Moderately Mighty: A Look Back at Thor

DAY 4

Things were changing on the superhero landscape. We went from getting about to movies a year to getting them every week (or at least that’s how it seemed). The phrase “superhero fatigue” had been thrown around a lot, particularly in 2011 in which we had four major comic book releases. 

Three, if you don't count this one.

Critics began to question when the general public would soon grow weary of watching men in tights fight CGI monsters (which is funny to me, writing about the biggest franchise in modern history four years later). However, the question stood: could Marvel redeem itself from Iron Man 2? The answer: Eh… Kinda? Thor thundered into theaters on May 6^th, 2011 to mild indifference from the fans. Don’t get me wrong, people were interested in seeing how the God of Thunder would interweave into the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, but their curiosity was not enough to give Thor the same level of box office success that Iron Man and Iron Man 2 had seen.

"WHY DON'T YOU LOVE ME?!"

Personally, this movie worried me. I was not confident in Marvel’s abilities to bring Thor to the screens in an entertaining, coherent way. It wasn’t anything against them, I just wasn’t sure it could be done. Oh, what a fool I was. Ultimately, Marvel (narrowly) exceed expectations and gave us a movie that managed to be fun and entertaining. To me, the fact that this movie works at all is an amazing success.

What They Did Right

The Hero

Rumors circulated for months about who was going to bring the Asgardian Prince to life. When Chris Hemsworth was announced, the community was more than a little skeptical. After all, how was this no-name actor, whose biggest credit at the time was 5 minutes as Kirk’s dad in the new Star Trek, going to measure up against the acting chops of Robert Downey Jr. and (at the time) Edward Norton? 

Even he looks confused.

Our fears, however, were laid to rest in Hemsworth’s first scene in the movie. Imagine that one frat-boy you knew from college who nobody really liked because he was an asshole, but that everybody tolerated because he had the best toys, a ton of money, and a fake I.D.. That’s basically Hemsworth’s rendition of Thor, and it works on every level. In fact, with only three movies left in his contract, it’s hard to imagine anyone else playing this character. While I would rank this particular performance of Thor as my least favorite, it was a great way to let the audience know that the God of Thunder was in good hands.

Pictured: Acting Prowess

The Badass Villain

I’m just gonna take a minute here and bask in the fact that I actually get to mention the villain as a positive aspect of a Marvel movie. Please hold… 

Tom Hiddleston is probably the best thing to happen to the MCU since casting Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. Every facial expression, body movement, or line of dialogue unveils some entirely new aspect of this multi-layered character. The entire final act where *SPOILERS* you think Loki is setting up Laufey (King of the Frost Giants) to kill Odin (King of Asgard), when in actuality, Loki’s plan was to save Odin from Laufey all along to earn Odin’s respect! *Head Explodes.* Much like Hemsworth’s Thor, I feel like this is Hiddleston’s weakest Loki performance, but damn if he didn’t create the most badass, sympathetic villain this side of Heath Ledger’s Joker.

Behold: Pure Evil

S.H.I.E.L.D.

If you read my blog about Iron Man 2, then you know how much I attribute the flaws of that movie to S.H.I.E.L.D.’s (and Scarlett Johannson’s) inclusion. In stark contrast, Thor is able to take the shadowy agency and actually use them to augment the story in a way that Iron Man 2 didn’t. What a novel idea! In addition to getting Coulson again, Thor provides us with a glimpse into the workings of the organization through the magic of showing us (rather than telling us) what S.H.I.E.L.D.’s goals and capabilities are. This is a rarely noticed but monumental win for Marvel’s “world building” direction of film making.

Gregg: "I can't believe this actually worked."
Hemsworth: "Why? Seems pretty straight-forward to me."
Gregg: "You weren't in the last one."

The Visuals

The look of this movie is the closest thing to a perfect look that Marvel has put out (besides Guardians of the Galaxy, but more on that later). The make-up of the Frost Giants looks incredible and makes me believe that these creatures exist somewhere in the real world.

The costumes, while a bit too polished at times, serve as both ceremonious garb armor for battle. The architecture is somehow able to look ancient and futuristic at the same time. The vibrant colors of the cosmos and the Bifrost translate insanely well from the page to the screen. In addition to all of that, the CGI is the best looking in the entire MCU thus far (the Destroyer is the most realistic looking robot I have seen in this universe). Thor is, quite simply, a beautiful movie.

Picture's can't do it justice. Watch the movie.

The Comedy

While the movies starring ol’ Shell Head were quipy and clever, this is the first Marvel film to really embrace the absurdity of the universe. Thor is treated like a crazy person, much of the second act is a “fish out of water film,” Kat Dennings’ sole purpose for existing is to make us laugh, and there is enough slapstick comedy in here to put the Three Stooges to shame. Comedy has been one of the most defining factors between the MCU and their competitor, DC. Looking at this film within the context of the others, the things that we have taken for granted as “Marvel-isms” all kind of started with Thor.

Honorable Mention: There is a deleted scene that takes place before the Asgardians attack the Frost Giants. In this scene, Lady Sif and The Warriors Three leave, and Loki is left alone to pout. Thor makes a point to invite his bother along, and Loki jumps at the chance to hang out with Thor and his friends. This scene is wonderfully acted, emotional in its simplicity, and gives you the sense that Thor and Loki are real brothers with actual love for each other. Had this been included in the theatrical release, Thor would have ranked much higher on my list.

"Don't worry, brother, they can't hurt you now"

As always, there are moments here and there that I could have included, but these points are what make Thor a remarkable film. With that in mind, let’s move right along to Thor’s unseemly blemishes and the things that piss me off.

What They Did Wrong

The Lame Villain

*Sigh* You can’t see it, but I am quietly weeping as I write this section. I thought that this would be the one movie where I didn’t have to include this grievance, yet here we are. How many of you remembered that Laufey was in this picture (or even remembered who Laufey was) before I mentioned him further up the page? This character was a king of an entire realm who had a dark history with Odin! There is so much conflict to be mined from their centuries-old grudge that it boggles the mind. I would have loved to see a later movie where Laufey plots revenge, or has to join forces with the Asgardians to slay some greater enemy (dark elves). Instead, Marvel decides to introduce him, give him 5 minutes of screen time, and kill him. I’m sensing a pattern.

The Sidekicks

Sadly, what has typically been relegated to the villains, begins spilling over into the other characters with this movie. Lady Sif and The Warriors Three are one-dimensional and are only there to bring Thor home. Planet-side, we have Darcy (Kat Dennings) and Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard), who are mostly just there to provide comic relief. Heimdall’s primary goal is to cause controversy, apparently. I almost forgot about Hawkeye’s blink-and-you-miss-it cameo! He had one scene where he did absolutely nothing so that, when The Avengers hit theaters, people would be familiar with him (*Spoiler* It didn’t work and people still had no idea who he was). It’s in this movie one begins to realize that if you don’t contribute to the greater whole of the Marvel Universe, you’re mostly just there to be a cardboard cut-out. Except for Hawkeye, who will always be a cardboard cut-out, regardless of his contribution.

Because who could forget the action-packed "man in a box" scene?

Gotta Work, Bitch

Thor did not earn back his powers. He was on Earth for a grand total of two days. He spent a day-and-a-half being a dick, then made breakfast and got hit by a robot. Suddenly, Odin decides Thor is worthy, gives him back his hammer, and all is right with the world. Does worthiness run a point system? Hit by robot=1000 Worthy Points, making breakfast=10 Worthy Points? I wonder how many Worthy Points I have accumulated. I should be getting close to becoming a deity… the point is that Thor did not work nearly hard enough to earn the right to wield Mjolnir again; I don’t care how delicious those eggs were. But hey, we needed to move his story right along so we can get to The Avengers. Yay, world building!

Bye, Bitch. Imma go be a god now.

Overall, there isn’t much to complain about in Thor. This movie stands as a very inoffensive, middle-of-the-road summer blockbuster, and is often deemed as a necessary step to assembling Earth’s Mightiest Heroes.

Final Thoughts

As stated above, I was not excited for this movie to come out. I had thoroughly enjoyed the last three entries of the MCU, and thought that Thor was going to be the studio's first misstep (turned out The Incredible Hulk had already taken that title). As I sat in the midnight showing with my girlfriend, her best friend, and her best friend’s boyfriend, I found myself laughing and enjoying myself a lot more than I thought I would. Thor turned out to be a pleasant surprise, and assuaged any fears I had about the MCU moving forward. After all, if Marvel could find a way to present the Mighty Thor in a way that made coherent sense with the rest of their films, it was my belief that they could accomplish anything.

So, where does Thor rank on my list of MCU Films?

  1.
  2.
  3.
  4. Iron Man
  5.
  6.
  7.
  8. Thor
  9. Iron Man 2
10. The Incredible Hulk

Interesting that most of Phase I is ending up at the bottom...

END OF DAY 4

Thank you to all of my readers! Do you agree with my ranking? Are there any great moments or errant flaws that I missed? Why is Hawkeye even a thing? How many breakfasts away are you from earning god status? Let me know in the comments below! #bringbackjustinhammer

Be kind to each other.

-James