Thor

Oh Marvel! You've done it again! I know this probably won't come as a surprise to most you, dear readers, but on top of being an ardent movie fan, I'm also a comic fangirl, so Mighty Marvel Matinee Monday was a pretty exciting one for me. That being said I have to admit I was starting to have my qualms about movies being made out Marvel comics. Sure, the recent franchises got off to pretty good starts, 'X-Men', 'Spider-Man', but then the sequels came along...and 'Fantastic Four.' However, those were all co-productions with Marvel Films and other studios. When Marvel Films switched over to Marvel Studios and brought us 'Iron Man' I was ecstatic, think about how awesome that movie was. Pretty awesome, right? I thought we'd put the not so great Marvel movies behind us, and then came 'Wolverine'. I try not to think about it too much, it still hurts my insides with what they did to my favourite character in the Marvel Universe. Then I had to remind myself that this was another co-production. I don't know what it is, but when they have to work with others the movies just aren't as awesome. When Marvel announced 'Thor' along with all the other movies leading up to the 'Avengers' I sincerely hoped it would be more 'Iron Man' than 'Wolverine', and thank the Gods of Asgard it was!

The movie itself is a lot like its' hero namesake, big, brash, heroic and a little bit silly. I think the real coup for the brass at Marvel HQ was getting Kenneth Branagh to direct this movie. Getting a director who is well versed in the ways of the Bard is perfect for a story that has the types of elements that Shakespeare was so fond of; honour, exile, revenge, mixed with a touch of magic. They did a similar thing with 'Iron Man', having Jon Favreau direct. Both men are great directors because not only can they tell a story, they can tell a story that's driven by characters, not the action around those characters. And that's what these movies are all about, introducing us to our comic book heroes.

Speaking of heroes, how about that Chris Hemsworth? When we last saw him on the big screen he was sacrificing himself aboard the USS Kelvin so James Tiberius Kirk could grow up to captain the Enterprise. At the time I thought he would be a good Captain America, but after seeing this movie, I have to say, he makes a damn fine Thor. He's able to play the arrogant God very well, someone so sure of his power and place in life. Up in Asgard his arrogance helps make him into a great warrior, but it's also his downfall Once exiled to Earth that same character flaw makes him hilarious, nothing like seeing someone who thinks they're all powerful get taken out by a Dr with a needle. Hemsworth somehow manages to make Thor both a warrior and goofball, and also pulls off a transition from prideful fool to hero somewhere in there. There are many little intentionally funny moments when Thor first arrives on Earth and he pulls them off beautifully. To be quite honest, he kind of looks like he's having the time of his life, I can imagine it's not everyday you get to fight Frost Giants with an all-powerful hammer, and then ask a curly haired pet store owner for a lizard large enough to ride. Also, I would like to put in a special thank you to his trainer, wow. That's some impressive work my friend, keep it up, and thank you, seriously. Thank. You.

Ahem, moving right along...the rest of the cast was also very good, except for one misstep I'll talk about in a minute. Tom Hiddleston is just fantastic as Loki, the trickster and traitor. Loki's calm demeanor is the polar opposite of Thor's. Where Chris Hemsworth brings us a loud, headstrong warrior in Thor, Hiddleston is quiet, calm and calculating as Loki. After sticking around after the credits I have to say I'm pretty sure we'll get to see Loki again and I'm certainly looking forward to it.

Then we have our supporting characters:

Kat Dennings may be type cast as the quirky sarcastic Darcy, and that would be a shame if she wasn't so damn good at it. Her little moments throughout the movie are some of the best and definitely some of the funniest.

I've always been a Stellan Skarsgard fan, even if his movie choices are sometimes a little odd. ['Mamma Mia'? with that "singing" voice? Really?] However, he pulls off the vaguely paternal and mostly skeptical, Erik Selvig very nicely.

I also really enjoyed Idris Elba as the enigmatic gatekeeper of Asgard, Heimdall. He may not have a lot of screen time, but whenever he was there he commanded every moment of it.

I love Anthony Hopkins, who doesn't? And I really am glad that he's getting some work in this ever evolving industry. But I hope I'm not the only one that felt he maybe phoned in his performance of Odin justalittlebit...

Now for the one casting misstep of the movie: Natalie Portman. I'm a huge fan of hers and there's no doubting her acting prowess. That 'Black Swan' performance and the Oscar that accompanied it are proof of that, and she has previous experience bringing a comic book character to life as Evie in 'V for Vendetta', but she just felt wrong to me as scientist and love interest, Jane Foster. I couldn't quite put my finger on the problem until the second time I saw the movie, she isn't nerdy enough. I know, it sounds ridiculous, but I really think that was the issue. She does a fine job acting the part, but I really don't think she was the right choice for the role. I would have liked maybe to see an unknown in the role, or maybe even promoting Kat Dennings from sarcastic sidekick to leading lady.

One last thing before I wrap up. I absolutely LOVE the way Marvel is building up to 'The Avengers'. With Agent Coulson, not-quite-so-mild-mannered S.H.I.E.L.D. agent reappearing and taking a little bit larger role, we see a bit more of what the mysterious organization's all about. There were also references to both Tony Stark [Iron Man] and Bruce Banner [Hulk]. However, my absolute favourite thing, the thing that caused me to have a tiny fangirl freakout in the theatre, was the introduction of Clint Barton. 'Iron Man' might have had Black Widow, but 'Thor' got Hawkeye, and Hawkeye is awesome. 'The Avengers' is just looking better and better.

Welllll, that was certainly a long one, but let's just pretend I'm making up for some short posts in the past couple of weeks, okay? Not rambling on like an crazed fangirl...Until next time, as Stan Lee says, 'Excelsior!'