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Dangit! This is a movie that SHOULD suck, so why doesn’t it? Doug checks out Thor.
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A lot of the people I talk to (notice how I didn’t say friends) say Thor was the worst movie in Phase One of the MCU (or second worst, considering how some people Iron Man 2)
But, in all honesty, of all the Phase One Marvel movies, Thor was always my favorite (and it still is)
It’s somewhere in the middle for me. One half (Thor’s story) is pretty bland. The other half (Loki’s story) is outstanding. I just with the Thor part were as good as Loki’s.
I’m not sure if it’s my favorite of the Phase One movies, but it’s definitely in my top three with Iron Man and The Avengers.
For me it’s:
1. Thor
2. Captain America: The First Avenger
3. Avengers
4. Iron Man
5. Iron man 2
6. The Incredible Hulk
For me its:
The Avengers
Captain America: The First Avenger
Iron Man
Thor
Iron Man 2
The Incredible Hulk.
This is how I would rank them though I do occasionally have second thoughts in future viewings but here they are for now or ever.
12) Thor: The Dark World
11) The Incredible Hulk
10) Iron Man 2
9) Iron Man 3
8) Avengers: Age of Ultron
7) Thor
6) Captain America: The First Avenger
5) Ant Man
4) Iron Man
3) Guardians of the Galaxy
2) Captain America: The Winter Soldier
1) The Avengers
I guess if I had to rank them it’d go like this…
1. The Avengers
2. Thor
3. Iron Man
4. Captain America: The First Avenger
5. The Incredible Hulk
6. Iron Man 2
I always ranked Phase One as:
1. Iron Man: 8/10
2. The Avengers: 7.5/10
3. Thor: 7/10
4. Captain America: The First Avenger: 7/10
5. The Incredible Hulk: 6/10
6. Iron Man 2: 6/10
This first Thor movie is solid and far better than it’s sequal. When this movie come out I had nitpick that Thor in this movie is not god but god-like alien but I got over it.
I agree. Thor isn’t exactly on par with Avengers, Winter Soldier or Guardians but it’s still a good solid enjoyable movie. Plus compared to the sequel (which I think I consider my least favourite of the MCU alongside The Incredible Hulk) it’s way better. My only nitpick with the movie is probably the rushed romance between Thor and Jane.
I think of it as a fairly average story done really, really well.
What’s the different between a god and a god-like alien aside from the words they use to describe themselves?
One uses science the other magic (or divine might) and yeah movie science can seem very similar to magic and sometimes doesn’t have rules but by having him be an alien they took magic completely out and left it as pure science fiction.
yeah, what’s’ up with that change?
Why not keep him as a God?
It side steps a lot of the theological issues and makes it easier to have them interact with the universe at large.
My dad’s been a big Thor fan since he was a kid. He liked that Thor was cocky, but could back it up. We saw this film in theaters on his birthday and he went into it expecting to be disappointed (after all, he’d been disappointed by Transformers and GI JOE and figured that Hollywood was just going to screw over this other part of his childhood too). Needless to say, he loved it and was very grateful that at least this part of his childhood had gotten a good film adaptation. He bought it on blu-ray, watches it if it comes up on TV, and even got back into reading comics because of it.
Yeah, this one is a lot better than it has any right to be. Upon rewatching it recently I was surprised that I actually like it even more than when I saw it in Theaters.
Guess thats the magic of Kenneth Branagh.
Then it turned out: Antman was the one ending up crappy and goofy.
Actually ant-man was a good film(certainly not the best one but eh it was ok,to me at least and I’m pretty sure doctor stage will end up being the bad one).
I didn’t originally see this one in theaters but was on my dads navy ship and saw it on one of the TVs and found it pretty good and pretty enjoyable(and loved the cliff hanger of Loki still being alive). I believe next is captain America which I saw an advanced screening of and found it ok but the sequel was way better.
I think Doug had pretty much the same idea as I. Everything with Asgard is fantastic eye candy but all the earth stuff is pretty bland. Honestly I always forget Natalie Portman is in the MCU
I never really understood why people think Loki is such a good villain. Sure he’s a cool character and Tom Hiddleston does a good job and all, but I never really found a reason behind his motives. He wants to take over Asgard, that’s fine and all, but his backstory and his methods are so confusing and convoluted in this movie.
He finds out that he’s one of the Ice Giants so he gives them a back door to take their weapon but then as it turns out that he planned his whole scheme from the very beginning, from the attacks on Asgard to Thor’s exile and he ends up killing the Ice Giants and wants to destroy their world so that he can take the throne and…yeah it pretty much ended up being a muddled mess for me. They tried so hard to make him a complex character in this that it just ends up being really confusing.
Thank God they made him a more simpler villain in the later films (for the most part) because he really is a cool character. I just don’t think it worked out with this one. I still like this film for what it is, I just think Loki should’ve been written better.
And that’s where you are wrong. Loki is driven by internalized Racism. He considers the Ice giants as mindless monsters and can’t deal with the fact that he is one of them. That’s why he wanted to destroy them so badly, he wanted to get rid of every trace what he truly is and become the favourite of his father in the process. And that is interesting. Because what Loki hates more than anything else, is himself. Not that he would ever admit it, he is too arrogant to do so.
Loki is a character that thrives on Chaos and being misleading. In fact there is a pretty interesting theory that his plan in the first Avengers was to lose ON PURPOSE. Think about it: the Tessaract was on Earth, and Thanos tasked him with getting it. By going to earth, causing a ruckus, and sub sequentially getting taken into custody by his brother, he created a means to get both himself and the Tessaract transported to Asgard at the same time. From there, he was able to bide his time until he could come up with a plan to sneak himself onto Asgard throne, where we see him at the end of Thor 2. Now he is in the perfect position to deliver the Tessaract to Thanos when he comes knocking on Asgard’s door.
As for this first movie, the writers have come out and said Loki’s motive was clearly to prove himself to his father that he was the more worthy son. His plan was pretty simple if you think about it: plant the seeds of invasion into the Frost Giants so you can purposely incriminate them. Once they invade, he, as standing King of Asgard, has a legit cause to retaliate against them and make himself Asgard’s hero by defeating their enemy.
It’s not THAT difficult to figure out.
Stupid unrelated question: Does anyone know what the music at the first 11 seconds is from? It sounds awesome!
It’s the end of “Movie Score” by Jeffrey Peterson. It’s from a stock production music library. (Thanks, Google Sound Search!)
Thanks! (Sorry for the late response!)
Regarding Thor as a character: I recently started reading Walt Simonsons Thor (the first two (of five) volumes) and I kick myself because I didn’t pick them up sooner.
The words that I want to use to describe them are Epic and Grand. They’re an awesome mix of classic mythology, fantasy and sci-fi on a grand scale.
Sure, it take some time getting used to the language of Asgard, which is pseudo-shakespearian and a bit hard to read (glad they didn’t go that route in the film), but once you get into that, your in for one hell of a ride.
I think I like Thor the most out of all the Marvel movies.
…Well, except Guardians of the Galaxy.
I know you are trying to be excited for this movie but lets be honest, it’s a mess. From main characters that are stiff and wooden to side characters that stick figures on lined paper could out perform, to the glaring lens flares that are supposed to distract from the high glare high contrast backgrounds, to the endless slapped together scenes that make it feel like they shot ten different short movies each with a different theme trying to decide which way to go and finally deciding to try and do them all even though they all ran counter productive to each other giving it a distinct lack of coherent story and total lack of any plot other than “Thor gets banished, Thor realizes he has to be Thor, Thor beats up the maybe villain who literally has no reason to hate him?”
Now I know I’m going off topic here but lets bring up another movie that came out at the same time, Green Lantern, It was bad, the over use of CGI the limited story that has been over done in the early 2000’s, it’s like watching Hulk meets Fantastic Four through Michael Bays eyes minus the explosions. But it had a complete story to tell, it had a fully realized plot, it also had style. Thor had, well lens flares and Ton Hiddleston as Loki.
Lets be honest, much like with Avangers Tom Hiddleston is pretty much the only character that gives it his all. You say those faces look like they are “Giving it their all” but what I see is a bunch of bored faces and actors who barely know how to act or simply don’t want to be there and thus they give a very cardboard cut-out performance you know Chris Hemsworth spends so much time with a blank look on his face it’s hard to tell if he’s even paying attention and when he shatters the Coffee Mug he never said “Okay” or really evolved as a character other than he went from being battle hungry and compulsive to compulsive and love sick. . The plot and the Story is a mess as well, they tried to make it into a Cain and Able story, then into a fish out of water to a betrayer within, to a savior within, to Moses, to prodigal son, to Lina Inverse in Marvel, to Snow White without the waking kiss at the end. Each scene has no real motive no real direction, the reasoning doesn’t make sense, the fact that one of the characters is driving these factors or that things just seem to happen out of nowhere for literally no reason can give one whip lash. I honestly have yet to find anyone who can honestly say what Loki’s goal is in the movie, He wants his brother banished so he can have the throne, even though Thor has already given him the throne and said “I don’t want it, put me on the battlefield until I die instead!”, why does Loki want Odin dead when he’s literally in an endless Coma that only Thors return can break(which is never explained other than “Oh he just fell into it”) and why would he sell Odin out only to save him? It’s like they couldn’t decide if they wanted Loki to be Scar or be the reluctant hero, and of course he stands to gain nothing from either betrayal but can loose everything is one of them speaks out, if he wanted a war he would just declare it, he’s king after all. Even the whole excuse that he wants to show up his step-brother doesn’t make sense because not only had he already done that but he has also been acknowledged by Thor to be a great fighter, leader, and diplomat equal if not better than Thor is all ways.
Thor is a mess and honestly I prefer to watch Green Lantern over it, both are terrible movies but at least Green Lantern doesn’t try to be pretentious while going nowhere with it’s story.
You lost me when you tried to compare Thor with Green Lantern and say Green Lantern was better. Don’t make me laugh. Every single solitary complaint you made about Thor just now, Green Lantern has in droves, and then some.
I thought Thor was okay. I loved the actor’s, but when I see a superhero film, I want to see the hero using his powers, not see them de-powered and wandering around like a normal schmuck for3/4 of the movie.
I have to admit that I pretty much fell in love with Thor because SHAKESPEAREAN SPACE VIKINGS. Plus I’ve always been a big Norse mythology buff/ liked Thor the superhero too.
Actually, I think that Thor becomes a lot more accessible if you have a working knowledge of Norse mythology/ culture, because it helps you understand character motivations and such. That’s probably a failing of the movie, which is why I think it may have been smarter to just have Thor set entirely on Asgard, but then again they did have to prepare him for joining the Avengers, so…
Hahaha… if you have a working knowledge of Norse mythology, then you will be confused as fuck. Marvel’s version is damn near nothing like it. What myths are YOU reading?
Thor is an easily tricked, muscle-brained oaf if the books. (So far, so good?) He is extremely powerful, and he is a force of good, technically, but he’s no golden boy. Odin was his father, but Frigga was not his mother. He had multiple brothers and sisters. (And it all falls apart.) Loki was never confirmed as one of the frost giants at all. He was not raised by Odin, or in any way family to Thor, and Laufey was his MOTHER, a tree goddess. Loki was also a malicious trickster right from the start. The only “good” things he ever did were to rectify his own mistakes. And then, of course, he goes full-tilt evil, because Loki is the embodiment of human nature that is selfish, cruel, manipulative, untrustworthy, and hateful. Just as Thor is the embodiment of strength and bravery and whatnot, and Odin embodies wisdom and judgment, etc. Marvel’s version is just… it uses a bunch of the right names, sure, but the stories it tells and the family dynamic are complete inventions.
It’s true that they change a lot of the family dynamics (pretty much all of them, actually), but if you combine that info and apply it to the new situation things make a lot more sense. I think you’re being a little harsh in your interpretation of myth!Loki, considering that he’s often associated with fire: destructive and capricious, yes, but something that can also be warming, like hearth fires. Scandinavian folk-lore and myths have plenty of outlaw and trickster protagonists (like Ref the Sly in the Icelandic Sagas), and placing a counter-culture character like that in direct competition with Thor (who embodies traditional warrior-culture values) is a stroke of genius.
Assuming that Norse culture was affected by Asgardian culture (which is likely considering that they worshiped Asgardians as gods and all), the implications in Thor get even more interesting. In Thor, Fandral and Volstagg make fun of Loki (“What’s the matter? Silver tongue turned to lead?”) which could have easily been a fighting offense. (Seriously, blood feuds in Norse myths are nothing to sneeze at and can start over nothing.) The fact that Loki doesn’t even defend his honor because he knows that no one will listen accurately sums up his situation. Myth!Loki had his mouth sewn shut, and similarly Marvel!Loki might as well not be able to speak, given how others constantly speak over him.
I could go on, like how Fandral has a total skald vibe and Loki’s situation gets even more interesting considering that in Marvel Comic canon he’s bisexual and in the myths switches sexes and is a mother which puts him even further away from the “hvatr”, manly Norse cultural ideal, but I don’t want to write an essay.
So in short, yes, I know the differences between myth and comic canon quite well, thank you; I’m just capable of looking past those to see the interesting ways in which the two interact. You know, critical thinking skills and all that.
Thor is a good movie – Not every Comic Book Movie has to go all out you know. You ask for more but look at the mess they made of The Dark World, The Winter Soldier and Age of Ultron {The First Avenger is for me the second best Marvel Movie behind The Avengers and I’d place Thor a creditable 3rd.
I wasn’t enamoured with Iron Man {the first half was good but the second half wasn’t} but again look at Iron Man 2 and how bigger isn’t always better.
Nolan managed to make a sequel {Dark Knight} that blew the first {Begins) out of the water but again look what happened with Dark Knight Rises {An atrocious 3rd part!} when they tried to go bigger!
0:35 Seriously? I know Doug has little knowledge of comics but Thor ditched the wing helmet long before the movie came out.
He could at least do some research beyond the early 90’s.
So I was wondering are you doing only the live action movies? Or also the animated direct to video ones.
Also will you do a D.C month? D.Cs live action hasn’t been as good as Marvel’s except for the batman trilogy but the animated movies have been pretty decent like Justice League War and Under the red hood
It doesn’t suck cause everyone loves gods, obviously. Though to be fair, I liked Thor’s take on the fish out of water story, but I found both Thor movies comedy reliefs to be annoying as hell.
The funny thing is that even the guy who directed this movie is basically like “It’s not the best film, but we were specifically just trying to make something that didn’t suck” in a screenjunkies video where he reacts to the Honest Trailer for this movie. I think that says a lot about what they were hoping to achieve and how well it worked out.
I’ve seen Thor mocked in comics such as Twisted Toyfare in the past and thought how are they going to make a film out of it? I staved off watching it for a few years but my sister said it was good and check it out. And she was right! the hugeness of the god realm made me feel like I did first reading about norse mythology when I was a kid. And the actor who plays Thor…..WHERE did they find him, that is exactly how I pictured him growing up! So yeah, overall I liked it alot.
“And the actor who plays Thor…..WHERE did they find him?”
Australia!
this film doesnt work in a lot of ways .. but really the only thing i really hate was hawkeyes’s cameo .. only if he had shot that arrow …
I was surprised to hear you say the scenes in the Nine Realms were the best and most beautiful. For me, whenever I watch the movie (which I do from time to time – I do really like it, despite what I’m about to say) I’m pining for the scenes in New Mexico.
Their Nine Realms are so constantly dark and dingy, and completely treeless that they never feel like a fantasy movie to me.
Given how much I love fantasy, how one of the main reasons I even go to movies is to be transported to impossible, wonderful worlds: for me to pine for a real place – a place I’ve been to (New Mexico, not the specific town) – over a fantasy realm is a huge failing in an otherwise great movie.
I like Thor. I don’t really have any complaints about it. The earth scenes are funny and the action scenes are good, in my opinion.
Would you consider reviewing “Teachers Pet” for Disneycember? That was such an odd, but interesting Disney film! I remember watching it in theaters as a kid and being so intrigued and terrified by the animation! It’s definitely worth a disneycember review!
The movies, and particularly Thor, are trying to distill 50+ years of characterization to present heroes who both hearken back to their origins and also fit with their more modern characterization. With Thor, they had to create a connection to Earth in order to make his Avengers membership make sense.
Over the years, the various writers have see-sawed between an Earth-based and Asgard-based Thor. Various mortal alter egos have come and gone along with supporting casts. It’s sometimes weird to remember that fairly common powered thugs like The Absorbing Man and The Wrecker started as Thor villains. It’s like the weirdness of those early Avengers issues where Asgardians, Enchantress and Executioner, are taking orders from human Baron Zemo. It doesn’t really fit from a modern standpoint.
Funny part about it, Arnold Schwarzenegger did the exact same story back in the 70s. Only Greek instead of Norse.
Me, I read Thor back during the Walt Simonson years, and back then, I honestly thought what he did with the character, the mythos, and the story was awesome. Simonson created Malekith, Beta Ray Bill, Lorelei, and several other great new characters; one of the first things he did was get rid of Donald Blake, Thor’s earthly alter-ego. He also gave Thor a beard, something that he really needed for that Viking image, but had been sorely lacking.
So when this movie came out, I had high expectations, if not high hopes. I knew what I wanted to see in the film as a fan of the character, and in that regard, the movie really let me down; the second even more so. So, yeah, I was disappointed.
I really do like this movie. My mom loves it! It’s mostly because she has a thing for Chris Hemsworth. I think it’s really one of the best uses of a character going to the human world. It’s been done so horribly in other movies. Yes, he is awesome as Thor.