There's nothing more frustrating than really wanting to like a movie. And then not.
I love Thor- the character and comic book at least. The movie is medicore at best.
Let's talk about the look of the film first as it definitely affected my viewing experience.
I saw it in 3d, a decision I seem to regret far too often, and I thought the 3d was atrocious.
We soar above the realm of the norse gods, Asgard and on every single swope in over towering spires and palaces, I couldn't shake the sensation that we were above one of those little architectural models with fake trees, little cars and half-inch people. The rest of the movie, whenever characters moved past something and the camera followed in close, did that wierd popup book effect where the wall was flat and thin and popped up to 3d.
None of this 3d stuff was helped by cartoonish costumes. While these are more or less true to the comic, they looked like halloween costumes, the colors too bright, the armor with a plastic molded look.
What did look right? Everything having to do with the Frost Giants, the race the norse gods once battled. They're cool, blue, with red eyes and look appropriately Giantisk.
Then there's The Destroyer. A kind of magical norse robot guard, a wonder of twisted metal who shoots a flamethrower out of his face. The destroyer is the best thing in Thor.
It's not often you hear talk about sound, but in Thor, I thought the sound worked superbly, from the destroyers fire beam to the whistling of Thor's hammer, to the cracking ice of the Frost Giants, it all had a correctness and power.
So, yeah, I haven't talked about character or story much, have I? Unfortunately they're both weak. This is a case where the actors didn't have much to work with. Anthony Hopkins is slumming as Odin and is asleep most of the time(physically asleep in the film). Natalie Portman's, the world's most overrated actoress, character falls for Thor way too quickly to be believable. Stellan Skarsgard, as he often does, holds the film together in a supporting role. Chris Hemsworth doesn't embarass himself and is decent enough Thor.
But none of their characters really grab you and make you root for them. Or despise them. There are too many sub-characters that contribute nothing to the film, other than norse god in fake armor scenery.
The screenplay itself is a muddled mess and director Kenneth Branagh can't get much life from it. It's supposed to be a coming-of-age adventure of young arrogant Thor maturing enough to become king. He gets cast out to earth for picking a fight with the frost giants and he must prove himself to get back by saving Earth, getting back to Asgard and dealing with his backstabbing brothter.
But the story is muddled. There's a love story with Portman, there's Portman's own physicist tring to find wormhole story, there's Thor's family troubles, there's the Frost giant war. That's already too much.
And then there's the fuck-up of the summer.
SHIELD. Why on earth do all these Marvel movies keep plugging SHIELD into every movie? These guys are the men in black for marvel comic book heros. They were in Ironman, damn near sunk Ironman II with a pathetic sequence with Samuel Jackson. and now here they are again. Why are they here? My guess is there's some kind of marvel hero league idea rolling around in some studio exec's head. Here's a word of advice: lose SHIELD.
Thor could have easily been better with a tougher gritter look and with a more focused screenplay. And without SHIELD.
Rating:
Presentation: 25
Plot: 22
Character: 23
Total: 70
