I held off writing my impressions of THOR until it had been open at least a week.  But be warned.  There will be spoilers in this analysis.  If you haven’t seen the film stop reading now.  Or if you’re like me and don’t mind spoilers go ahead and read.

 

                                      SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!

 

Okay, overall I enjoyed this film.  I didn’t leave the theater wishing I had that two hours of my life back.  I loved the look of the film, particularly the design of Asgard.  Anthony Hopkins was appropriately patriarchal as Odin.  Thor was _very_ easy on the eyes, and very charming.  I especially liked the devilish light in his eyes.  Tom Hiddleston was great as Loki, and I’d love to cast him as Noel if we ever get a Wild Card movie.  I liked the nerd brigade down on Earth —

I hear you saying — “But I hear a but”.  Yes, I ended up feeling oddly unsatisfied, and that night I sat at home and tried to analyze why this movie never ultimately jelled for me.

It’s a villain problem, and the fact it felt like two movies that had been stitched together.  The entire opening of the movie presents the Frost Giants as the big threat.  Thor punts his brain and takes his Scooby Gang off to fight the giants.  (The Scooby Gang is another problem because they were never well enough defined for me to give a crap about them.)

Daddy gets pissed and banishes Thor to Earth.  He meets the Nerd Brigade and falls in love. Okay so far, but then the threat on Earth becomes the big flame throwing robot.  It was a cool effect and it was scary, but it wasn’t the threat that had been established in the beginning.  Since Thor’s emotional connection is to Natalie Portman’s character I needed the big threat that had been set up in the beginning to be a threat to love interest.  Frost Giants not Big Robots.

They did do a few surprising things like Thor being unable to actually claim the hammer once he got to it.  I expected them to do that, but it was clear most of the audience in Santa Fe hadn’t expected it, so that was good.

Then the movie goes back to Asgard and the Frost Giants turn out to be big pussies, and they never did pay off the emotional turmoil that Loki should have been feeling.  Loki sets up his real daddy (the Frost Giant) to try and kill his faux daddy (Odin), but then Loki kills his real daddy in a very off handed way, and I was left going “Huh?”  Was that to impress Odin that Loki saved daddy?  But I thought Loki wanted Odin dead?  My head hurts.

I’m sure you’re saying, “But it’s just supposed to be Big Dumb Fun, Melinda.  Don’t think so much.”  But it’s what I do.  I like to analyze stories.  See what works and what doesn’t and try to take those lessons back to my own work.

I admit I’m very worried about The Avengers film.  How on Earth are they going to service all these characters?  It’s going to be like a giant charm bracelet of superheroes fighting Evil.