Wednesday, May 11, 2011

14 things I liked about T H O R

1) There's a film in the theatre right now based on the Marvel comic book character I grew up on, Thor - this in itself is awesome.


2) The Destroyer is in it, and looking like a Kirby drawing ... fantastic. One of the best shots in it was Jane over a defeated Thor, with the Destroyer slowly marching away ...very cool.

3) Chris Hemsworth as THOR. Perfect ...funny, strong, and looking as though he just stepped out of Walt Simonson's sketch pad.

4) Anthony Hopkins clearly likes the character of Odin, and Branaugh's direction... he's a lot of fun in this one.

5) LOKI - Tom Hiddleston gives us a damn cool "God of Mischief" ...well written and well acted. More excited for his presence in AVENGERS now.

6) Death - The fact that his Dad decided he had to die, or be willing to, really did raise the stakes. I think that's a pretty good way to prove oneself.

7) The VFX - From practical suits to mind-blowing CG it just looked fantastic - the Rainbow Bridge sounds a lot less lamer once you've seen it. Thor's Asgard was as engaging as it's "reality" - did not expect that..

8) Colm Feore - He raises everything he's in, though I am sad he's not Canadian.

9) Idris Elba - Lots of racist debate over changing the skin color of this character. Well, since he looked cool, acted well, and brought the charismatic presence he always brings I guess I'd have to side with the filmmakers on this one. PERFECT HEIMDALL.

10) Unlike Iron Man 2, Thor did NOT feel like an extended ad for another movie.

11) DESIGN - From the costume choices to the towers of Asgard, the whole movie is filled with absolute artistry ...and CG that genuinely supports the story.

12) The Ultimates: "God, I hope you're not crazy.."
I'm sure there were plenty of conversations on which direction to take this character - a "God" in the modern age - what to do? what to do?
The synthesis of "Classic Thor" with his modern "Ultimates" counterpart is perfect. Just enough of Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch's Thor in there with the best of Walt Simonson's run - Great work.
Thor in regular clothes in the rain, powerless and fighting to remove Mjolnir - cool as hell. 

13) FUN - Remember when comic books were fun? Characters laughed occasionally...
I'm not a fan of the 90's superhero mentality ...grouchy, psycho, self-important antiheroes, mostly written badly I found. This film is born out of enjoyment, like the first Superman in '78...
...and man, that's a welcome experience.

14) The "Easter Egg" - First one with a villain, and that mirror shot is a cheap theatre trick ...that I like a lot. Felt like 70's filmmaking for a minute there. Wasn't too excited about Loki as a baddie in Avengers buuuut that last scene ...cool, bring it on.
 

Thanks to Mr.Branaugh for loving Thor like a kid with a comic book...
...and thanks to MARVEL STUDIOS for treating the medium, the fans, and the characters with some good ol' fashioned respect. It's paying off for everyone involved.

A.


2 comments:

Patrick said...

14 reasons for me to go see it..

Arthur Canning said...

Did you go?