'THOR' Movie Reviews *SPOILERS* Possible....
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'THOR' Movie Reviews *SPOILERS* Possible....
Apologist Puncher Sun Apr 17, 2011 8:13 pm
Post any 'THOR' movie reviews you come across here, but use Spoiler tags when necessary.
Long read:
http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/motion-captured/posts/review-thor-offers-up-colorful-cosmic-introduction-to-asgards-greatest-hero
Long read:
http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/motion-captured/posts/review-thor-offers-up-colorful-cosmic-introduction-to-asgards-greatest-hero
- Spoiler:
- Review: 'Thor' offers up colorful, cosmic introduction to Asgard's greatest hero
BY DREW MCWEENY - Intimate at times, epic at others, 'Thor' is strong addition to Marvel universe
SUNDAY, APR 17, 2011 12:00 AM
I am of mixed mind about the glut of superhero cinema right now, and this summer is going to test the patience of the audience with the genre.
In the comments section for my "Transformers" piece yesterday, Vern posted a few times, invoking the image of Pauline Kael trying to write about the current landscape of movies. And it's both very funny and a nice humbling reminder that critics are defined by their overall diet of movies. We are only ever as good as the movies we are given to write about, and when I'm done with all of this in the future, will the sum total of my work be varying opinions about how well people crafted movies that primarily deal with dudes in funny costumes beating the hell out of each other?
The thing is, part of me has been waiting my whole life to see the Marvel characters in particular brought to life on the bigscreen. Now that they're actually doing it, there is a great deal of satisfaction in seeing how they approach each of the characters, and even if I haven't loved all of the films, it's been exciting to watch these things come to fruition. And I am happy to admit that I'm an easy mark for this sort of thing. I have a voracious appetite for pulp, and I'm not sold on the idea that these movies need to be "important". On the other hand, if they're not fun, they don't really have any reason to exist. These films cost a small fortune, especially if you want to make the outrageous seem possible, and that sets up the expectation that they must be bigger and more significant than the average issue of a comic book… even if that's all these films really are.
"Thor" is the latest film from Marvel Studios, and part of this year's double-feature that completes the run-up to next summer's "The Avengers," the biggest gamble the studio's made so far, and one of the biggest gambles from any studio in town. One of the most common complaints about last year's "Iron Man 2" was that it felt like more of a set-up for another movie than a complete story that worked on its own, and that's certainly a danger when you're working your way towards something. "Thor" is also risky for the studio because it is the first moment where they're introducing magic to the Marvel Universe, which has been defined by a sort of pseudo-science so far, impossible but at least pretending to be set in a real world. With "Thor," they're making a pretty major jump, and even after visiting the set and reading the script, I had some big questions about whether or not they'd strike the right tone and find a way to make this feel like part of the world they've been so carefully building.
The answer is a resounding yes to both questions.
Chris Hemsworth, best known to audiences as Kirk's father in that powerful opening scene to "Star Trek," is just as good a fit for the character of Thor as Robert Downey Jr. is for Tony Stark, and that one thing goes a long way to making the film a pleasure to watch. Finding the right way to introduce the character and his mythology is the big task this movie has, and there were some very interesting choices made in deciding how to bring Thor to life. First, they dumped the notion of him changing into a human being, something that was part of the earliest version of the character that Marvel published. Originally, Dr. Donald Blake had no idea he was Thor until a chance encounter with a cane he found in a cave revealed his true nature to himself. In that version of the story, he had been sent to Earth by Odin to learn humility, and living his life as a human being in an infirm body was an important way of guaranteeing that he could not rely on his considerable physical power or his godly powers.
With "Captain America" coming out this summer and focusing on the startling transformation from skinny Steve Rogers to muscle-bound Captain America, Marvel made the wise decision to not deal with a shape-shifting Thor, while still finding a way to do something thematically similar. Instead of an origin story, they've decided to tell the story of the moment when Thor goes from an indifferent impulsive god to a being who has a connection to our world that makes it important to him and who is able to think beyond himself finally. It is his transition from a super-powered being to a full-blown superhero, and in doing so, they've managed to make a movie that doesn't really feel like any of the other Marvel movies, that has its own voice, and that pulls off its various goals with real charm.
The film opens on Earth, or, as Thor calls it, Midgard. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), her friend Darcy (Kat Dennings), and Professor Andrews (Stellan Skarsgard), Jane's mentor and advisor are looking at a strange energy phenomenon, one that Jane predicts will manifest again over a specific part of the southwestern desert. When it does, they race towards it in their RV, braking only when a figure looms up out of a cloud of dust and debris and they end up hitting him. As Jane runs to help him, she looks around at the miles and miles of desolate landscape and asks, simply, "Where did he come from?"
The next half-hour of the movie backs up to answer that question and introduce us not only to the character of Thor, but to the world he inhabits. For years, I've heard Avi Arad and Kevin Feige refer to "Thor" as "Marvel's answer to 'Lord Of The Rings'," and when they first started developing the film, they were planning something more fantasy-oriented, a film that would take place across the Nine Realms. That was before they started bringing all the properties together in one shared world, though, and at some point, they realized that they needed to use this movie to bring Midgard and Asgard together. The film spends some time establishing the basic rules of Thor's world and introducing Odin Allfather (Anthony Hopkins), the ruler of all the realms, and his sons Thor and Loki (Tom Hiddleston), one of whom will end up sitting on his throne one day. While Hopkins has certainly played variations on this type of figure many times over, he works with an economy here that is appreciated, and both Hemsworth and Hiddleston perfectly fit these roles. They take these big mythic archetypes and make them human and specific, not an easy task.
Thor is close to taking the throne from Odin, and on his coronation day, there is a disturbance that upsets everything. Frost Giants from Jotunheim, one of the Nine Realms, somehow manage to infiltrate Odin's Vault, where weapons gathered from around the universe, each one powerful enough to bring about Ragnarok, have been stored for safe-keeping. There's one that was stolen from the Frost Giants that they want back, and they actually make it all the way to where it's stored before The Destroyer steps out and kills them all. The coronation is interrupted before Thor can be crowned, and Odin, Loki, and Thor investigate, not sure how anyone could have made it into Asgard unobserved. Thor wants to immediately go confront the Frost Giants, and in particular, he wants to kill Laufey, their king, as an example. Odin tries to get him to stand down, but a bitter argument erupts between them, Loki desperate to make peace before things escalate. Too late, though, and Odin realizes that he almost handed over the rule of Asgard to an angry child.
He strips Thor of his powers, banishes him to Midgard, and then invests Mjolnir, Thor's magic hammer, with a magical task. Only once Thor has learned humility and become a person of substance… only once he is worthy… will he be able to reclaim his hammer and all the powers that come with it, setting up a very simple Sword In The Stone scenario which becomes Thor's main focus once he wakes up and realizes he's on Earth. That brings the movie full-circle, back to that opening scene out in the desert, and is a major element in the middle of the film. Based on the trailers and the clips so far, I was worried that the film would be nothing but wacky fish-out-of-water humor about Thor trying to fit into a modern world, but by now, you've seen most of that. It's not the main thrust of the film. Instead, the film keeps cutting between Asgard, where Odin has fallen into the enchanted Odinsleep, leaving Loki on the throne, and Earth, where Thor is having to confront what it means to be a mortal man. Loki, who starts the film as a trusted and loved brother to Thor, reveals his true nature fairly early on to the audience, and he ends up learning some hard truths about his own origins that leave him shaken, things that threaten to destroy Asgard completely.
A few observations about things I really liked in this film: when superpowered beings fight in this film, there is a sense of power and force that we still haven't seen in many of these movies. I've complained often about how disappointing it is when Superman faces off against a human-scaled threat like Lex Luthor because it means we never really see the upper limits of what Superman can do. In this film, there are many fights where every single being onscreen is superpowered, and all of the punches and kicks and throws are full-strength, nothing held back. And while Kenneth Branagh has still never met a dutch angle he didn't love, the action in the film is staged well, and there are some beats and some images that push comic book language on film to places we haven't seen before. In particular, I think everything involving Heimdall (Idris Elba) is spectacular, and I love his Observatory and the way the Bifrost works. It is crazy, but it's also kind of beautiful. I also really like Sif (Jaime Alexander) and the Warriors Three, Thor's compatriots. Volstagg (Ray Stevenson), Fandral (Joshua Dallas), and Hogun (Tadanobu Asano) don't have a ton to do in the film, but they make their time onscreen count. If they do show up in future movies, it will be a welcome return.
Beyond that, Mjolnir is made a credible weapon of choice, something I was curious about beforehand. One of my many issues with "TRON: Legacy" was that the discs are interesting in the context of a disc wars jai alai match, but as hand-to-hand weapons, there are few things stupider than the sight of two people slapping at each other with magic frisbees. They just didn't work, and you could practically feel the fight choreographers give up halfway through the few action scenes they even bothered to stage. Here, there's a lot of different weaponry on display, and it all seems like actual weaponry you would use to actually kill things. Mjolnir is pretty damn handy in a fight, and Hemsworth makes it feel like something he's comfortable using in a number of different ways. In general, he makes his powers feel like something he's comfortable with, a lifelong part of who he is. There's no montage in this film of him trying to learn to fly or tentatively trying out the hammer to see what it can do. He is Thor from the very beginning. His character arc is all about his attitudes towards the world around him, and his eventual acceptance of responsibility for his actions.
In some ways, "Thor" feels like the youngest of the Marvel movies so far, pitched squarely at a kid audience that really doesn't know the character, and that may infuriate some older fans. I've long been afraid, though, of 30 and 40 year old men who demand that each and every movie about thunder gods and radioactive spider-men and vigilantes in batsuits be tailored directly to their appetites. I read comic books as a kid. They were a gateway to pulp storytelling for me, and I was rabid about them. I don't want these movies to be serious, piercing explorations of the human soul. I want superpowers and fights and flying and monsters, and "Thor" absolutely delivers on that level. Branagh finds a nice tone to play with the entire cast, and there is a sense of humor to things that seems fairly low-key and gentle. For me, the most consistent laugh in the film is the way the oh-my-god adorable Kat Dennings keeps mangling the pronunciation of "Mjolnir."
The film is true enough to its comic origins to incorporate ideas like the Rainbow Bridge, one of those things I honestly never thought I'd see anyone do in a live-action movie, and they manage to make it sort of gorgeous. Bo Welch's production design takes some big crazy ideas and figures out a way to make it all seem fairly real. Haris Zambarloukos, the film's cinematographer, shot one of the ugliest professionally-produced movies I've ever seen, the borderline-incompetent "Mamma Mia!", and he worried me more than Branagh walking into the film. His work here is strong, though, and there's a burnished hyper-color quality to the world that works well. Branagh is one of those directors who I think works very well with actors, but who has traditionally displayed a fairly wretched sense of cinema. I still wake up in cold sweats thinking about how badly he mangled the gorgeous script for "Mary Shelly's Frankenstein," and I'll never understand what people see in "Dead Again," even if I live to be a thousand years old. Having said that, I generally liked his work here. I was surprised by how much I liked some of the giant-scale sequences, since I thought those might be the places where he dropped the ball, but there's one chunk of action that takes place on the Frost Giant's home planet that is very effective, and while I'll give second-unit legend Vic Armstrong some of the credit for that, it's a testament to how well Branagh was able to drop into someone else's way of doing things that it all came together as coherently as it did.
Natalie Portman is fine as Jane Foster, but it's not really a role that demands much of her. She is basically the thing that allows Thor to finally see humans as more than these weak little backwards beings, and she's certainly pretty enough to make a god reassess our planet. Dennings is comic relief and little more, but she is as plush and appealing as always, while Skarsgard has a few good scenes and appears to be part of the big plan for what's coming in future films. In general, the material with SHIELD seems to organically hint at the larger Marvel Universe this time without totally overwhelming the main story in the film, and the after-the-credits beat in particular is very effective. I thought the Hawkeye cameo in the film was utterly pointless, though, and especially for audiences who don't know the character already. I would never guess, based on his two minutes of screentime here, that Jeremy Renner's going to play a major role in "The Avengers" next year. He's not just inconsequential, he's useless and distracting. It is fan service, at best, and more than anything, sort of annoying. I also think there's a disconnect between the spectacular real environments built for Asgard and much of the CGI work, which seems to re-use certain shots several times to the point where they almost feel like stock footage. I like the design of Asgard more than I like the way some of it was executed, and it seems odd that Digital Domain and BUF, companies that I think are among the best at environmental work, would make some of the odd mistakes they make here.
Even so, there's a whole lot of the film that I really like, and I can't wait to take both of my sons to see it. Allen's never seen any of the Marvel movies so far, and Toshi's only seen them on home video, and even then, only selected parts of the films. This time out, the playful nature of the film and the broad, primary-colors storytelling seems like a perfect way to finally introduce them to the world. The 3D post-conversion is actually pretty clean and used well, and I think for kids, the immersive quality of it all will really pay off. If "Captain America" is at least as fun as "Thor," then Marvel can rest easy until next summer, because they will have managed to introduce each one of the Avengers successfully. The best thing I can say about this film is that it genuinely made me want to see Hemsworth arguing with Robert Downey Jr., magic versus science, and I can finally imagine the two of them occupying the same world.
"Thor" premieres in Sydney today, and will be opening in several markets before it finally hits theaters across America on May 6.
Last edited by Apologist Puncher on Sat May 07, 2011 9:25 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Re: 'THOR' Movie Reviews *SPOILERS* Possible....
Apologist Puncher Sun Apr 17, 2011 8:21 pm
So far it's getting excellent reviews.
Like I knew it would....
Hollywood Reporter
Like I knew it would....
Hollywood Reporter
- Spoiler:
- Thor: Film Review
3:25 PM 4/17/2011 by Megan Lehmann
The Bottom Line: The hammer-hurling god of thunder kicks off this superhero summer with a bang.
SYDNEY -- The Marvel universe moves into the cosmic realm with Thor, a burly slab of bombastic superhero entertainment that skitters just this side of kitschy to provide an introduction befitting the mighty god of thunder. It’s a noisy, universe-rattling spectacle full of sound and fury with a suitably epic design, solid digital effects and a healthy respect for the comic-book lore that turned a mythological Norse god into a founding member of the superhero team known as The Avengers.
The arrogant warrior Thor’s great conversion, central to the plot, is unrealistically lightning-quick and the movie’s dramatic arc falters amid the constant shifts between earthly and celestial realms. But execs at Marvel Studios, gambling heavily on the success of Thor and the upcoming Captain America: The First Avenger to set up next summer’s ensemble behemoth The Avengers, can rest easy: You’ve built it and they will come. They may even bring a date.
The ultimate accessibility of Thor’s fantastical world is due in no small measure to the good-humored direction of Kenneth Branagh, a man with a highbrow history who knows his way around an epic tale, and a star-making turn from Chris Hemsworth.
As the hammer-wielding protagonist who learns humility among the humans, the little-known Aussie soap star (last seen briefly as Captain Kirk’s father in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot) shoulders the burden of selling this $150 million entrant into the ever-expanding Marvel franchise.
Branagh may convey a lofty intellect to the Shakespearean interplay of feuding fathers and sons, and co-stars Anthony Hopkins and Natalie Portman the actorly gravitas. But the 6-foot-3 Hemsworth adds the winning ingredients, bringing a lusty Viking charm to his rumbling Olde English line readings, a towering physicality and biceps that look forged in a furnace. Verily, he is ripped.
Thor crashes into being in a desolate stretch of New Mexico desert, his face planted inelegantly against the windscreen of an RV driven by Natalie Portman’s storm-chasing scientist Jane Foster.
As Jane, her mentor Professor Andrews (Stellan Skarsgard) and sidekick Darcy (Kat Dennings, from Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist, along purelyfor comic relief) puzzle over his provenance, we whip back in time and space to the floating kingdom of Asgard, where Thor’s father Odin (Hopkins), the ruler of all nine realms, fills in decades of back story in voiceover.
It’s heavy stuff, made all the more portentous by Patrick Doyle’s somewhat overwhelming score, and thankfully there’s someone of Hopkins’ caliber to deliver it.
Thor is about to inherit the throne from the ailing and aged Odin when an unexpected incursion by the Asgardians’ longstanding foes, the Frost Giants of Jotunheim, disrupts the coronation.
The mighty god of thunder, foe to all demons, suddenly does a very good impression of a toddler throwing a tantrum in a supermarket aisle. His hot-tempered recklessness has even more dire consequences though: The peace and stability of the universe is threatened.
An enraged Odin strips Thor of his powers and banishes him to Earth, leaving Thor’s half-brother Loki next in line to the throne and Thor with the task of proving himself worthy of again wielding his magical hammer Mjolnir.
The scenes between the three immortals high in the heavens have an electrifying intensity – Tom Hiddleston as the jealous and snaky Loki handles the intimate scenes with particular aplomb – and the earth-bound scenes can’t help but seem flat by comparison.
Back in the desert, we get some solidly amusing fish-out-of-water antics as the mighty Thor struggles to adapt to his mortality and a world of Facebook and iPods, but scriptwriters Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz and Don Payne working from an effective origin story by J. Michael Straczynski and Mark Protosevich, have their eye on a bigger prize.
It’s the love of a good woman that powers Thor’s life lesson in humility and humanity and Portman’s astrophysicist makes short work of converting Thor; too short, some will say, but there’s much story to cram in here and we haven’t even gotten to that oddly out-of-place glimpse of Jeremy Renneras The Avenger’sHawkeye.
The action pinballs between Asgard, the desolate ice planet of Jotunheim, and Earth, where a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent from the Iron Manfilms (Clark Gregg) is making it difficult for Thor to retrieve his magic hammer and save the humans and the kingdom of Asgard from the forces that would destroy them.
Bo Welch has created some stunning designs, with Heimdall’s Observatory, the celestial portal that connects the various realms, a particular triumph. Full-throttle fight scenes and the stunt work overall feel organic, although Branagh’s over-reliance on slanted angles and an unusual slow-mo sequence are merely distracting.
Following its world premiere in Sydney April 17, Thor opens in various territories before its US bow on May 6.
Opens: May 6 (Paramount)
Paramount Pictures, Marvel Entertainment
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgard, Anthony Hopkins, Kat Dennings
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Screenwriters: Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz, Don Payne
Story: J. Michael Straczynski, Mark Protosevich
Producer: Kevin Feige
Executive producers: Alan Fine, Stan Lee, David Maisel, Patricia Whitcher, Louis D’Esposito
Co-producers: Victoria Alonso, Craig Kyle
Director of photography: Haris Zambarloukos
Production designer: Bo Welch
Costume designer: Alexandra Byrne
Music: Patrick Doyle
Editor: Paul Rubell
Rated PG-13, 114 minutes
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Re: 'THOR' Movie Reviews *SPOILERS* Possible....
webhead2006 Mon Apr 18, 2011 1:16 pm
Nice to hear its getting good reviews. So can't wait for may 6th. But I don't want to spoil myself to much before it release.
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Re: 'THOR' Movie Reviews *SPOILERS* Possible....
webhead2006 Fri May 06, 2011 3:12 am
Well since this is a review thread here's mine(some spoilers within):
I just got home a little while ago from seeing the film. Went to midnight screening at local imax theater for 3d imax verison of the film. I enjoyed the movie alot. I am not the biggest thor fan. So what changes they made to story/characters I don't know about. But changes did work very well for the film. The sfx work was very top notch. The look of asgard and the frost giants world looked great. The work on giants, the destroyer and the monsters where also very good. So congrats to the various companies that worked on that for the film.
Kenneth b did very well as director for the film. He shot the film very well. Good staging, camera movements and all that. He got great acting out of the cast in the film. So, arvel choose very wisely in him for thor. He was a perfect match. Also he did very good work with sfx shots and fight scenes. I don't know if he has done much with that in his other films. But he was very good on that reguard.
Acting as I said above was very good. Athony as odin was a very fine choice. He played the strong leader and wisw old dad very well. He pulled out a great turn as odin. From most films of his I have seen he never mmisses the mark. I do hope if/when sequels happen they get him to return.
Chris hemsworth did a very fine job as thor. He had great charm, persona, and humor in the role. He brought the character to life. I did like he did speak in some what Shakespeare like talk but also glad they didn't go full blown on that. He was in great shape for the film too. I thought overall he did very good work as thor. Plus I really liked how they threw in the nod to donald blake identity of the comics. It was nice they did that. Also thought it played out very well.
Tom h as loki was great. He totally stole the show here. He play loki as a sly sneaky sob very well. I loved the emotional range he had in his scenes. He and chris played off each other very well same with anthony too.
Natalie portman was good as jane foster was nice. I thought she played scientist role well. She seemed fairly believable as one. She had great chemistry with chris. Overall I thought she did good. Same as all the other supporting character. Stellen as the professor guy he did welk in his scenes. Kat dennings was a good comedic support character. Sif and the warriors three actors all did very well.
Costumes we very dramatic and visually looked great. Stills where not very flattery to them at first during production. But the post work on them made them look great. I thought the designs looked great and envoked the comics nicely.
I just got home a little while ago from seeing the film. Went to midnight screening at local imax theater for 3d imax verison of the film. I enjoyed the movie alot. I am not the biggest thor fan. So what changes they made to story/characters I don't know about. But changes did work very well for the film. The sfx work was very top notch. The look of asgard and the frost giants world looked great. The work on giants, the destroyer and the monsters where also very good. So congrats to the various companies that worked on that for the film.
Kenneth b did very well as director for the film. He shot the film very well. Good staging, camera movements and all that. He got great acting out of the cast in the film. So, arvel choose very wisely in him for thor. He was a perfect match. Also he did very good work with sfx shots and fight scenes. I don't know if he has done much with that in his other films. But he was very good on that reguard.
Acting as I said above was very good. Athony as odin was a very fine choice. He played the strong leader and wisw old dad very well. He pulled out a great turn as odin. From most films of his I have seen he never mmisses the mark. I do hope if/when sequels happen they get him to return.
Chris hemsworth did a very fine job as thor. He had great charm, persona, and humor in the role. He brought the character to life. I did like he did speak in some what Shakespeare like talk but also glad they didn't go full blown on that. He was in great shape for the film too. I thought overall he did very good work as thor. Plus I really liked how they threw in the nod to donald blake identity of the comics. It was nice they did that. Also thought it played out very well.
Tom h as loki was great. He totally stole the show here. He play loki as a sly sneaky sob very well. I loved the emotional range he had in his scenes. He and chris played off each other very well same with anthony too.
Natalie portman was good as jane foster was nice. I thought she played scientist role well. She seemed fairly believable as one. She had great chemistry with chris. Overall I thought she did good. Same as all the other supporting character. Stellen as the professor guy he did welk in his scenes. Kat dennings was a good comedic support character. Sif and the warriors three actors all did very well.
Costumes we very dramatic and visually looked great. Stills where not very flattery to them at first during production. But the post work on them made them look great. I thought the designs looked great and envoked the comics nicely.
- Spoiler:
- Nods/refrences to other marvel film stuff was great. As I said earlier the use of donald blake id was nice touch. The clint barton cameo scene was nice. Really can't wait to see how renner plays the role in avengers. It was a nice tease here. Also was wicked cool seeing the cosmic cube at the post credit scene. Curious to see how shield gets there hands on it. I at first thought earlier in the film the other box in armory was it. But then remember that was just frost giant weapon. Also if u looked closely in the first armory scene we had a peak at the eye of armatto(spelling?) Which is the source of doc strange powers. So hopefully post avengers we will see him finally get his shot. Also stan lee cameo was a blast. I am sure there was other nods I might have missed. But those where ones I recall the most.
The storyline of the film was fairly predictable. But flowed very well. With the back story of the nine relams and odin past. To modern day each and thor adventure there. Action was great, and drama was well written. So for the typical story it worked very well. And I didn't have problem with it at all. It was a very good film from start to finish. Had a blast watching it and can't wait to see captain america in july and avengers next may. So I would rate the film a solid 8 out of 10. Will probably check out the film again and will buy it once its released on dvd/bluray.
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Re: 'THOR' Movie Reviews *SPOILERS* Possible....
thecolorsblend Fri May 06, 2011 4:35 am
Too lazy to really bother with spoiler tags so I'll just deal in generalities.
Personally, I know "jack" and "shit" about Thor. I've never really followed that character in comic books so I'm not the guy to ask about how faithful this movie was to the source material. What I can tell you is that Thor goes through a credible character arc in the film. The Thor you see at the beginning ain't the same guy you see at the end. He really has grown as a character.
The action scenes? First rate. All effects look equally fake to me so I'm not the guy who bitches about CGI just to have something to bitch about. There were some great uses of CGI in the movie but just because something is recognizably CGI doesn't automatically make it "bad CGI".
When Brannagh was first announced as director, I'll say it, I didn't understand the decision. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Thor, perhaps of all Marvel characters, plays to Brannagh's strengths as a filmmaker. It's big and operatic but at the same time it can also be smaller and more personal. Brannagh fits Thor as perfectly as Favreau fit Iron Man.
Hell, I'd argue that Thor is "A" to "Z" of everything Marvel Studios is doing right and that WB is doing wrong. Marvel works to bring in directors and actors who's natural sensibilities line up with the material; WB hires directors (and I include Chris Nolan in this) who try to modify the material to suit them.
The results speak for themselves. I can't think of a single Marvel Studios film that I think sucks. By that same token, Batman Returns is the last DC film I watched that felt right (and even that took time).
I can fairly say that Thor gave me everything I was looking for as a viewer.
Personally, I know "jack" and "shit" about Thor. I've never really followed that character in comic books so I'm not the guy to ask about how faithful this movie was to the source material. What I can tell you is that Thor goes through a credible character arc in the film. The Thor you see at the beginning ain't the same guy you see at the end. He really has grown as a character.
The action scenes? First rate. All effects look equally fake to me so I'm not the guy who bitches about CGI just to have something to bitch about. There were some great uses of CGI in the movie but just because something is recognizably CGI doesn't automatically make it "bad CGI".
When Brannagh was first announced as director, I'll say it, I didn't understand the decision. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Thor, perhaps of all Marvel characters, plays to Brannagh's strengths as a filmmaker. It's big and operatic but at the same time it can also be smaller and more personal. Brannagh fits Thor as perfectly as Favreau fit Iron Man.
Hell, I'd argue that Thor is "A" to "Z" of everything Marvel Studios is doing right and that WB is doing wrong. Marvel works to bring in directors and actors who's natural sensibilities line up with the material; WB hires directors (and I include Chris Nolan in this) who try to modify the material to suit them.
The results speak for themselves. I can't think of a single Marvel Studios film that I think sucks. By that same token, Batman Returns is the last DC film I watched that felt right (and even that took time).
I can fairly say that Thor gave me everything I was looking for as a viewer.
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Re: 'THOR' Movie Reviews *SPOILERS* Possible....
webhead2006 Fri May 06, 2011 11:26 am
So colors may I ask what you rate the film out of ten at?
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Re: 'THOR' Movie Reviews *SPOILERS* Possible....
thecolorsblend Fri May 06, 2011 11:54 am
8 or 9/10, easily. It's tons of fun to watch it and I recommend it to anyone who digs on comic book movies.
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Re: 'THOR' Movie Reviews *SPOILERS* Possible....
webhead2006 Fri May 06, 2011 12:02 pm
Nice rating there colors, i had the same feel too. Now i hope captain america is just as good. Crossing fingers for a good domestic opening for thor too.
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"THOR" Movie Reviews
non_amos Fri May 06, 2011 12:58 pm
webhead2006 wrote:Nice rating there colors, i had the same feel too. Now i hope captain america is just as good. Crossing fingers for a good domestic opening for thor too.
I hope to see THOR this weekend but I'm unsure. We're currently down to one car due to repairs and/or the flat-out need to get another car. Having to 'fight' with the wife about getting her to go with me! She's not into the superhero thing at all really but occasionally I can drag her to a film. Some of the stinkers she's been with me to are Ang Lee's HULK & SINGERMAN PEEPS. Some of the better films are THE INCREDIBLE HULK, THE DARK KNIGHT, & IRON MAN 2. Trying to get her to go see the Thor film but starting to have my doubts. She wants me to go see it with this neighbor of ours. Don't worry, he's straight & all but I don't wanna look like a fag going there & I don't really hang around him anyway so it's either her or by myself, if I go. Maybe any of you guys can 'sympathize' with this type of plight? But a 'romantic comedy' would be a date!
The results speak for themselves. I can't think of a single Marvel Studios film that I think sucks. By that same token, Batman Returns is the last DC film I watched that felt right (and even that took time).
What about WATCHMEN? I recall you said in a previous thread that you are a 'Watchmen junkie' of sorts? But I also know that those characters ain't really part of the regular DC universe. I don't think DC even knows what the DC universe is anymore! But the Watchmen film is without a doubt one of my favorite superhero films! It's a shame it didn't do better than it did but I do believe it 'showcases' what Zack Snyder is capable of for the Superman reboot. And for some reason this week, I thought of another JLA-type team & it was by Marvel back in the 80's. It was part of their 'New Universe' or whatever exactly they called it that I believe Jim Shooter was responsible for. It was called SQUADRON SUPREME & I believe it was a 12-issue mini-series. It had a 'Superman-counterpart' in a character called HYPERION. Think a red-headed Superman with a different costume. I don't remember much about it now but I do remember I enjoyed it back then. I may need to look up the 'trade paperback'.
As for THE FIRST AVENGER: CAPTAIN AMERICA, I have concerns for its' success. Thor was building up like it would be fairly successful but I believe I had my doubts about Cap. Thor's success doesn't automatically guarantee Cap's. Also, this crap about dropping 'Captain America' overseas so as to 'not offend anyone especially duh terrorists' doesn't bode well to me either. However, maybe with duh demise of that prick 'bin dead' maybe, just maybe, Cap will stand a good chance at box office due to sheer patriotism, even if only here in the States!
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Re: 'THOR' Movie Reviews *SPOILERS* Possible....
thecolorsblend Fri May 06, 2011 1:16 pm
Heh. Not really "of sorts". Just a Watchmen junkie in general.non_amos wrote:What about WATCHMEN? I recall you said in a previous thread that you are a 'Watchmen junkie' of sorts?
And that's probably why it slipped my mind. But it is DC, it is a kickass film and I have it on DVD (and my computer and my iPod and...). So you raise a fair point here. I should've mentioned it.But I also know that those characters ain't really part of the regular DC universe.
Still, the fact that Watchmen is the first DC film I've liked since Batman Returns doesn't radically improve WB's track record.
And now that I think about it, we could probably throw The Losers into the mix as well. I liked that movie but this is supposed to be more of a superhero thing anyway...
If the Cap movie is to be thought of as a referendum on how "the rest of the world" views America, I think odds are good it'll do well. I don't think "the rest of the world" is as skittish and anti-American about this sort of thing as those spineless Hollywood worms want us all to think.As for THE FIRST AVENGER: CAPTAIN AMERICA, I have concerns for its' success. Thor was building up like it would be fairly successful but I believe I had my doubts about Cap. Thor's success doesn't automatically guarantee Cap's. Also, this crap about dropping 'Captain America' overseas so as to 'not offend anyone especially duh terrorists' doesn't bode well to me either. However, maybe with duh demise of that prick 'bin dead' maybe, just maybe, Cap will stand a good chance at box office due to sheer patriotism, even if only here in the States!
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Re: 'THOR' Movie Reviews *SPOILERS* Possible....
Apologist Puncher Sat May 07, 2011 9:19 pm
Just came back from watching 'THOR' in 3-D.
Man, unless the Bros. Warner decide to change how they go about picking directors for their "funny book" films, quality-wise, Marvel is going to continue to leave them in the dust.
'THOR' was an enjoyable, all-age friendly comic book film that DOESN'T apologize for being what it is. It's THOR. God of Thunder, Rainbow Bridge, Frost Giants and "magic". They didn't say "Well, maybe people WON'T go see a film like that. You know, with all that weird comic book stuff. How can we make it Re-A-Lis-Tic???". Just like 'Iron Man' before it, the director GOT IT. He didn't decide to say "F-U" to the characters comic book history and rip-off a version he saw as a kid. He gave you THOR. Period.
Chris Hemsworth was perfect casting. You know, when I saw 'Star Trek' for the first time, I said to myself "Kirk's pappy would have made a decent Superman, if he was American". Joke's on me, since the new Superman isn't.... If only Henry Cavill was capable of looking as massive as Hemsworth. Pity.
Anthony Hopkins was almost Superman's bio-pappy, who "resurrects" Kal-El in the afterlife. Funny that he ended-up doing basically the same as THOR's. He brought everything necessary to the role of Odin, and you couldn't ask for more.
Tom Hiddleston as Loki. Not having a real knowledge of Loki going in, I can tell you he personified everything you needed to know about his character with his performance. A TRUE child who wanted everything his brother had so badly, he created slights in his own mind to cover-up the fact that he already had them.
The action was top-notch, I love's me some Kat Denning, and I can't wait to see it again.
9/10
Man, unless the Bros. Warner decide to change how they go about picking directors for their "funny book" films, quality-wise, Marvel is going to continue to leave them in the dust.
'THOR' was an enjoyable, all-age friendly comic book film that DOESN'T apologize for being what it is. It's THOR. God of Thunder, Rainbow Bridge, Frost Giants and "magic". They didn't say "Well, maybe people WON'T go see a film like that. You know, with all that weird comic book stuff. How can we make it Re-A-Lis-Tic???". Just like 'Iron Man' before it, the director GOT IT. He didn't decide to say "F-U" to the characters comic book history and rip-off a version he saw as a kid. He gave you THOR. Period.
Chris Hemsworth was perfect casting. You know, when I saw 'Star Trek' for the first time, I said to myself "Kirk's pappy would have made a decent Superman, if he was American". Joke's on me, since the new Superman isn't.... If only Henry Cavill was capable of looking as massive as Hemsworth. Pity.
Anthony Hopkins was almost Superman's bio-pappy, who "resurrects" Kal-El in the afterlife. Funny that he ended-up doing basically the same as THOR's. He brought everything necessary to the role of Odin, and you couldn't ask for more.
Tom Hiddleston as Loki. Not having a real knowledge of Loki going in, I can tell you he personified everything you needed to know about his character with his performance. A TRUE child who wanted everything his brother had so badly, he created slights in his own mind to cover-up the fact that he already had them.
The action was top-notch, I love's me some Kat Denning, and I can't wait to see it again.
9/10
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RE: Thor Box office numbers thread
non_amos Sat May 07, 2011 10:20 pm
What I wanna know is, is Thor's STRENGTH LEVEL like it is in the comics? The reason I ask is this. In the comics he can go toe to toe with the HULK. When John Byrne 'rebooted' the Hulk (which was right before he rebooted Superman), he stated that Thor should be stronger than the Hulk because he was a god. In relation to this, I believe it's the intention to have the 2 characters go at each other in THE AVENGERS film. But from the trailers & such that I've seen so far, Thor seems to just have the strength of a regular MAN. Sure, an excellent fighter & all but basically just fighting regular guys in well, a regular way. Nothing superhuman or supernatural. Even the young teenage girl fells him with that tazer or whatever it is.
Now I understand that he's supposedly in human form but what happened to the DONALD BLAKE continuity? Although I perceive that there's some 'nod' or something to that? So going around my elbow to get to my thumb, does Thor ever get that Hulk-level strength in the film? I don't mind spoilers. I hope to actually see it next weekend anyway.
Now I understand that he's supposedly in human form but what happened to the DONALD BLAKE continuity? Although I perceive that there's some 'nod' or something to that? So going around my elbow to get to my thumb, does Thor ever get that Hulk-level strength in the film? I don't mind spoilers. I hope to actually see it next weekend anyway.
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Re: 'THOR' Movie Reviews *SPOILERS* Possible....
webhead2006 Sun May 08, 2011 1:15 pm
Non we didn't see thor doing to much feats of stregthn so I don't know where we would class him yet for film take. Since must of the film thor doesn't have powers its hard to know.
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Re: 'THOR' Movie Reviews *SPOILERS* Possible....
Apologist Puncher Sun May 08, 2011 9:15 pm
webhead2006 wrote:Non we didn't see thor doing to much feats of stregthn so I don't know where we would class him yet for film take. Since must of the film thor doesn't have powers its hard to know.
Knocking Frost Giants aside like they were toothpicks and flying thru the head of a massive creature weren't "feats of strength"?
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Re: 'THOR' Movie Reviews *SPOILERS* Possible....
Comicbookfan-V2 Mon May 30, 2011 7:52 pm
Just saw it two days ago and so far it actually live up to that ravs that it recieves!
"Thor" was definitly a story of redemption, involving an immortal being of some sort thrust into the world of mortals as punishment due to some reckless actions in which he thought was necessary. But it also to teach him a lesson about humidity in which he does learn & understand eventually before he can reclaim his indentity. Also I notice the cameo of Clint Barton a.k.a. Hawkeye as well, curious to see how he'll look in the upcoming "Avengers" movie!
The actors & actresses play they're roles well, the special effects are good as there worth, the action is quite exciting and they were definitly some character development displayed especially from the title lead!
Even after seeing this it just makes me imagine how "Captain America: The First Avenger" will turn out but that still remains to be seen!
P.S. Was that device shown in the end really the Cosmic Cube or some other variation of it?
"Thor" was definitly a story of redemption, involving an immortal being of some sort thrust into the world of mortals as punishment due to some reckless actions in which he thought was necessary. But it also to teach him a lesson about humidity in which he does learn & understand eventually before he can reclaim his indentity. Also I notice the cameo of Clint Barton a.k.a. Hawkeye as well, curious to see how he'll look in the upcoming "Avengers" movie!
The actors & actresses play they're roles well, the special effects are good as there worth, the action is quite exciting and they were definitly some character development displayed especially from the title lead!
Even after seeing this it just makes me imagine how "Captain America: The First Avenger" will turn out but that still remains to be seen!
P.S. Was that device shown in the end really the Cosmic Cube or some other variation of it?
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Re: 'THOR' Movie Reviews *SPOILERS* Possible....
webhead2006 Mon May 30, 2011 9:04 pm
- Spoiler:
- yes the one we saw with fury and the doctor was the cosmic cube. Which factors into captain america.
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