Exiled to Earth after his arrogance fans the flames of an ancient conflict, The Mighty Thor (Chris Hemsworth) of Asgard discovers the meaning of humility when a powerful old foe dispatches a destructive force to crush humanity. Only when the banished prince has defeated an opponent capable of crushing him in battle will he learn what it takes to be a true leader. Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgard, and Tadanobu Asano co-star in a comic book adventure from acclaimed director Kenneth Branagh.
The first and most important thing you should know about Paramount Pictures’ Thor is that it’s not a laughably corny comic book adaptation. Though you might find it hokey to hear a bunch of muscled heroes talk like British royalty while walking around the American Southwest in LARP garb, director Kenneth Branagh has condensed vast Marvel mythology to make an accessible, straightforward fantasy epic. Like most films of its ilk, I’ve got some issues with its internal logic, aesthetic and dialogue, but the flaws didn’t keep me from having fun with this extra dimensional adventure.
Taking notes from fellow Avenger Iron Man, the story begins with an enthralling event that takes place in a remote desert but quickly jumps back in time to tell the prologue, which introduces the audience to the shining kingdom of Asgard and its various champions. Thor (Chris Hemsworth), son of Odin, is heir to the throne but is an arrogant, overeager and ill-tempered rogue whose aggressive antics threaten a shaky truce between his people and the frost giants of Jotunheim, one of the universe’s many realms. Odin (played with aristocratic boldness by Anthony Hopkins), enraged by his son’s blatant disregard of his orders to forgo an assault on their enemies after they attempt to reclaim a powerful artifact, banishes the boy to a life among the mortals of Earth, leaving Asgard defenseless against the treachery of Loki, his mischievous “other son” who’s always felt inferior to Thor. Powerless and confused, the disgraced Prince finds unlikely allies in a trio of scientists (Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgard and Kat Dennings) who help him reclaim his former glory and defend our world from total destruction.
Individually, the make-up, visual effects, CGI, production design and art direction are all wondrous to behold, but when fused together to create larger-than-life set pieces and action sequences, the collaborative result is often unharmonious. I’m not knocking the 3D presentation; unlike 2010’s genre counterpart Clash of the Titans, the filmmakers had plenty of time to perfect the third dimension and there are only a few moments that make the decision to convert look like it was a bad one. It’s the unavoidable overload of visual trickery that’s to blame for the frost giants’ icy, weaponized constructs and other hybrids of the production looking noticeably artificial. Though there’s some imagery to nitpick, the same can’t be said of Thor’s thunderous sound design, which is amped with enough wattage to power The Avengers’ headquarters for a century.
Chock full of nods to the comics, the screenplay is both a strength and weakness for the film. The story is well sequenced, giving the audience enough time between action scenes to grasp the characters motivations and the plot, but there are tangential narrative threads that disrupt the focus of the film. Chief amongst them is the frost giants’ fore mentioned relic, which is given lots of attention in the first act but has little effect on the outcome. In addition, I felt that S.H.I.E.L.D. was nearly irrelevant this time around; other than introducing Jeremy Renner’s Hawkeye, the secret security faction just gets in the way of the movie’s momentum.
While most of the comedy crashes and burns, there are a few laughs to be found in the film. Most come from star Hemsworth’s charismatic portrayal of the God of Thunder. He plays up the stranger-in-a-strange-land aspect of the story with his cavalier but charming attitude and by breaking all rules of diner etiquette in a particularly funny scene with the scientists, whose respective roles as love interest (Portman), friendly father figure (Skarsgaard) and POV character (Dennings) are ripped right out of a screenwriters handbook.
To achieve Kate Beckinsale’s tight-fitting rubber catsuit, we checked with Jessica Alba’s personal trainer, Ramona Braganza. They used my 3-2-1 training method, using cardio, circuits and core work. She also filmed outside in the cold, to boost her metabolism.’
Check out some great Polka Dancing Bands in the large tent towards the Main Entrance and get your Polka groove on!
Recent
Birthers and Reality
So, today Obama released the “long form birth certificate” that so many Birthers have been begging for. Will their actions, their ideas, their thoughts change? I doubt it.
The root cause of Birtherism is not an actual fear that Obama was not born in the US, but racism.
I say this because:
1. Obama produced the official document that is a birth certificate early on in his Presidential campaign. It was not, and still has not been accepted.
2. The (then) Republican governor of Hawaii said that it’s a legit birth certificate.
3. Investigations, over and over, have shown that it would have been impossible to fake the birth announcements in Hawaii’s newspapers
I would like to remind everyone that of the two candidates that ran for President of the US in 2008, one was demonstrably born in the US (Obama), and one was demonstrably born outside the US (McCain). McCain’s father was an admiral in the US navy and he was born in the Panama Canal Zone, which, last time I checked, was not in the US.
Again, I think that McCain is a US Citizen. I don’t doubt that for a moment. But, I ask, with all interest, why would two people running for President not be held to the same standard, unless it’s about skin color?
To the Righties that doubt Obama’s citizenship: You’re so eager to think the worst of the Clintons. Do you really think that Hillary and Bill Clinton would have let an issue like this fly through the Primary when Obama and Clinton were opponents? (Disclosure: I was a Clinton supporter in that primary, and happen to adore Hillary Clinton, and think that she’s one of the best and most intelligent people in politics…as she’s proven as Secretary of State.)
I am eager to see the first Birther stand up and say “oops. I was wrong.” I’ll be proud of that person, and give that person a HUGE new respect. But, I also admit that I’m not holding my breath.
(PS – I got an email from the Republican Party of PA today. Very interesting. The Subject Line was “The Only Job Obama Cares About is His Own” and it went on to talk about how in today’s world of unemployment and deficits, Obama’s release of the Birth Certificate is just crazy. Ummm, Really? Did you say that last week?)