Marvel May - Thor (2011)
Hey guys, Chuck here. Today, for Marvel May, we'll be taking a look at the fourth installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Thor. Based on the Marvel superhero inspired by the Norse god of thunder, Thor was directed by Kenneth Branagh, and is a major step up from the previous year's entry, Iron Man 2. So, how well does the movie that made Chris Hemsworth a superstar hold up nearly ten years later? Let's find out as we dig into Thor.
So the story goes that many years ago, the warriors of Asgard drove the Frost Giants of Jotunheim from the planet Earth. As time passes, the king of Asgard, Odin (played by Anthony Hopkins), prepares his sons, Thor and Loki, for taking his place ruling over Asgard. In modern times, we see Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth) prepare to take the throne, when three Frost Giants attack Odin's vault. Odin dispatches a mystical automaton known as the Destroyer to eliminate the three intruders, Thor, infuriated by the interruption, wants to launch a full assault against Jotunheim, but Odin tells him not to do so, as there is a peace between Asgard and Jotunheim. Thor, however, uses the Bifrost to travel to Jotunheim regardless, along with Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston), and their friends Sif (played by Jaimie Alexander) and the Warriors Three: Hogun (played by Tadanobu Asano), Fandral (played by Josh Dallas), and Volstagg (played by Ray Stevenson). After a confrontation with Laufey (played by Colm Feore), the ruler of Jotunheim, Thor and co. fight against the Frost Giants, only to be rescued by Odin, who takes them all back to Asgard. Upon returning, Odin strips Thor of his power, and banishes him to Earth as a mortal man. Shortly after, Odin places an enchantment onto Thor's hammer Mjolnir: "Whosoever holds this Hammer, if He be worthy, shall posses the power of Thor."
Thor lands in the New Mexico desert, where he is picked up by three scientists: Jane Foster (played by Natalie Portman), Erik Selvig (played by Stellan Skarsgard), and Darcy Lewis (played by Kat Dennings). The three take him to a local hospital, unaware of the hammer crashing down nearby, leaving behind a major crater. After leaving the hospital, Thor is picked up by Jane and co, who are in New Mexico researching cosmic anomalies, and believe Thor arrived o Earth inside of one. Sometime later, several locals head to the crater site, unable to lift the hammer. It it here that we see S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson (played by Clark Gregg) call in about his finding and has a team of agents set up shop around the crater site. Shortly after Thor leaves to get his hammer back, Coulson and a group of agents collect Jane's research, needing it for their work. Jane, upset by this, goes with Thor to break in and get her research journal back. Thor fights his way through several agents, and Coulson calls in some airborne assistance. In fact, his exact words are: "I need eyes in the sky, with a gun." An agent, who we learn is agent Clint Barton (played by Jeremy Renner), grabs a bow and arrows, and hops into a cart, taking him skyward to monitor the action from above. After continuing to fight through more guards, Thor reaches the hammer, and unable to lift it, surrenders to the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Back on Asgard, Loki learns that he was adopted by Odin after Asgard's last battle against the Frost Giants, and Loki is, in fact, Laufey's son. Odin, after being berated by Loki, falls into the "Odin sleep," and Loki assumes the throne.
On Earth, Coulson asks Thor where he got his skills in combat, believing him to be working with someone else. After stepping out, Loki arrives and lies to Thor about Odin being dead. Selvig arrives to bail Thor out, claiming that he's a colleague named Donald Blake. nd co. takes Thor to a local bar for a drink, asking him to leave town. After a night of drinking, Thor brings Selvig back to where Jane and co. have set up shop, returning Jane's journal to her. Under the stars, Thor explains how on Asgard, magic and science are one and the same, and the two start to really hit it off. Okay, despite what many others think, I personally think that Thor and Jane did have decent chemistry in this first Thor movie. Anyway, back in Asgard, Sif and the Warriors Three make plans to travel to Earth to bring Thor home, while Loki makes a deal with Laufey to have the opportunity to kill Odin while he's defenseless. The guardian of the Bifrost, Heimdall (played by Idris Elba), allows Sif and the Warriors Three to travel to Earth to bring Thor back, and Loki freezes Heimdall in place, dispatching the Destroyer to kill Thor. Thor, with help from Jane, Darcy, and Selvig, works to get the local civilians to safety, while Sif and the Warriors Three fight off the Destroyer. Thor, in an ultimate sacrifice, faces the Destroyer, and is seemingly killed. Thor's sacrifice shows his worthiness, and the hammer races out of the crater and into Thor's hand, saving his life and restoring his power. After defeating the Destroyer, Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three leave to return to Asgard, with Thor assuring Coulson that he is their ally. Coulson returns all of Jane's research to her, while the Asgardians return through the Bifrost to defeat Loki, who uses the Bifrost to destroy Jotunheim. Unable to stop it, Thor destroys the rainbow bridge, destroying the Bifrost in the process. Loki falls, lost to another dimension. While Jane continues to search for him, Thor, with help from Heimdall, continues to watch over her from afar. During the after-credits scene, Selvig meets with Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson), who shows him a glowing blue cube, which will be a major plot device in the next two MCU films. After hearing a whisper from Loki, Selvig decides to take a look at the cube.
Thor tells a "fish out of water" story, with its main protagonist learning the ways of human beings on Earth. However, what makes the film work is its stunning visuals and great acting. Chris Hemsworth is amazing as Thor, and Tom Hiddleston made Loki an iconic Marvel villain. Cast members like Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Idris Elba, Rene Russo, and so forth really elevate the movie from being run-of-the-mill to being an entertaining MCU movie. The visual effects are also breathtaking, and director Kenneth Branagh truly brought something special to this movie. However, what holds to movie back, ever so slightly, is the aforementioned "fish out of water" story. Again, while it works well here, it's still a cliché type of storytelling, and many viewers are pretty tired of it. Now, while I feel that the third Thor movie, Thor: Ragnarok, is better overall, I still enjoy this one, and I give the original Thor a rating of 4/5. This is Chuck signing off. Join me next time as Marvel May heads back to World War II with Captain America: The First Avenger.
So the story goes that many years ago, the warriors of Asgard drove the Frost Giants of Jotunheim from the planet Earth. As time passes, the king of Asgard, Odin (played by Anthony Hopkins), prepares his sons, Thor and Loki, for taking his place ruling over Asgard. In modern times, we see Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth) prepare to take the throne, when three Frost Giants attack Odin's vault. Odin dispatches a mystical automaton known as the Destroyer to eliminate the three intruders, Thor, infuriated by the interruption, wants to launch a full assault against Jotunheim, but Odin tells him not to do so, as there is a peace between Asgard and Jotunheim. Thor, however, uses the Bifrost to travel to Jotunheim regardless, along with Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston), and their friends Sif (played by Jaimie Alexander) and the Warriors Three: Hogun (played by Tadanobu Asano), Fandral (played by Josh Dallas), and Volstagg (played by Ray Stevenson). After a confrontation with Laufey (played by Colm Feore), the ruler of Jotunheim, Thor and co. fight against the Frost Giants, only to be rescued by Odin, who takes them all back to Asgard. Upon returning, Odin strips Thor of his power, and banishes him to Earth as a mortal man. Shortly after, Odin places an enchantment onto Thor's hammer Mjolnir: "Whosoever holds this Hammer, if He be worthy, shall posses the power of Thor."
Thor lands in the New Mexico desert, where he is picked up by three scientists: Jane Foster (played by Natalie Portman), Erik Selvig (played by Stellan Skarsgard), and Darcy Lewis (played by Kat Dennings). The three take him to a local hospital, unaware of the hammer crashing down nearby, leaving behind a major crater. After leaving the hospital, Thor is picked up by Jane and co, who are in New Mexico researching cosmic anomalies, and believe Thor arrived o Earth inside of one. Sometime later, several locals head to the crater site, unable to lift the hammer. It it here that we see S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson (played by Clark Gregg) call in about his finding and has a team of agents set up shop around the crater site. Shortly after Thor leaves to get his hammer back, Coulson and a group of agents collect Jane's research, needing it for their work. Jane, upset by this, goes with Thor to break in and get her research journal back. Thor fights his way through several agents, and Coulson calls in some airborne assistance. In fact, his exact words are: "I need eyes in the sky, with a gun." An agent, who we learn is agent Clint Barton (played by Jeremy Renner), grabs a bow and arrows, and hops into a cart, taking him skyward to monitor the action from above. After continuing to fight through more guards, Thor reaches the hammer, and unable to lift it, surrenders to the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Back on Asgard, Loki learns that he was adopted by Odin after Asgard's last battle against the Frost Giants, and Loki is, in fact, Laufey's son. Odin, after being berated by Loki, falls into the "Odin sleep," and Loki assumes the throne.
On Earth, Coulson asks Thor where he got his skills in combat, believing him to be working with someone else. After stepping out, Loki arrives and lies to Thor about Odin being dead. Selvig arrives to bail Thor out, claiming that he's a colleague named Donald Blake. nd co. takes Thor to a local bar for a drink, asking him to leave town. After a night of drinking, Thor brings Selvig back to where Jane and co. have set up shop, returning Jane's journal to her. Under the stars, Thor explains how on Asgard, magic and science are one and the same, and the two start to really hit it off. Okay, despite what many others think, I personally think that Thor and Jane did have decent chemistry in this first Thor movie. Anyway, back in Asgard, Sif and the Warriors Three make plans to travel to Earth to bring Thor home, while Loki makes a deal with Laufey to have the opportunity to kill Odin while he's defenseless. The guardian of the Bifrost, Heimdall (played by Idris Elba), allows Sif and the Warriors Three to travel to Earth to bring Thor back, and Loki freezes Heimdall in place, dispatching the Destroyer to kill Thor. Thor, with help from Jane, Darcy, and Selvig, works to get the local civilians to safety, while Sif and the Warriors Three fight off the Destroyer. Thor, in an ultimate sacrifice, faces the Destroyer, and is seemingly killed. Thor's sacrifice shows his worthiness, and the hammer races out of the crater and into Thor's hand, saving his life and restoring his power. After defeating the Destroyer, Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three leave to return to Asgard, with Thor assuring Coulson that he is their ally. Coulson returns all of Jane's research to her, while the Asgardians return through the Bifrost to defeat Loki, who uses the Bifrost to destroy Jotunheim. Unable to stop it, Thor destroys the rainbow bridge, destroying the Bifrost in the process. Loki falls, lost to another dimension. While Jane continues to search for him, Thor, with help from Heimdall, continues to watch over her from afar. During the after-credits scene, Selvig meets with Nick Fury (played by Samuel L. Jackson), who shows him a glowing blue cube, which will be a major plot device in the next two MCU films. After hearing a whisper from Loki, Selvig decides to take a look at the cube.
Thor tells a "fish out of water" story, with its main protagonist learning the ways of human beings on Earth. However, what makes the film work is its stunning visuals and great acting. Chris Hemsworth is amazing as Thor, and Tom Hiddleston made Loki an iconic Marvel villain. Cast members like Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Idris Elba, Rene Russo, and so forth really elevate the movie from being run-of-the-mill to being an entertaining MCU movie. The visual effects are also breathtaking, and director Kenneth Branagh truly brought something special to this movie. However, what holds to movie back, ever so slightly, is the aforementioned "fish out of water" story. Again, while it works well here, it's still a cliché type of storytelling, and many viewers are pretty tired of it. Now, while I feel that the third Thor movie, Thor: Ragnarok, is better overall, I still enjoy this one, and I give the original Thor a rating of 4/5. This is Chuck signing off. Join me next time as Marvel May heads back to World War II with Captain America: The First Avenger.
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