And Thor Makes Three

The following blog is classified G. It contains no spoilers and possibly a lot of squeeing.

I've seen Thor twice now. I'll tell you this for a start, I'm relieved. Why? This was the biggest stumbling block for Marvel, trying to convince not only ardent fans but also newcomers to the franchise that a God, for ease of explanation, can exist within a mortal realm of technology, war heroes and scientists. And Tony Stark.

The good news is, they've done it right. Thor works both as a mythology that's believable, and as a character people can rally behind and enjoy. Even if he's a little over ambitious and more humorous in the early stanzas. Not that I didn't like that, probably better to go that route than to have him as the utmost deity of Asgard so soon into the franchise (as in the most recent comic book series. If you haven't read that yet, what are you waiting for?!)

Surprisingly, I enjoyed it better the second time around. Of course, Imax can be classified the culprit. The 3D seemed to work better on the bigger screen, at the right angle. It's largely subtle, which is something a lot of people who bicker and moan about the tech don't understand. Things don't always have to jump out at you for you to enjoy it. The little flakes of snow drifting across the wastelands, the level of depth providing a better idea of how big the main throne room and subsequent areas of the kingdom are. The height at which Thor rises off the ground, or how deep the crater is. I like it that way, far better than some stupid gimmick leaping out at the screen just to remind you of the glasses you're wearing.

But that's just me.

I think Thor works better as an opening stanza than Iron Man did, and it's in a better position to be granted sequels and expansions. IM2 had to fit in a lot of references and characters to open out the franchise to the Avengers. Thor, and hopefully Captain America, don't have to rely on that as much. They both need to ensure the two leads stand out from the crowd, before the eventual get together. That means more time concentrating on their worlds and enemies, their story arcs and the minor characters that belong to said worlds. More importantly though, it gives each lead actor a chance to shine, before Robert out does them all. And believe me when I say, I can't wait for Thor, Cap and Stark's bickering between each other, while Hulk plays smash and grab in the corner.

Out of everything, even the team based action in waiting and Caps first 'here's my shield, ain't it cool' moment, I'm now more excited to see Asgard and the six unseen realms. The possibilities here could be far and wide. I just love the fact that this, of all the Marvel movies so far, feels more broader in tone and substance. We're talking Gods and Monsters here, not just technology and smart asses who accidentally stumble into their super human arcs. It's as close to a breath of fresh air for the super hero genre yet ... but not quite. See, if Thor can get away from Middle Earth ... sorry, Midgard, that should be Midgard ... and travel the depths of the galaxy seeking justice and such, than this could be the real core franchise Marvel's been looking for.

Better yet, if they follow the lead of its script writer, they could always destroy Asgard and bring it to Earth. Trust me, that worked better in the comics than that sentence.

Or it could just be another reason to continue adding new characters to the long line of cameos. THANOS BABY, YEAH!

Sorry, what? ... Oh, a rating? Really? You haven't read every other review out there already? This is a blog, you know ... *sigh* Oh alright. I'll give it ... umm ... say four easter eggs out of five. But only because I ate the fifth one. It tempted me, with its foil shining in the sunlight, melted butter and cocoa calling my name like a Goddess' desires.

What was I talking about again?