The Specialists

I’m not really a joyless curmudgeon, though you could be forgiven for mistaking me for one. These “Hey, Mikey!” posts chronicle the rare occasions when I — like Mikey from the old Life cereal commercials — actually like something.

I’ve never really been a fan of Thor, as a comic book character. I don’t have anything against him; he’s just never much interested me. So I didn’t have a built-in desire to see the new Thor movie. But because the previews looked pretty cool, and because it’s part of the lead-up to Marvel’s amazingly ambitious Avengers movie, I ended up seeing it opening weekend, wife in tow.

Watching a superhero movie based on a character that you’re not into is kind of a mixed blessing. On one hand, you’re not as caught up in the excitement of finally seeing your hero on the big screen, and you’ll probably miss any “Easter eggs” put in for fans. On the other hand, you’re not carrying the baggage of decades of back issues and continuity, so minor changes to the source material don’t offend you. (Just ask any Spider-Man fan who was outraged over the organic webshooters from the Sam Raimi movies.) So, as a Thor newb, I may not be fully qualified to pass judgement, but I quite liked the movie.

The casting was quite good. Chris Hemsworth looked good as Thor and was sufficiently likeable and heroic. Even in the early part of the movie, when Thor is kind of a jerk, Hemsworth’s performance ensured that you didn’t absolutely hate him, and left him room to redeem himself. Anthony Hopkins may not seem physically imposing enough to play Odin, but his bulky armor, epic beard, and commanding presence more than made up for that. Colm Feore, though covered in makeup, was great as the king of the frost giants, Laufey. Some people have complained about the casting of Idris Elba as Heimdall, simply because he’s black, and the Norse gods were the whitest gods in all of mythology. But I can’t imagine anyone would complain about his performance. He made a relatively minor character fairly interesting and really cool.

Of all the cast, Tom Hiddleston deserves special mention for his portrayal of Loki. Loki is the most complex character in the movie, and one of the more interesting supervillains ever put on film. He’s not exactly evil, at least not at first. He starts off with childish pranks born out of petty jealousy. Once he discovers disturbing and long-hidden truths about his past, his misdeeds escalate, but even then, he is motivated more by a desire to impress his father than by personal gain. Hiddleston plays Loki with subtlety and allows us to feel for him even while we root for his defeat.

Kenneth Brannagh seems an odd choice to direct a superhero blockbuster, but he’s the perfect guy to bring the pageantry and grandeur of Asgard to life. And he acquits himself nicely with the super-heroic action scenes as well. Fights between gods should be pretty epic and these are.

In addition to the post-credits scene that has become expected from these Marvel movies, there is also a surprise cameo from a future Avenger during the movie. To be honest, his appearance is kind of gratuitous. It was clear that he was only added as a wink to the fans. But frankly, I don’t care. I really like the way that Marvel is tying all of these movies together and if they want to add a little extra connective tissue, then so be it.

So if you haven’t seen it already, check out Thor. I think you’ll enjoy it, whether you’re a fan of the comics or not.