Hi Everybody. Welcome to MC Tuesday, where we watch a movie from the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Today’s movie is 2011’s Thor. This is one of my favorite movies in the timeline, so I was looking forward to the discussion. This movie is jam-packed with great actors. You have Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Idris Elba, and the great Sir Anthony Hopkins. The star of the movie is an okay actor that makes up for acting with rugged good looks, Chris Hemsworth. The incomparable Kenneth Branagh directs the movie, which explains its Shakespearean feel. I love him in both Othello and Much Ado About Nothing. Resume aside, let’s get back to Thor.
Entitled Much?
At the beginning of the movie, Thor (Hemsworth) is a bit of an entitled brat. He wants to be king and he feels like the only way to be the greatest king is with war. When the frost giants (more like white walkers. Am I right?) invade his home of Asgard, he is fired up to retaliate. His father Oden (Hopkins) is not having any of that nonsense. But, Thor is a knucklehead and goes to Frost Giant World to give them some payback. But, daddy has to come save his life when the king of the white walkers…I mean frost giants…threatens to kill him.
Who the heck does Thor think he is? You start a whole war because of a B&E gone wrong. Luckily he meets Jane (Portman) and the others on Earth and becomes less of a brat.
Hating Much?
Loki (Hiddleston) is one of my favorite villains. He’s sneaky enough to get away with certain things, but not strong enough to follow through with his plans. But I have to admire how he played Thor like a fiddle. He convinces Thor to go to Frost Giant World (I know this is not the name but I like it). Then, once Thor is banished, he convinces him that his father is dead and his mother doesn’t want him back in Asgard.
I don’t entirely blame Loki for his bitterness. He finds out from Oden that he is adopted as a political move to broker a peace. Loki is actually a Frosty (is that disrespectful?). But he is a hater long before he knows his true origin. He just wants to be king. He claims he just wants to be an equal to Thor, but his behavior tells a different story.
Funny Moments
There are a couple of moments in this movie that make me laugh. The first is when the townspeople are trying to grab the hammer. What a way to bring a community together. “Hey, let’s all go and try to get this hammer. Who’s bringing the beers?” The other moment is when Coulson tries to reason with the giant flaming tin man by saying he is using “unauthorized weapons technology”. Are you really trying to talk this thing down?
The Connections
The movie prepares us for our next step in our cinematic adventure. This movie explains the origin of the Tesseract, the source of great and dangerous power. We also get a brief appearance of Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner). Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) of S.H.I.E.L.D. And if you stay until after the credits, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) makes an appearance.
Well, that’s it for Thor. The next movie is a movie I have seen a million times and never tire of it. We are watching The Avengers. We are finally getting the band together for the first time. Until then, I will see you for Anime Thursday!
Couch Cruisin' 