All Marvel movies, good bad, or average bring nostalgia to Marvel fans. “Thor” is no different.
Tony Stark AKA Ironman calls him “Point Break”, Hulk calls him – “Baby Arms” and Odin asked if he is “God of Hammers” :), but he is still “God of Thunder” and Marvel or any Universe is poorer without him in it.
Let’s recall Thor’s first adventure 🙂
One Line Review: Not the best Marvel movie, still a must-watch for all Marvel fans.
YouTube Trailer Thor
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Clark Gregg, Idris Elba
Release Date: 29th April 2011
Stream Online in United States
Stream Onlie in India
What’s it About?
“Thor” is the origin story of … well you guessed it – Thor!
The movie is a liberal adaption from portions of Thor’s comic book lore, altered to fit in a more modern and current reality.
Thor introduces us to centuries old war between the Asgardians (evolved into a peace-loving community) and the conflict centric Frost Giants.
“Thor is on much safer ground here on Earth. The tone is immediately different: more relaxed; comic, not cosmic.”
~ Tom Charity from The independent
Characters
Jotunn/Frost Giants
The Jotunn, or as Asgardians call them – Frost Giants, are a race of humanoid giants that live on Jotunheim, one of the Nine Realms. “Frost Giants” are scary beings ever eager for war and bloodthirsty.
Despite the movie starting with Frost Giants, they don’t even come close to being the main antagonist of the movie, they are merely a catalyst of events that follow.
Odin
Odin is the king of species known as Asgardians who (not surprisingly) live in Asgard. Anthony Hopkins plays the all important Odin and plays it well. His presence in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will always be felt.
Asgardians
The Asgardians are beings that live for long periods of time and can travel through space from their home realm of Asgard to various other worlds, such as Earth, via the Bi-Frost bridge.
Asgardians come as close to Gods from Norse mythology as they come in the fantasy world.
Thor
Thor is an Asgardian and son of Odin ( hence the name Odinson). Thor being Odin’s “true” son is Asgardian prince and next in line for the throne.
Thor is the 3rd character that had been introduced in the phase1 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Ironman and Hulk.
Comic book fans interestingly have always debated who will win the fight between Thor and Hulk. Thor’s creator Stan Lee quoted “I would have to say, Thor, because as strong as Hulk is, he’s still a mortal. Thor is one of the Norse gods!”.
Loki
Loki is Thor’s brother, his jealousy and desire to sit on Asgard’s throne results in a Love-Hate relationship with Thor. This Love-Hate relationship between Thor and Loki is a massive part of the MCU story and is at the forefront of this film.
One of the things to look forward to in the movie is the incredible performance from Tom Hiddleston. He truly lives up to the character of “The God of Mischief”.
Did you know Tom Hiddleston who plays Loki auditioned for the role of Thor?
Trivia
Hawkeye
Hawkeye Aka Clint Barton makes his first appearance in this movie. We watch him drawing his arrow towards Thor, who goes to pick up his hammer. We get to see more of him from The Avengers.
We also get to see Idris Elba as Heimdall and Natalie Portman as Jane Foster in brief roles.
Plot/Story Line
Thor is young and powerful, has fought many battles by his father’s side. Blinded by his arrogance he goes to war with Frost Giants against his father’s wishes who wants to keep the peace.
Odin tried to reason with him but grows tired of his unrelenting son and punishes him by sending him to earth after taking his powers. And from here Thor’s real journey starts when he is in a different world without any powers.
What’s to Like/Dislike?
The father-son relationship between Odin and Thor is definitely worth watching as it forms the base of Thor’s character arch.
The CGI battle in the climax is good, but it has a predictable ending. Thor’s loose plot is much better than The Incredible Hulk, but it’s still far away from Ironman.
Personal Favorites ?
The CGI battle scenes that we get to see. Loki’s transformation from a jealous brother to a complete antagonist. Stan Lee’s appearance (adorable as always) and the post-credit scene of an infinity stone.
Opinion
Ironman 2 was released before this one. So I had mixed feelings about what to expect. MCU already gave us good and bad origin movie with Ironman and The Incredible Hulk.
Since the first appearance of Thor’s hammer (Mjölnir) in Ironman 2 Marvel fans had been excited to see the first on-screen appearance of Thor on screen. There was a positive reaction amongst fans after Marvel announced that Chris Hemsworth is going to be Thor. Tom Hiddleston also auditioned for the role, but he was cast as Loki, the antagonist of the story.
Things got more interesting when we realized Anthony Hopkins is going to be Odin. Anthony Hopkins knew nothing about Odin or Thor, he agreed to do the role because he was intrigued by the father-son relationship in the plot.
We finally get to see the Gods from the Marvel comics on the silver screen.
Final Words
The cinematic entry of Thor, is a good mix of fun, a wise choice of actors playing key roles, Shakespearian level drama, and some very cools graphics. Just don’t compare it to Ironman.
Must Watch for every superhero fan!
