Yes I know we skipped Sunday, but I was busy eating Yorkshire Puddings and finishing phase 1 of the MCU. If you remember, we last covered Iron Man 2, the first sequel. At the end was a tease for a more out of world superhero, the mighty Thor. When this movie originally came out though I was but a small child who didn’t understand teases. Because of this I thought Thor was a random movie that had nothing to do with Iron Man, I mean its about the God of thunder for crying out loud. But I was sure in for a treat, already off the bat I like this movie more than I remember, but lets get into that now.
Thor is Marvels next attempt to create an origin story for a hero who will be part of the Avengers. Instead of retreading Tony Stark’s plot beats, Thor actually feels new while keeping the spirit of what a Marvel movie feels like. There’s a great tone that feels fun while also maintaining a serious side to the characters. One thing I failed to appreciate the first time especially was the performance of Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston. The two are fabulous on screen together and Tom’s portrayal of Loki is very emotional, making us feel for him the most at the end of the day.
One thing I want to get off my chest is how god damn weird Christ Hemsworth looks here. I’m used to seeing him so gritty and serious but he’s constantly smiling and his eyebrows are blonde. Honestly it just makes his face look so strange as if they CGI’d his face and didn’t bother for the future. He’s still a beautiful boy but his look just caught me off guard. If anything I love how wholesome Thor is in this movie. He smiles at everything the humans do and feels so glad to be around his family and friends. Even when he’s unworthy for the hammer he is still able to put on a smile and live among the humans.
It makes me wonder what happened in between Thor and Ragnarok. Those two feel like they could be the same character, where his appearances in Avengers feel more gritty and focused. I like the character in both of these versions but if he was like this the whole MCU he would easily be up top. Captain America and Tony have a consistent character tone that grows and adapts the events around them. I wish Thor had a better run after this as he is a great character. But for the time being we are talking from the past and what this movie was like.
I think its more than fair to say this one topped Iron Man 2 and Incredible Hulk. It keeps the high notes while having an emotional and interesting story that doesn’t try to remake anything. In fact there is less of an origin and more of a “how did I get here” vibe. There’s no need to spend time learning about how Thor got his hammer and the history of Asgard. Instead we are given a brief history of Thor’s relationship to Loki, and their rivalry for the throne. Giving some context to Loki’s actions in the movie and his constant jealousy of his brother. It also helps set up the main plot of the movie giving half an hour until we are finally brought down to Earth.
It’s really interesting to see how Thor interacts with everything on Earth. At first he is confused as to where he has been sent by his father. He quickly begins to wonder as a God and soak in the environment. It’s especially nice to see him bonding with the human gang. But one of my favourite scenes is where he feels on top of the world and finally gets to Mjolnir in the SHIELD camp. Up until that point he saw himself as a being above the humans and like he could rush into anything. He learns very quickly that he’s not worthy of the hammer, feeling crushed. On top of that, his brother pops by to say his dad died and that he can never come home.
Instead of having an arc where he sets out to redeem himself, he accepts the situation and leaves. Growing closer to the humans and Jane he is ready to live out his days on Earth. Despite everything he’s still able to smile and take care of everyone. That’s something that I’ve noticed in Thor’s character after watching Ragnarok. He can have his entire world crushed around him, but he’s able to forget it all and smile when he has a friend there. There’s a scene in Ragnarok I’ll cover later down the line that links directly to this.
For Marvel’s first outing into space introducing an unusual character, it’s a really solid movie. While it’s not absolutely amazing it’s still one of the most entertaining MCU movies from the early days. I know some people that love Thor and to them this is their favourite phase 1 origin. It’s fair to see why, especially when you’ve got someone like Loki also playing an important role to the character. There’s a reason he keeps coming back to cause havoc and it’s shown in Tom’s amazing performance. Honestly after re-watching this I can see myself watching this one again some time.
Now after we’ve seen what the universe has to offer in terms of wacky concepts, it’s time to head back to the 1940’s. We’re going to meet one of the best superhero characters I never thought I would love in a million years. Join me tomorrow and we’ll get to know the first avenger himself, Captain America.