THOR

At the end of Iron Man 2 we got a delicious teaser of Marvel Studio’s next offering, due out in 2011.  Those of us that had waited for the final scene, either because we predicted one at the end of Iron Man 2 as there had been one in Iron Man 1 were not disappointed.  We were shown Agent Coulson driving out into the New Mexico dessert, where a crater is swarming with presumably S.H.I.E.L.D agents, at the centre of which is the hammer of Thor.  Almost everyone in the cinema shrieked, ooh-ed, or otherwise displayed their excitement and shock. 

The blurb states that:

The Mighty Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans as punishment. Once here, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth.

                                                -Marvel.com

 Based on the 1962 comic ‘The Mighty Thor’ originally plotted by Stan Lee, scripted  by Larry Leiber and pencilled by Jack Kirby.  The character had several ongoing and limited series in his own right and then appeared in the Avenger’s series, along side Tony Stark in the original Avengers Line up.  I have to admit I expect quiet a lot from Thor, especially after how amazing Iron Man 1 and 2.  It will be interesting to see how they interpret the various powers and elements of the character. In particular the magical elements of the character such as the golden apples of Idunn, his belt of strength and the hammer Mjolnir which in the comics are powered by ‘magic.’  From what I have seen in the trailers it would seem they are going to pass it off as technology rather than sorcery but the characters magical background wouldn’t seem to match with the real world elements of the connected Marvel Movies like Iron Man and the earlier X-men movies, which rejected the magical elements often found in the comic books.  

            Australian actor Chris Hemsworth, stars as the titular Thor – his first major role although with several movies due out next year.  The seasoned Anthony Hopkin’s is due to make an outing as Odin which, given his general aura of awesome should be a treat assuming that Miller and Stentz’s screenplay gives him something to work with.  Clark Greg seems to have fallen on his feet, what was a bit relatively small bit part in Iron Man has escalated to appearances across 5 announced movies (Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Thor, The Avengers, Nick Fury).  In order to get through the movie though I will have to overlook the presence of Natalie Portman, okay so her ability to act has improved immensely since Star Wars, but I still find her totally wooden and a bit alienating.  Slated to play Jane Foster, who appears in the comic as a nurse with whom Thor/Donald Blake has a relationship before she marries another man, the character has be changed from a nurse to an astrophysicist (?)  and will no doubt provide a romantic subplot for the film.  

I REALLY hope they don’t make the mistake of making the entire plot Thor’s love/affection/lust for Foster.  If Iron Man displayed one vital element of the successful comic-film cross over it was that the romance plot should be sub and not form the catalyst for the drama!  I was also a little concerned by the creatures at 1:05-1:08 of the trailer looked to an awful lot like cybermen but maybe all that Doctor Who watching has infected my brain slightly. 

It’s odd to say that as a Northern Irish person I feel ‘responsible’ for the outcome of this movie as a fellow country man of director Kenneth Brannagh.  Brannagh’s background in Shakespeare and vaguely historical projects hopefully means that he is adept at making the old world Viking imagery work against the modern backdrop.  

Either way! Here is hoping! I can assure you that the moment it comes out I shall be there with bells on! Not literally since the jingling would disturb the movie BUT Ill be there with 3D glasses on at any rate!