What? No Thor thread? The Gods are not pleased!

[niky]

So, who else has watched it?

Personally, I thought much of the movie was rather kick-ass. The reimagination of Asgard, the BiFrost and all the characters was wonderful (except Volstagg just isn't fat enough) and the production design is top-notch. There are logical inconsistencies that you could spot a mile away, but it's not really much different from Iron Man in this regard.

Unfortunately, between the two bookends of Kick-Ass Part One and Kick-Ass Part Two, we have a middle movie that's reminiscent of Captain America. No costume, no powers. Thankfully, no ridiculously sentimental music and ears out costumes, either.

There's a lot of "fish out of water" humor in there, and some scenes where the lead actor gets to flex his marvelous pecs, but the scenes of non-superhero Thor Odinson beating up a bunch of faceless guards are more "The Marine" than Marvel Superheroes and the sight of Thor's Asgardian friends moseying down the street in full battle armor reminded me uncomfortably of "Masters of the Universe". (Okay, it was funny in a nice way)

Well... maybe Id've liked the movie more than I did if I didn't watch so many bad movies... as apparent from the references above. But there were real problems with the movie... the lack of good pacing in the Earth scenes, the lack of chemistry between Natalie Wooden Portman and Whats-his-name, and the almost unbelievable change-of-character for Thor halfway through the movie. Granted, canonically, it did happen, but there just isn't enough time going by in-movie for it to be believable. Not nearly as believable as the Loki sub-plot, which I thought was a nice touch.

Still, if you like to see Norse Gods beating up Frost Giants, killer robots (errh... the Destroyer... I suppose it counts) and each other, you will enjoy Thor.

7/10

Look out for:

Spoiler

The Eye of Agamotto... at least I assume it is... hidden somewhere in the Weapons Vault in Asgard...

The inexplicably weird plot point of Thor and Loki being children during the Frost Giant war on Earth... wait... weren't they already gods in the Norse pantheon back then? What?

Stan Lee as a redneck pick-up driver...

Then again, driving down the street behind the diner in the diner scene...

Hogun as a Ninja instead of a Hun...

The Shield Agent who just happens to carry around a bow (sans purple costume)... which he never gets to use. Poop.

Cheeky reference to Donald Blake... the original Thor... and the total lack of explanation of how Jane Forster has become an Astrophysicist instead of being a nurse...

The *yawn* obvious references to Iron Man in the first Destroyer scene on Earth...

The sly reference to "The Hulk" in the conversation about SHIELD making scientists disappear...

The total lack of Balder and the Enchantress... anywhere... which is a crime, really...

 

[AOS-]

Marvel vs. Capcom 3, anyone?

 

[YSSMAN]

Well, we don't get it until Friday. But, I can guarantee that I'll be at the Midnight show. Seeing as how it ties into Captain America, and will have a far greater affect on The Avengers than I had originally expected, it is going to be an important film to see if you want to keep up in the Marvel (film) Universe.

 

[JediRage]

I always found it funny a mythical god was turned into a comic book super hero.

 

[MercilessOne]

It says May 6 for us. Darn.

 

[niky]

So... I got it before most of America? I guess that's why there's still no Tomatometer verdict for the movie...

 

[Grayfox]

All movies that marvell have made were good(i didn't like spidermans as much as iron man, X-Men, Hulk( the trailers i saw of this movie look very good), I do want to see it but a single viewing will cost $40 for me with popcorn, drinks and the ticket and parking, i could get the bluray for that and watch on my PC with out annoying child yelling or the phone ringing.

But all this talk about Asgard and Thor reminds me of stargate.

 

[Ru-fus]

Thor = complete rubbish! 👎

 

[AOS-]

Agreed, I'll beat Thor with Trish any day. Bring it on

 

[niky]

Thor = complete rubbish! 👎

Glad I'm not going insane. My friends liked it, despite what I personally felt...

Surprising that it's getting a relatively good Tomatometer reading, too... despite the fact that a lot of reviewers were unsatisfied with it. Still, the Tomatometer considers even a faintly positive review as a +, so I'm not terribly surprised.

 

[dice1998]

I felt the story was too rushed, and the movie too short for the story it wanted to tell.

 

[lastshot83]

I went in to this movie with low expectations so I thought it was pretty good. I don't follow the comic books but I liked the plot of this more than the other Marvel movies that have been released.

Stay till after the credits for an extra scene.

 

[Terronium-12]

Hawkeye, bitches.

That will be all.

 

[niky]

Damnit... missed the extra scene.

Having seen the Captain America trailer, I'm feeling and hoping that it will be better still than this.

-

Hawkeye? Oh... you mean the purple version of Green Arrow? What's up with that? Everybody knows that PURPLE is a super-villain color...

 

[YSSMAN]

I got to see Thor 3D on opening night, and I have to say that this is one of the strongest comic-books films that has arrived in theaters in a long, long time. In my mind, Thor has never really been a character that I've liked to follow. Although he is a critical part of the Avengers, I've always found his storyline a bit too difficult to follow through with. However, Marvel managed to surpass my expectations with Thor, making him accessible to a very wide audience, and stand as a substantial building block for the new Avengers film.

I think my only issue with the film was that it took far too long to build up to the climax, and then it fell off far too quickly. The nerd-approved nods dotted throughout the film were enough to keep me interested, and to keep my eyes open, but I couldn't help to feel a little bored a time or two. Hensworth was perfect as Thor, and I have to say that the choice of Hopkins as Odin was pitch-perfect as well. Acting was pretty much top-notch across the board, and while the story was slow at times, it was one of the best overall stories I've been told in a while.

In my mind, I'd say this is the best superhero film since The Dark Knight. I'd even say that it was a shade bit better than Iron Man. Throughout the film, you can see that Marvel is moving their universe into a single point of interest before diverging again. It was a wonderful surprise, as my expectations were not all that high. Of course, that may not show well on Captain America come July. We'll have to see.

Side Note: Skip the 3D. It isn't worth the extra money. I'll likely see Thor again, but I'll definitely go in 2D next time.

 

[nk4e]

How many Original Avengers do we have left?

 

[niky]

How many Original Avengers do we have left?

Hawkeye, as mentioned... Not sure if Ant Man and the Wasp are original (EDIT: According to Wikipedia, they are). Black Widow we've seen in Iron Man, already... then there's the Scarlet Witch, the Vision, Hercules, Black Panther... maybe Quicksilver (don't remember when he jumped from Supervillain to Superhero...).

So far, in the movies and cartoon movies, we've seen Cap, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Wasp, Giant Man (Ant Man), Black Panther and Black Widow.

I think they will likely have a small team for the Avengers movie... not knowing anything about the production, I wager they'll stick with Iron Man, the Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow and maybe two others... hopefully Vision and Black Panther... to even the racial balance out.

You know... three white guys, one babe, one green guy, one black guy and one Android. Gotta support Android rights, you know.

 

[FoolKiller]

So, I saw it opening night and while I did enjoy it I didn't put it up there with the Iron Man films simply because it was paced wrong. The beginning of the movie was truly epic. Needed more of that. Then we get to the middle and it just felt so slow. But then stuff starts happening again. It was just a bit too talky and slow paced in the middle. That said, it had the same pacing as many of the Thor comics: Thor fighting monsters, mostly frost giants, who are attacking Asgard during Odin-sleep, Odin wakes and it turns out the attack was a distraction as Loki was starting stuff on Earth (involving The Hulk many times in The Avengers), and so Thor gets Odin's permission to go to Earth (or goes anyway) and there is a lot of talking, maybe disagreeing with one of The Avengers on what to do, brief action that goes away, then action-filled climax at the end.

That said, anyone familiar with more recent comics knows that Ragnarok has occurred (long story) and Asgard now hovers over the same state the movie takes place in. If that seems to be the place for the bridge from Asgard I wonder how the vikings ever knew about them.

This did work very well as a tie-in for bringing together The Avengers and us comic geeks saw all those wonderful links that made Incredible Hulk better than the average movie-goer gives it credit for.

And did anyone who stayed for the "secret scene" feel like you were watching Pulp Fiction for second?

Hawkeye, as mentioned... Not sure if Ant Man and the Wasp are original (EDIT: According to Wikipedia, they are). Black Widow we've seen in Iron Man, already... then there's the Scarlet Witch, the Vision, Hercules, Black Panther... maybe Quicksilver (don't remember when he jumped from Supervillain to Superhero...).

So far, in the movies and cartoon movies, we've seen Cap, Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, Wasp, Giant Man (Ant Man), Black Panther and Black Widow.

I think they will likely have a small team for the Avengers movie... not knowing anything about the production, I wager they'll stick with Iron Man, the Hulk, Captain America, Thor, Black Widow and maybe two others... hopefully Vision and Black Panther... to even the racial balance out.

You know... three white guys, one babe, one green guy, one black guy and one Android. Gotta support Android rights, you know.

We have Hawkeye now, so add that to your team for The Avengers. He was in Thor. Think. Was there an expert marksman that preferred a bow over a gun? Yes, yes there was.

As for original Avengers, just toss out that plan for the movie. We already have three too many, and still two missing.

It was about 10 episodes before Captain America joined the team.


But the movies so far have more of an Ultimate Universe feel:

And in that image all we are missing is Ant/Giant Man and The Wasp.

Going to IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0848228/fullcredits#cast

And it looks like those two aren't included (so far), and from the cast all we haven't seen yet is a Captain to lead the team.

So, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, Hawkeye, and Black Widow. Any others may come along in The Avengers, but I think we have enough for a movie as it is now. Maybe Black Panther if someone messes with Africa.

 

[Terronium-12]

So, I saw it opening night and while I did enjoy it I didn't put it up there with the Iron Man films simply because it was paced wrong. The beginning of the movie was truly epic. Needed more of that. Then we get to the middle and it just felt so slow. But then stuff starts happening again. It was just a bit too talky and slow paced in the middle. That said, it had the same pacing as many of the Thor comics: Thor fighting monsters, mostly frost giants, who are attacking Asgard during Odin-sleep, Odin wakes and it turns out the attack was a distraction as Loki was starting stuff on Earth (involving The Hulk many times in The Avengers), and so Thor gets Odin's permission to go to Earth (or goes anyway) and there is a lot of talking, maybe disagreeing with one of The Avengers on what to do, brief action that goes away, then action-filled climax at the end.

That said, anyone familiar with more recent comics knows that Ragnarok has occurred (long story) and Asgard now hovers over the same state the movie takes place in. If that seems to be the place for the bridge from Asgard I wonder how the vikings ever knew about them.

This did work very well as a tie-in for bringing together The Avengers and us comic geeks saw all those wonderful links that made Incredible Hulk better than the average movie-goer gives it credit for.

And did anyone who stayed for the "secret scene" feel like you were watching Pulp Fiction for second?

Samuel seems to have that effect now.

I too enjoyed the movie but felt that The Destroyer was incredibly downplayed; we're talking about Asgardian armor that has full capability of exceeding Thor in just about every facet of strength and power. Yet all it really took was him being reuniting with Mjolnir and just doing away with him. That whole battle could have been longer if you ask me. I was expecting Thor to unleash the Odinforce for a short while.

 

[niky]

We have Hawkeye now, so add that to your team for The Avengers. He was in Thor. Think. Was there an expert marksman that preferred a bow over a gun? Yes, yes there was.

Damnit... I didn't notice that!

---

I doubt that Ant-Man and Wasp are ever going to make it into the movies... just no way to make that believable. A superhero you can squash with a fly-swatter?

 

[Terronium-12]

Why do you think I mentioned him?

I wasn't doing it to see words on my screen.

 

[niky]

I thought we were talking about original Avengers...

 

[nk4e]

The Vision and Black Panther,Though then Storm has to be in there somehow.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

Thor - (7/10)
Saw it opening night. Not as good as Iron Man or Batman, but about the same as The Incredible Hulk. It has some slowness in the middle and the end fight is less dramatic than the beginning, but it is a good setup for The Avengers. I'll be more detailed in the dedicated thread

I agree with your review of Thor. It was good but not anything great. Not really worth seeing in the theater. It did have quite a few funny parts for sure.

 

[YSSMAN]

So, Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, Hulk, Hawkeye, and Black Widow. Any others may come along in The Avengers, but I think we have enough for a movie as it is now. Maybe Black Panther if someone messes with Africa.

The word out of Wonder Con was that they might add Black Panther, assuming that they do a second Avengers film. It is the same scenario for Hank Pym and Wasp. They were implying that they wanted to do Iron Man 3, Thor 2, Captain America 2, and then start adding even more franchises. The biggest one I can think of right now is Doctor Strange, but I have no idea how they'd pull that one off.

The biggest hurdle for Disney to get over, in my mind, is the fact that Marvel's best franchises are still in the hands of Fox and Sony. I need a little Reed Richards and Professor Xavier in my Avengers. Just to blow some minds out of the water...

 

[niky]

Too many baskets means that people won't have enough eggs to put in them. It is highly possible to oversaturate the market with superhero movies.

-

Doctor Strange... by the Crimson Bands of Cyttorak... that would be a horrible movie... Not unless they completely reinvent the character.

 

[FoolKiller]

The word out of Wonder Con was that they might add Black Panther, assuming that they do a second Avengers film. It is the same scenario for Hank Pym and Wasp. They were implying that they wanted to do Iron Man 3, Thor 2, Captain America 2, and then start adding even more franchises. The biggest one I can think of right now is Doctor Strange, but I have no idea how they'd pull that one off.

The biggest hurdle for Disney to get over, in my mind, is the fact that Marvel's best franchises are still in the hands of Fox and Sony. I need a little Reed Richards and Professor Xavier in my Avengers. Just to blow some minds out of the water...

I'd hate for them to overdo it with heroes though. X-Men 3 struggled because of that. I had to re-watch it to realize Psylocke and other mainstream characters were even there.

And from a production point you create an issue too. Your big-name heroes need their own movies, so the talent has to support that, but then you have multiple talents for one film eventually.

What I would like to see, and it is the one thing that we are missing with the film Marvel universe, is an over-arching storyline that encompasses multiple franchises. This is the only way a F4 and X-Men tie-in can truly work, I think. They each take on their own individual aspect of an issue, but when they follow it up find that it is part of a bigger thing. But you send part of the X-Men off to tackle a new Magneto threat or something so the climactic film doesn't get overloaded. I am just imagining things like the Age of Apocalypse or even DC's Doomsday storyline. Basically, a serialized, branching movie-arc. Currently all we get are easter eggs of the next film or one-off lines.

But that won't happen right now, although I think the Fantastic Four rights will convert back if they don't do something new soon, unless they are tied to the X-Men rights.

But it doesn't matter. Standalone Avengers have four decades of stories to pull from. We have multiple dimensions, so aliens such as the Kree and Skrull aren't hard to imagine. If audiences accepted Thor they can accept aliens. Heck, they should even be able to accept Dr. Strange. But I fear Dr. Strange will feel like the mystical version of Punisher. But they have interacted with the likes of Namor and have villains such as Ultron, Mandarin, and even the Red Skull still today. Between the characters we have now we have more than enough crossing over and available villains. Heck, at this point we have enough individual villains for a team of villains to be allied against The Avengers.

And they can still acknowledge the other characters of the Marvel Universe exist, but just not have them. It would be possible for Fury or Coulson to mention other metas that refuse to join but but have proven that don't need to be watched or kept under control.


But short of multi-arced complex stories I think we have enough. And then there is the issue of the audience. The number of times I have had to explain how the current movies tie-in is ridiculous. I would hate to explain how the X-Men's current adventures tie into The Avengers through whatever. People can follow multiple stories jumped between in one hour shows, like a soap opera, but expecting them to retain the knowledge from one movie through three or four more gets a bit tough.

 

[CAMAROBOY69]

But short of multi-arced complex stories I think we have enough. And then there is the issue of the audience. The number of times I have had to explain how the current movies tie-in is ridiculous. I would hate to explain how the X-Men's current adventures tie into The Avengers through whatever. People can follow multiple stories jumped between in one hour shows, like a soap opera, but expecting them to retain the knowledge from one movie through three or four more gets a bit tough.

I have never read a comic book in my life so I fit that category of not understanding some of the storyline in these movies. I LOVE the Marvel movies and all these superhero type movies, but I do get confused sometime with some of the characters and storyline, thats for sure.

 

[nk4e]

FK, Psylocke was there?

 

[FoolKiller]

I have never read a comic book in my life so I fit that category of not understanding some of the storyline in these movies. I LOVE the Marvel movies and all these superhero type movies, but I do get confused sometime with some of the characters and storyline, thats for sure.

They are mostly small at this point, but things like Captain America's Super Soldier Serum in The Incredible Hulk, Stark weapons used in all the films, and even seeing the non-lethal weapons (sonic tanks) after Stark changes his philosophy in Iron Man. Thor had references to both Bruce Banner (Hulk) and Iron Man in the dialogue. And in The Incredible Hulk, when Tim Roth takes the serum, but before he mutates, that is basically a sneak preview of what Captain America will look like in battle. Iron Man 2 also has references to Tony Stark's father, who is heavily involved in the Super Soldier program.

The bigger issue is that non-comic fans are seeing references that comic fans get because we have seen it before, but in the books the first instance also looks innocent. But if something like the line in Thor, where a guy asks Coulson if The Destroyer is one of Stark's and Coulson says, "I don't know that guy never tells me anything" happens in the comics they will have a subscript note to see Iron Man Issue #XX. It would be a bit odd for the films to have text pop up that says, "See Iron Man 2," so you have to be a bit more on your game with the films.

FK, Psylocke was there?

On the right.