head. We open with Thor crashing to earth and Natalie Portman doing her best to save this person she’s just met. Queue the flashback to Asgard (home of the Norse gods) and the explanation of how this fits within this real world that Jon Favreau (Iron Man 1 + 2), Louis Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk) and the writing team over at Marvel created.

Asgard is all CGI (Computer Generated Imagery) minus some real world sets for people to walk on and interact with, but carries this majestic feel to it where you feel like you truly are in a city of gods. However the film doesn’t stay here, we see Thor banished for being too hot headed (who would have thought it) to earth where the main story beings and I’m going to stop with the story.

The sets on Earth work well and we get some nice pieces (including the Marvel god Stan Lee) and fight scenes towards the end of the film. While the acting doesn’t feel rigid from the cast, there are those who just blow you away such as Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Tom Hiddleston (Loki). They make the roles there own and the writers make them fit within this universe very well. However, Tom Hiddleston steals the show for me as you really can’t get a read on him in things such as where this character’s true motives lie.

Overall this film works really well when it’s not in the other universe and set on earth and interacting with the characters we have seen already (Agent Coulson) and those which we are introduced (Clint Barton AKA Hawkeye). I would love to see these characters now interact with the likes of Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Steve Rogers, Nick Fury, Natasha Romanoff and Maria Hill – of which we will next year in The Avengers.

Ultimately you’re now asking “Is this film worth a watch?” If you’ve like the other Marvel movies of recent years then yes it is (in IMAX), for those who are new to this or just enjoy a good action movie perhaps give it a rental on DVD / streaming when its available. Other than that to the outside audience it’s a bit dull and some of the reference will fly over your head a little.

On final thing, if you want to see how The Avengers unfolds? Stay within the credits and see what is to come next year as a teaser to the plot!

Roll on Captain America and X-Men First Class if they are like this or something much better as I will be there to see them