Review written by Christian Garcia
Today I'm looing at Thor.
Marvel's God of Thunder was a hero I was always curious to see in film and was excited to see how his first venture would be. Thor, like Iron Man, I did not see when it originally came out. I saw it after seeing Thor kick some serious ass in The Avengers so I got my wish for seeing Thor on the big screen and was curious to see how he held his own on his own.
The Hero
Thor is the God of Thunder and heir to the throne of Asgard.
Being a God, Thor has the same tragic flaw that many figures from Greek and Roman mythology had and that is hubris. Thor is a great and powerful warrior who has won many battles and is very proud of his accomplishments.
Thor can be charming and pretty funny. He has a big personality and it shows in how he interacts with people. With his God friends, he’s very rambunctious, always making jokes a great motivator when it comes to rallying his troops. When he brings Eric back from the bar, you can tell that they bonded and had a fun time together.
But a big element that makes Thor a really strong character is how he reacts when he’s at his lowest moments. One of the most common tropes I’ve seen in film is when the hero is at their low point and they sulk and wallow in self pity. At times this can be annoying to sit through because the audience knows that they’re eventually going win the day and everything will be fine and that period feels like pointless filler.
Thor is a character that even at his lowest moments he doesn’t sulk for long. He takes in the moment, accepts his fate as is and then picks himself up and keeps going. The best example of this is in Infinity War which I’ll go into when I get to that film later. But this first movie does the same thing and does it well. After being told that his father is dead and that he’ll never be able to go back home. Thor doesn’t sit and pout. After Eric bails him out of S.H.I.E.L.D. captivity, they go to a bar and have a few drinks. He is smiling as he carries Eric back and then has a tender moment with Jane. He accepts his fate of exile on Earth and rather than sulk tries to make the most of it. Given that he is a god and in a weird way more is expected of him, he really rises to the occasion and proves his worth not only to the hammer but to the audience as well.
The Hero's Journey
As the film begins, he is very proud and very confident in himself, to a fault. His warrior bravado causes him to act without thinking of the ramifications and this flaw gets him into trouble. As he is about to be crowned King of Asgard, their enemies the Frost Giants attempt to steal back their source of power. Thor makes a very bold mistake in picking a fight that he shouldn't have, and it results in devastating consequences. His mistake shows his father that he is not ready to be a king as he does not think of how his actions will affect his people and lacks the proper leadership skills it takes to be a king. Thor and his father get into a huge argument which causes Odin to strip Thor of his powers and banish him to Earth.
Thor crashes onto Earth where he runs into (or in this case gets run into) by Jane Foster (played by Natalie Portman). At first he is determined to find his hammer, Mjölnir, and return to Asgard. A crucial moment comes for Thor when he goes to retrieve his hammer and cannot lift, coming to terms with the fact that he is not worthy. This is the moment where Thor reaches his lowest point, which is a moment any hero must face. Right after that, he is confronted by his brother Loki who (falsley) informs him that his father has died and that he is not welcomed home. After these two moments, Thor is humbled and begins to change. He accepts his exile and begins to embrace remaining on Earth, bonding with Jane.
This growth and change are one of the biggest strengths of the film and helps establish Thor as a strong character. Many films have done the fish-out-of-water story and one of the mistakes they make is that the character refuses to adapt. Thor is thankfully not one of those characters. Even a moment, such as him smashing a glass on the floor when he wants another drink shows that he can adapt.When he is told that is not how it works, he does not argue, he just says okay and that he did not mean any disrespect.
This is crucial because in the beginning of the film Thor is arrogant to the point that he is almost unlikable which is dangerous territory. My girlfriend at first was saying, "Thor is kind of an asshole." Thankfully his time on Earth and interactions with people show that he is a likeable and honorable God.
His moment of truth is when he confronts the Destroyer and sacrifices himself in order to protect the innocent people on Earth as well as his friends. In doing so, he proves himself worthy of Mjölnir and regains his powers. It could have been easily botched and his proof of worthiness could have felt forced. Thankfully when that moment did come, I did feel that it was earned. My girlfriend did too as when Thor got his powers back, she got excited. Which again when you can get an audience member to connect to your character and get a reaction like that, you are doing something right.
The Villain
So I was between considering Loki or Laufey as the main villain for this film. But the real villain is Loki. Had Laufey been the villain this section would not be longer than a paragraph.
Now if I were to write this about Loki throughout the MCU and on his own show, I could go on and on about how funny he is, how clever and interesting he is. However I was shocked to realize that the Loki that we all know and love is not entirely here in this film. Don’t get me wrong Tom Hiddleston is still great in his role and Loki is a great part of this film. But I didn’t realize that the Loki that we fell in love with didn’t show up until Avengers. I had to remind myself that well this movie is supposed to establish Loki as well as Thor so we can’t get him fully Loki yet. He is still full of tricks up his sleaves but after seeing him be very upfront with his trickety in the show Loki to see him being more reserved about it was a little odd.
But getting that out of the way, Loki is still a well done and complex villain. He cares for his brother even though he goes against him. He even admits he never wanted to be king but just to be considered Thor’s equal. He gets a bombshell dropped on him learning that he was adopted and feels like he was only kept as means to an end rather than out of love and care. We do get hints of Loki’s trickery. My girlfriend correctly predicted that Loki let the Frost Giants into Asgard. Loki kills Laufey to reveal even more of his deceit and trickery and show that he doesn’t care who he hurts to get what he wants. The complexities to Loki are there as you can understand the reasons behind his actions and in a way can sympathize with him until the end when he tries to wipe out all of Jotunheim. And even in the final climax when Loki lets go of Thor's hand and is seemingly lost, you do feel for him when he lets go thinking that he gave up. Of course after the credits reveal him to be alive and up to more tricks, you start to get the Loki you love.
The Film's Pros
Thor and Loki
The best parts of this film by far are Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Tom Hiddelston as Loki.
Hemsworth at first glance one would probably be quick to dismiss of as just a pretty face. But Hemsworth proves in this film and later Avengers role that his acting brings the character to life. He is fantastic in the emotional moments and his face really helps you see the pain that he goes through at his low points. But he is also really funny in this film. When he smashes the glass at the diner and just sits and smiles after. It's so subtle but very funny. Hemsworth of course also fits the physical description of Thor to a T. If I were to imagne Thor in film, this is exactly what I would imagine. It's the same feeling of seeing Hugh Jackman as Wolverine or Christopher Reeve as Superman, you don't see an actor playing a role, you see a comic book hero come to life. You don't see Chris Hemsworth as Thor, you see Thor.
Tom Hiddelston does an excellent job of portraying Loki both comedically and seriously. He plays a character who is very deceiptful and always putting on a different kind of face to get what he wants. In the beginning he is quiet, reserved and supportive to Thor. Later on, he is more devious and deceiptful. One of his best performances in the film is when he is lying to Thor about his father being dead and his mother not wanting Thor to come home. I knew he was lying yet he was still so convincing and I believed that he hated telling his brother that news when he really relished it. That is a level of performance that is to be admired and respected. It is because of Hiddelston's great performance and passion for the character that Loki is one of the MCU's most beloved characters to this day.
Asgard
The Kingdom of Asgard is the visual highlight of the film. The grand scale and design makes it feel other worldly. If I were to imagine a Kingdom of the God like a Mt. Olympus-type world, this is probably would I would think. They do a good job of blending in the inhabitants with the world. It doesn't just feel like a bunch of people in weird costumes, it feels like people of their own world in their traditional garb. It has its own distinguished identity and makes it stand out from other locations in the Marvel Universe. A con that I also think is a pro is that we do not get to see that much of Asgard but I think because we don't get to see as much of it, it maintains a mystique to it. However, it is also a con because I love how cool Asgard looks that I want to see more of it.
The Film's Cons
The Frost Giants
Easily the worst part of this movie is the Frost Giants. I understand their purpose as a threat that calls Thor into action but once that's out of the way these guys are absolutely forgetful. They are not interesting at all and their designs are not at all interesting or cool. They look too much like the White Walkers from Game of Thrones that whenever see them on screen, I can't not make the comparison. They were so bland and forgetful that is probably why Loki being one of them is downplayed in later movies. Had Laufey been the main villain of the film, he would have been one of the lamest villains in the MCU. However, I see him as more of a means to an end rather than an important part of the tale. They are so insignificant to me that they do not even bring down the film that much. They're just there and then quickly disposed of.
Earth
While Thor's time on Earth is crucial to the story of his growth, Earth itself is not very interesting. While Asgard felt other-worldly, Thor's landing spot on Earth felt like he landed on the set of a movie rather than a real place. My roommate pointed it out and I noticed too but the location in New Mexico looked too much like a film set and it kept taking me out of the scenes. When the Destroyer arrives to get Thor and begins wreaking havoc, it felt more like him destroying a set than causing destruction in a real place. While I understand the concept of taking Thor out of the epic world of Asgard into regualr-day Earth, they could have at least placed him in a spot that looked like actual Earth as opposed to a sound stage or a back lot. This is doesn't hurt my overall enjoyment of the movie, but it is a noticable distraction.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, Thor is a good film that does a great job of building a character and taking elements of mythology and mixing them with modern story telling to make a fun film. My girlfriend described it as "a great movie that really told the story of hubris and corruption of power and pride, and sometimes how it takes a change of perspective to see things differently," and I agree.
However, I don't think this is the best of the Marvel films or of the Thor films. I think in terms of character building and storytelling this film is very good. But if I were to imagine an epic Thor movie, this would not be what comes to mind. But it's also important to remember that that's not what this film is supposed to be. This film and Iron Man are both serving the same purpose. To establish the hero and give us a reason to root for them. When establishing the hero, the focus needs to be on the hero. And this film does a great job of focusing on Thor. Thor's growth by the end of this film got me excited to see him interact with the other Avengers down the line.
While I don't think it is in the top tier of Marvel films or one I will be going back to right away, I do think it's still a good movie that is worth checking out. In terms of building the MCU, this film is a good first step in bringing the beloved God of Thunder to the big screen.
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