Movie Review - Thor

Marvel Studios continues to do it right, continues to build the pieces of the Avengers franchise, and continues to find awesome ways to have Stan Lee cameo in movie adaptations.  Throw in Sir Anthony Hopkins, and Renee Russo with a British accent, and you have one seriously fun movie.

Fun with a message.  Far from the middle-aged-man-who-won't-grow-up movie genre that has been so popular lately (I'm looking at you, Will Farrel) Thor takes that archetype and reveals it for what it is: somewhat annoying, not very effective, often dangerous.  Thor is a spoiled brat of a warrior, a king's kid who doesn't know how to balance power with wisdom.   After being exiled to Earth by his father, Odin, Thor discovers where  his true power lies - in a leader's love for those he leads.

There is violence galore in this film, of course, but no more than in any other film of the genre, and less than most.  There are some serious fights, a lot of explosions and (of course) thunder and lightning.   The film downplays the Norse mythology of the Thor origin, replacing it with a pseudo-scientific explanation.  However, there is quite a bit of magic, spells, and such.  No nudity or sex, of course (Disney owns Marvel Studios) but Thor himself is objectified quite a bit.  Now there's a switch.

There are a lot of great little references to other Marvel properties, like an offhand mention of a "gamma ray expert" and a great cameo appearance of  Hawkeye/ Clint Barton.  When facing off with the Destroyer, one S.H.I.E.L.D. agent asks Coulson "Is that one of Stark's?" I really can't wait for The Avengers movie next year. ( Captain America: The First Avenger opens in July.  Sweet!)

Yeah, this is a film worth seeing in the theater.  I'd probably skip the 3D version unless you're really into that, as it's a conversion, not filmed in 3D.  And it does get a little too Deus Ex Machina at the end.  But it's still an entertaining, fun action film, and an absolute necessity for Avenger-prep.