Thor

June 20, 2012

If I had been a boy, my parents would have named me Thor. True story.

I once dressed as Thor for Halloween. Sexy Thor. 1995. Last year, I dressed as Flavor Flav, but I had to buy a new Viking hat, because my old one was hidden in my hoarder piles of shit. True story.

Watching the opening credits, I was shocked as shit to see Kenneth Branagh’s name pop up as the director. Not that I’m a big fan of his, but I recognize that he is considered prestigious. As I watched Thor, I could sense his Shakespearean influence, especially during the more dramatic father and son scenes, although I don’t know that I would have noticed had I not known Branagh’s work.

Chris Hemsworth is the most perfect Thor possible…at least in the shirtless scenes. Granted, I have no other Thors to compare him to…

Is it me, or did Loki look like a grasshopper? Or maybe Jimney Cricket?

For once, I totally understand why the superhero’s love interest fell in love with him. Finally! Not only did Natalie Portman hit Thor with her car (The Florence Nightingale effect – remember Back to the Future?), but they actually shared genuine moments beyond a wet, snotty upside down kiss or a bizarre employer/employee relationship. It also could be the fact that Natalie is a much better actress than Kirsten or Gwenyth…

I also like Kat Dennings. She is the only reason I keep watching that shitty 2 Broke Girls show.

Asgard looks a lot like Middle Earth. Okay, I admit it, anything even a little medieval looks all the same to me. I like going to the Renaissance Festival, but that’s where my interest in dragons and swords and suits of armor ends.

As you may have realized long ago, I have a tendency to judge comic book movies by how slammable the main character is. The scale runs from Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and Christian Bale as Batman at the top to Eric Bana as The Hulk at the very bottom of the heap. Based on that criteria, Thor would definitely be at the top of the rankings. But now that I am the mother of children old enough to have opinions on movies, I also judge movies by their response. At least Thor didn’t bore them to the point of tucking themselves into bed. I wouldn’t say they loved the film, but at least it didn’t drive them out of the room.

We were fully expecting the post-credits scene to be a set-up for Captain America, but we were wrong – it was a set-up for Thor 2…Which reminds me – only one more film to see before I get to see The Avengers. I’m hoping I can talk my husband into skipping Captain America…