Thor (The Movie) *Spoiler- contains character images*

[jedibear]

Some good back-n-forth going on in here...

A few random reactions:

Loki is probably the best rendered "villain" we've seen in a so-called comic book movie...any character that manages to create debate over his actions instead of just being bad for the sake of being bad is a cool thing to behold. Hiddelston's acting here certainly added to the character's being so effective...

On the "Warrior's 3"...I dunno....for me they were just this side of over-the-top. When they showed up in that small town and started strutting down the street looking for Thor, I had had to resist the urge to shout out: "What's in Your Wallet?"...they looked almost as ridiculous to me.

This is a handsome production to be sure, but the real ace in the hole for this movie are the actors, especially the leads. Hemsworth was note-perfect, Hopkins added gravitas and weight, Russo added a touch of class. Portman was...okay.

Branagh managed to really make the fantastical Asgard feel like it's own well-realized world...it wasn't a jolt to be sliding back and forth between Asgard and Earth and that was really impressive. And the contrast between the Ice Giant's world and Asgard really made me want to know more about the conflict between the two.

I really liked ShadowX81's take on the movie...I feel a little more positive than he did about it and definitely want to catch it on the big screen again. One thing that kept jumping out at me was the pacing...I wonder if Branagh turned in a longer cut and the studio wanted cuts for running time. At the very least, there may be a good group of deleted scenes.

A good movie to start the summer....

 

[Buttmunch]

Saw this this morning with the family. Very good to say the least. Definately more of an character movie than an action movie. I didn't feel like Thor saved the world like Iron Man did, but he didn't need to. He saved his world and a small town. So it was nice to get a little less epic of a super hero film than we are used to.

The handling of Asgard was great as well. We all knew Thor was the hardest of these planned films to pull off because of the whole mythology and otherworldliness of Thor. And they pulled it off quite well. Even my Mom liked this. She even said she was surprised she liked it as much as she did because she was just expecting another silly comic book movie. So hats off to KB for pulling this off! I think the Avengers will come together even better now

 

[ProgMatinee]

Thought it was great all around. There were like 10 people in there at 1:00, and in a great neighborhood. Whats up with that.

 

[DarthNeil]

On the "Warrior's 3"...I dunno....for me they were just this side of over-the-top. When they showed up in that small town and started strutting down the street looking for Thor, I had had to resist the urge to shout out: "What's in Your Wallet?"...they looked almost as ridiculous to me.

JB, the only thing I can say about this point is that what you saw in the movie captures exactly what it's like in the comic when Asgardians are walking among humans--- especially in the current storyline where Asgard is/was floating above a small town in Oklahoma and Volstagg especially has had some wonderful interactions with ordinary folks.

The depiction of Thor's friends fighting the ice giants, in Asgard, and especially on earth was bang on to the comic and I think it worked tremendously in demonstrating why the characters work in comic form.

 

[ProgMatinee]

Don't feel the need to write an essay, but I have to say, not trying to turn this film into a heavy "character development" film was the right choice. Its supposed to be fun, not all films, especially comic book films, need to have some hokey coming of age storyline.

LOVED that it started out with him being already a kick ass hero instead of wasting time with that.

 

[jye4ever]

I really like it.

Loved the mentions of Don Blake, Hawkeye's cameo, the spinning hammer and all the humor.

Question: Maybe I missed the answer to this, but did they say what friend Stella emailed for help?

He was supposed to have said Hank Pym as the person he would email but it was removed because Kevin Feige felt that it was too much name dropping especially since in the same scene the scientist also mentions that he knew Bruce Banner.

 

[Gruson]

Yeah, the Thor friends were really bad. No need for them and they really looked and acted cheesy, straight out of Masters of the Universe movie! They were the only part I did not like. I did like the big black guy who guarded the transporter. Great character, cannot remember his name though.

Thumbs up. Chris Hemsworth was GREAT. Hopkins was really good too. I even liked Natalie and she usually bores me.

 

[hairlesswookiee]

Yeah, the Thor friends were really bad. No need for them and they really looked and acted cheesy, straight out of Masters of the Universe movie! They were the only part I did not like. I did like the big black guy who guarded the transporter. Great character, cannot remember his name though.

Thumbs up. Chris Hemsworth was GREAT. Hopkins was really good too. I even liked Natalie and she usually bores me.

The token black guy's name is Heimdall. The other dudes and girl didn't really bother me that much. But that retarded waste of space Kat Dennings just annoyed the crap out of me as usual. I just wish she'd go away.

 

[jye4ever]

I think it would've been cooler if when Thor walked into the grand hall to go be anointed King that the Asgardian guards/army would've been chanting his name "THOR...THOR...THOR!" while striking their staffs downwards onto the ground in unisom inbetween saying his name while he walked towards Odin.

"THOR! BOOM! THOR! BOOM! THOR! BOOM!"

Then Odin would strike his staff downward and the room would fall silent.

That would've been powerful and majestic.

Afterall, he is their mighty warrior.

 

[The Mike]

Question: Maybe I missed the answer to this, but did they say what friend Stella emailed for help?

Spoiler

Originally it was supposed to be Hank Pym but I believe that the crew felt it was too much shoehorning of the Marvel universe and so they left it without answer. I haven't seen Thor yet so I can't be sure but I'm going off of interviews.

 

[jye4ever]

Spoiler

Originally it was supposed to be Hank Pym but I believe that the crew felt it was too much shoehorning of the Marvel universe and so they left it without answer. I haven't seen Thor yet so I can't be sure but I'm going off of interviews.

You haven't seen it yet!

 

[jye4ever]

From the dude everyone loves to hate:

Bad ass digest:

Thor has the wrong ending. I don’t know that a different ending would have made it a better film, but I do know that a slight change in the final minutes would have certainly made the character arc of Thor himself feel more full, and it would have made the entire film feel more purposeful. How should Thor have ended? Like this:

Thor should have been stranded on Earth at the end.

It’s as simple as that. Everything else should have remained the same, with the final confrontation on the Rainbow Bridge and Thor being forced to destroy the Bifrost, but instead of Loki screaming ‘You’ll never be able to see her again!’ he should have been yelling ‘You’ll never be able to go home again!’ Thor’s decision to destroy the Rainbow Bridge should have cut him off from Asgard.

Leaving Thor in Asgard at the end of the movie represents a return to the status quo from the beginning of the movie, which is always the worst place for a story to go. While Thor has seemingly learned humility (or so we’re told – there’s very little action in the film to truly show this), he’s back at his father’s side, the heir to the throne again. Returning Thor to Asgard is only a satisfying ending if he ascends to the throne, but the mythology of the character won’t allow that. So Thor’s back to being a prince, just one with a better attitude. Loki being exposed and exiled isn’t that big of a change, especially as this film isn’t called Loki; everybody walking into the film knew he would go bad since the character is historically a foe of Thor.

Thor embracing his exile to save the world of the Frost Giants would be a major sacrifice. It also really proves the character has changed – he is willing to give up his home and birthright to save a race of beings he previously considered an enemy. Giving up seeing Jane Foster, as he does at the end of the current version of the film, is meaningless. He’s a thousand years old, and he’s known her for maybe 48 hours. This is the equivalent of you or I having a nice conversation with someone on a short flight; it’s a blip in Thor’s total timeline. Even if the film had successfully sold the relationship – which it simply doesn’t – there’s no way that giving up Jane Foster is that much of a sacrifice. And the film had in no way established that Thor had any other particular love or care for Earth.

But ending the film with Thor trapped on Earth, yet finding some solace in the company of Jane Foster? That’s the beginning of a good romance story. And ending with Thor on Earth gives the film some weight; there’s an arbitrary feeling to this story – why is THIS the first Thor story we’re being told – that disappears if it ends with a huge change to Thor’s personal status.

And those are just the things that would be vastly improved in THIS film; since Thor exists only as an introduction to the character for Marvel’s The Avengers the movie should end in a way that makes him joining the team easier next year. If even a minute of screen time is wasted on getting Thor from Asgard to Earth in Marvel’s The Avengers it’s a minute too much.

 

[The Josh]

I don't know what that guy gets paid to write but I can write junk thats as worthless as that for his paycheck.

 

[Chapter 2099]

I don't know what that guy gets paid to write but I can write junk thats as worthless as that for his paycheck.

Quoted for the truth. I can understand criticism, but when you have NOTHING good to say about something....

 

[The Josh]

Quoted for the truth. I can understand criticism, but when you have NOTHING good to say about something....

People just like to beat a dead horse I guess. I mean I get that Thor or anything will not always be someones cup of tea but once you say why you don't like it why keep coming back. Ah well I loved it and even more excited about Captain America and the Avengers now.

 

[Chapter 2099]

People just like to beat a dead horse I guess. I mean I get that Thor or anything will not always be someones cup of tea but once you say why you don't like it why keep coming back. Ah well I loved it and even more excited about Captain America and the Avengers now.

I'm really excited about the Avengers. I'm definitely excited about Capt, but I'm still nervous about how it will translate onto the big screen. I'm not worried about Evan's acting ability. Instead, I'm just worried about "the look." I had that with Thor, and was blown away, so I'm hoping this will be no different. I'll keep the faith!

As for the Avengers, I'm not worried in the slightest. We've seen what Downey has done for IM and now, Hemsworth for Thor. I think those two alone could carry that movie to be honest. Anything else is just bonus. And with what looks to be Loki running amuck in the Avengers (after seeing the end of Thor)....this will be EPIC!!!

 

[ironwez20]

i loved this movie.

 

[The Josh]

I'm really excited about the Avengers. I'm definitely excited about Capt, but I'm still nervous about how it will translate onto the big screen. I'm not worried about Evan's acting ability. Instead, I'm just worried about "the look." I had that with Thor, and was blown away, so I'm hoping this will be no different. I'll keep the faith!

As for the Avengers, I'm not worried in the slightest. We've seen what Downey has done for IM and now, Hemsworth for Thor. I think those two alone could carry that movie to be honest. Anything else is just bonus. And with what looks to be Loki running amuck in the Avengers (after seeing the end of Thor)....this will be EPIC!!!

I think if they can pull of Thor then Cap won't be much of a problem. I think bringing Thor to life was gonna be more of a challenge given the character and his world in relation to ours. As we saw that was pulled off splendidly. From what we've seen in the pics and trailer Caps costume appears to be good to go and when he gets his more moden look I think it will be a little different than the spandex look in order to work.

Oh I think the Avengers is gonna come off great with these three guys. Downey and Helmsworth should be fun to watch bounce off each other now having seen those two in action. Will be curious to see how Evans plays Cap and then think about how he'll be in that mix of characters.

 

[isculpt]

Loki stole the show. Great movie.

 

[Darklord Dave]

From the dude everyone loves to hate:

Bad ass digest:

Thor has the wrong ending. I don’t know that a different ending would have made it a better film, but I do know that a slight change in the final minutes would have certainly made the character arc of Thor himself feel more full, and it would have made the entire film feel more purposeful. How should Thor have ended? Like this:

Thor should have been stranded on Earth at the end.

It’s as simple as that. Everything else should have remained the same, with the final confrontation on the Rainbow Bridge and Thor being forced to destroy the Bifrost, but instead of Loki screaming ‘You’ll never be able to see her again!’ he should have been yelling ‘You’ll never be able to go home again!’ Thor’s decision to destroy the Rainbow Bridge should have cut him off from Asgard.

Leaving Thor in Asgard at the end of the movie represents a return to the status quo from the beginning of the movie, which is always the worst place for a story to go. While Thor has seemingly learned humility (or so we’re told – there’s very little action in the film to truly show this), he’s back at his father’s side, the heir to the throne again. Returning Thor to Asgard is only a satisfying ending if he ascends to the throne, but the mythology of the character won’t allow that. So Thor’s back to being a prince, just one with a better attitude. Loki being exposed and exiled isn’t that big of a change, especially as this film isn’t called Loki; everybody walking into the film knew he would go bad since the character is historically a foe of Thor.

Thor embracing his exile to save the world of the Frost Giants would be a major sacrifice. It also really proves the character has changed – he is willing to give up his home and birthright to save a race of beings he previously considered an enemy. Giving up seeing Jane Foster, as he does at the end of the current version of the film, is meaningless. He’s a thousand years old, and he’s known her for maybe 48 hours. This is the equivalent of you or I having a nice conversation with someone on a short flight; it’s a blip in Thor’s total timeline. Even if the film had successfully sold the relationship – which it simply doesn’t – there’s no way that giving up Jane Foster is that much of a sacrifice. And the film had in no way established that Thor had any other particular love or care for Earth.

But ending the film with Thor trapped on Earth, yet finding some solace in the company of Jane Foster? That’s the beginning of a good romance story. And ending with Thor on Earth gives the film some weight; there’s an arbitrary feeling to this story – why is THIS the first Thor story we’re being told – that disappears if it ends with a huge change to Thor’s personal status.

And those are just the things that would be vastly improved in THIS film; since Thor exists only as an introduction to the character for Marvel’s The Avengers the movie should end in a way that makes him joining the team easier next year. If even a minute of screen time is wasted on getting Thor from Asgard to Earth in Marvel’s The Avengers it’s a minute too much.

He has a point. I had assumed that was how they were going to end it. Perhaps his return to Midgard will happen off-screen in Avengers - but it would have made sense to have him stranded on Earth. But without knowing the plan, it's rather presumptuous to assume that as a reviewer you know better than those who have outlined a 7 film arc.