Movie Review: Thor

So I literally just saw the movie not 20 minutes ago. I figure now is the best time to get out my thoughts.

I'll start with the good, end with the bad, and then with some good. Fair?

Alright, casting. Great. Really wonderful. Chris Hemsworth (Thor) was great. Suitably arrogant in the beginning, and then wonderfully changed at the end. Emotional, real, charming, and drop dead gorgeous. Let me continue with the good-looking men. Tom Hiddleston (Loki) was brilliant. His acting was spot on. AND he's a Shakespearian actor. That's perfect. I didn't actually want him to be the bad guy. He was just too...charming, but in a quite way. I liked him. AND he was cute. Again, in a quite, charming way. I felt bad for him, like I was supposed to. And the end--oh, SO  good. Yes, BOTH endings. Let's see, who else. Oh. Natalie Portman. Yes, yes, she's beautiful, and funny, and cute, and entertaining. That's it. Very, meh. I mean, I liked her, but I wasn't as impressed as I was with Hiddleston and Hemsworth. I did like Stellan Skarsgard (Dr. Selvig) though. He was good. Nothing truly spectacular, but nonchalantly great. Anthony Hopkins (Odin) was also great. I mean, this was no "Silence of the Lambs," but he did his job well nonetheless and was likable.

Moving on. The visual effects were excellent. Asgard was stunning. It was a great blend of old Norse and shiny sci-fi. I really enjoyed it, especially with the cosmos as the sky--great. And the Bridge (both the physical one and the dimensional one) looking great. The physical one was both tech and crystal. Nice combo. The dimensional one was also cool. It wasn't cheesy or overly dramatic, just appropriately flashy and instantaneous. Jotunheim was also very cool (non pun intended). It was perfectly evil and cold, as were the Giants. Loved them too (props to makeup). The battle sequences were also nice. The rigging guys did a nice job. (Okay, so you KNEW they were on rigging, but you didn't care. I guess that bravo goes to everyone else then.)

Costumes/Make-up/Hair: Clean. Very clean. Not too old Norse, but not to over the top. I liked it. Thor's red vs. Loki's green played VERY nicely. (A small side note that Chris Hemsworth also looked amazing in the tee-shirt and jeans (or just jeans). Heh heh.) I really did like the Norse costumes though. The hair was fun too. Thor was scruffy, but not too scruffy. He was sort of...awesome. Loki's hair was appropriately slicked back, but not overly greasy. Nice distinction that I appreciate. Fandral (the blond friend of Thor) had very fun hair and a fun mustache. I enjoyed how...perfect it was. The whole time. Perfect. (He too was cute.) Let me get to the make-up. Now, I wouldn't mention it unless it was either spectacular or terrible. The Giants had great make-up. But Thor...yeah, if I can notice that he's wearing mascara, that's an issue.

What else? Oh. Story. I liked it. From the beginning, you knew that Loki was the bad guy, but the writers let you hope that the second son, the cute, quite one, might not be evil. Then they dashed those hopes and make him a nice bad guy. Even better, he was a bad guy for the right reasons. I like that. But back to the plot--it was good. I really enjoyed it. Not too complicated, but good. The romance was cute and fun. I liked how dashing and how much of a charmer Thor was. Very attractive. Heh. SHIELD was also good. A bit evil and very "big-nasty-government," but good.

Now, the first thing I notice is the cinematography. Ick. I mean, I like fun shots as much as the next gal, but an entire movie of angled shots that cut off body parts, or shots that are too close, or simply ill framed? Gah. Kill me now. That's not to say that it was all bad. There were a few good shots. Some of the ones of Asgard were nice. Um...yeah. It was all pretty nasty.

What else was bad. Ooh. The music. Now, I am a musician. I was going to be a music major. I listen to film scores most of the time. I love music--it's one of the most wonderful things God created, but honest to goodness, Imma' kill Patrick Doyle. The music was just really bad. I mean awful. And that comes from me after I didn't expect much! Let's be honest. Superhero films are not known for their music (by their music, yes, but no one walks into a superhero film expecting an inspiring, prolific, Oscar winning score. Let's leave that to the artsy films and epics, shall we?), but this score was exceptionally bad. Doyle had happy music in sad places and in big, swelling dramatic places. Sure, most of the time I didn't notice the music and was quite pleased not to, but when I did notice it, it was bad. The effect is supposed to be the opposite! Especially in the big battle scenes or the really dramatic emotional ones. His chord progressions were rubbish. Honestly. Doyle--disappointed, sir. VERY disappointed. Why Kenneth Branagh chose him is beyond me.

Speaking of Kennith Branagh...the movie as a whole wasn't bad. I actually loved it despite my serious and grievous complaints. He made it funny, heart warming, and interesting despite the fact that looking back on it, it was a tad slow. Meh. No matter. Loved it. I plan on owning it, I liked it that much. Go. See it. Enjoy it.

Grade: A