What aunt_zelda Thinks: Thor

[aunt_zelda]

Yeah, yeah, late to the party and all. My friends were going crazy for the Avengers this spring and I … had only seen Iron Man. It wasn't a high priority for me, for some bizarre reason. I mean, Whedon … I should have been all over that, right? But no.

And then the internet exploded with it and hasn't stopped. And I started to poke around with the fanfiction a bit, and read some good stuff, and got a decent understanding of the Avengers, and learned via the fanfic and fandom secrets that a huge portion of the online shenanigans are about how you feel about Loki, Tom Hiddleston, and copious amounts of "feels" concerning him. So … yeah. After getting berated and encouraged by my friends at college and wanting to understand more of the fanfic, and genuinely wanting to see what is apparently "TEH GREATEST MOVIE EVER OMG SQUEEEEEEEEEE" (source: all of my friends, especially the quiet guys who don't get excited for much in life unless it has to do with a camera) … I resolved to watch all the tie-in movies, or at least most of them, and then the Avengers over Christmas break.

So here I am, watching Thor.

Thoughts typed as I was watching:

Gotta say, at first, I am not impressed. Like, at all. The first big action sequence is dark and edited so quickly I can't see most of what's going on. The costumes are laughably bad, especially the zipper-tunic thing Odin was wearing. Asgard looked … horrible. Like a pipe organ and RTD-Era Gallifrey and Theed had a baby. 

While I do like the idea of the Asgardians being like interdimensional space-traveling badasses who just got worshipped as gods, I wish they'd elaborated more on that idea. Because it's pretty badass. 

Just as I was wondering how long the movie was going to be and how much of this bad cheesiness I was expected to sit through in order to get to the Avengers … I began to see two big draws to this movie. Namely, Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston. Eye candy, om nom nom, etc. I mentioned this on my Facebook and one of my lesbian friends gushed about Chris Hemsworth's hair, and I had to concur. (Seriously, I just wanna braid it and play with it … )

Ok, ok, the whole Bifrost sequence is very pretty, I will give you that. 

Lol, college intern tasers Thor, God of Thunder. That will never stop being funny. *sporfles*

Ok, ok, Thor didn't start out so good as a movie, but now that Chris Hemsworth is bumping into stuff and making hilarious faces, it's at least enjoyable!

Wait, am I supposed to be rooting for SHIELD when they up and steal years worth of research, handmade scientific equipment, and an intern's iPod with no explanation and no promise of return? Wouldn't it have been easier to just do an inventory, copy the research, ask Natalie Portman to keep them updated, and post two guys in a car to spy on her? Wouldn't that make her more willing to cooperate and people less afraid of them? 
Dicks.

Also, my sympathies are entirely with Loki here at this point in time. He's smart and keeps getting passed up for promotion because the brash aggressive popular dude gets all the glory and keeps dragging him and their friends into trouble. He finds out his whole life has been a lie, he gets pissed, and then he makes himself king because he's clearly a more level-headed ruler than Thor, who just up and started a war. Started. A war. 
Sorry, I love Thor, dude's nice to look at and pretty funny, but come on, he's not king-material at all. 

I love the female characters in this movie. Especially Jane and Darcy. They're great. More of them, please!

This movie won major points from me for having Jane and Thor laughing and talking to each other and Jane swerving off the road because she wasn't keeping her eyes on the road. So many movies have characters driving and never swerve off the road while they talk to each other practically face-to-face. Major brownie points, movie, major brownie points!

Much better action sequence while Thor is racing through the camp to get to his hammer. MUCH better action sequence! I can like, see stuff happening! 

Also, OH HAI HAWKEYE! I KNOW YOU FROM THE FANFICTION! :D EXCEPT THAT'S ALL I KNOW ABOUT YOU! THIS WILL BE VERY AWKWARD!

I like how this movie isn't afraid to have quiet scenes, or scenes with minimal dialogue to let us watch the characters reacting to what's happening around them. 

I will admit to really enjoying Chris Hemsworth in that wet t-shirt. And fighting in the mud. DAAAAAAYUM. Why does he wear that silly armor most of the time, dude should wear that t-shirt all the time instead!
(Usually I don't like muscly guys. I'm making an exception for Thor.)

"Magic's just science we don't understand yet! Arthur C. Clarke!" 
Jane, I love you. Seriously, you are a wonderful character and I'm so happy  you exist. It's too bad you're not really used much, but hey, you're not ridiculously shoehorned into the plot either or crammed into a skimpy outfit, which is more than I can say for other movies. 

Thor has really pretty eyes. I say "Thor" because I'm pretty sure those are contacts, they look kinda unearthly. Unless those are Chris Hemsworth's real eyes, in which case WHOA. The camera focuses on them nicely during the interrogation scene. 

Ok, all that sympathy I had for Loki? It's slipping away very quickly. He just made Thor CRY. Bastard! Thor doesn't seem to harbor any ill-will towards you, he seemed pretty fond of you actually. If you wanna dick around with anyone it should be Odin, the guy who STOLE YOU WHEN YOU WERE A BABY FROM YOUR FAMILY and then raised you as … I'm not really sure why he raised you as a son, but you've got all kinds of Theon Grayjoy angst going on with that and let's be real, that NEVER ends well. 

Oh, and all these lies? These pointless stupid lies? Where is the motivation here? If you don't want Thor back, you don't need to taunt him and tell him his dad is dead and his mom wants him to stay gone and he can't go home EVER AGAIN. That's just needlessly dickish. I'd understand if he was doing this to Odin, but Thor, his brother who doesn't even know about the whole Frost Giant Baby Napping? Where is the logic here? Is Loki just doing this for the lols? I don't know, the movie isn't letting me know. Apparently to some, this dickish behavior can be excused because Tom Hiddleston is pretty. And while I do see the appeal, that doesn't excuse the actions of a total dick of a character who went from sympathetic to cartoonishly evil in roughly three scenes. And they were SHORT scenes. "My whole life has been a lie?! WTF?! Was I just a stolen artifact like that box?! … muahahahhaa, hey, Thor, dad's dead and mommy doesn't love you! Muahahahaa!"
… There's a disconnect there. Am I the only one seeing that? Are there like, deleted scenes that explain things better?

Lol, nice subtle moment with Dr. Mentor Guy and Thor drinking together. 

Changed my mind. Loki is definitely a dick, and swiftly losing any goodwill I had towards him by 1) making Thor cry and 2) not explaining his motivations well enough. Whereas the Jotun king Laufey has pretty much all of my sympathy. Some asshole stole his magic box, which apparently means his kingdom is in ruins and dead and stuff, Asgardians just waltz in and stomp over things, and his kid got stolen ages ago.
(Just googled Laufey's name because something didn't seem right in my memory. Laufey is supposed to be Loki's MOTHER. Arrrrrrgh!)

"We drank, we fought, he made his ancestors proud!" Thor's adorable grin when he delivers that line makes me so happy for some reason. I don't drink, but I wanna go out drinking with Thor. I would probably be out like a light in no time, but it would be FUN. Thor isn't an overly angsty superhero, he has fun. I like that. 

Does S.H.I.E.L.D. seriously think they can keep the public from finding out about superheroes and stuff? Doesn't the Hulk like, tear up cities in broad daylight? Doesn't this exist in the same universe as the FREAKING X-MEN??!?!?!?!?!? Why bother suppressing Jane's SCIENCE papers and stealing all of her equipment when there's people zipping around through the air all the time?

Lol, I like Heimdall. Why he's randomly black I have no idea, but I'm not gonna complain. 

Just once, I want superheroes walking around in a city when there's a comic con going on. 

*sporfles* I love how Thor's friends knock on the door and have the biggest grins ever when they see him. So cute!

"Thor … your father still lives."
Well, that was easy. 

Whoa, giant robot! 
The effects for this big "Blow Up the Town and Smash Things" fight range from pretty good to pretty bad. 
P.S. I am now seriously in love with Sif. She's pretty underplayed but I love her. She's badass but has a personality beyond "RAWR, I am the STRONG. FEMALE. CHARACTER. box ticked off!" And she wears sensible armor and ties her hair back. All the love for Sif. 

… huh. You know, I'm not sure I've seen this in a mainstream movie before. 
Thor walks up to the giant robot, pretty much powerless, no armor or weapons, and sincerely apologizes to Loki (who is listening in) for whatever Thor's done to wrong him (though Thor doesn't know, and neither do I to be honest), and then says the people in the town are innocent and Loki should spare their lives … but take Thor's. And then the robot backhands Thor. GEEZ.

And then Odin cries in his sleep and the Hammer returns to Thor and he's all better now, and badass and stuff. 

See, I like this. I like this a lot. Thor has to prove himself. He gives his life for all those people, he's willing to DIE to save them. He didn't have a sneaky plan or figure out that he had to do that to get the Hammer back, no, he was just willing to up and DIE to save people. And so, he gets the Hammer and his powers back. WOOT! *punches the air* This movie just got good!

Lol, I love how Thor demands Coulson return Jane's stolen equipment in exchange for Thor being allies with the government. YAY. That's a good man right there, Jane, he keeps his promises and remembers what's important to you. Keep him around. 

I love how at first it looks like Thor and Jane are gonna kiss, and then Thor kisses her hand. And then JANE kisses him. Like, songs him. *SQUEE* Loving this movie now.

Yay, Frigg taking up a sword and slicing a Jotun! Not that she gets an epic fight scene but still, she does that.

And then … what. What. What?! WHAT?!
Loki kills his father (his biological father, that is, not Odin) before he can kill Odin. So it looks like he saved Odin. And now he's going to start a war. On … his blood relatives. Then Thor comes in and confronts him about the robot in front of their mom. Loki tries to lie his way out and then blasts Thor out through a wall. For … some reason. 

Why. Why. Why. WHAT IS GOING ON?!??!?!?! SCREENPLAYS, MELON-FARMER, CAN YOU WRITE THEM?!?!?!? (Hint: the answer is no.)

Ah, so Loki is going to destroy all the Jotuns because … it'll prove to his dad he's King material. Even though he never wanted to be king. And he's a Jotun himself. Loki's got some serious self-hatred going on here. Isn't there a word for someone who's from two different cultures, or has parents of two different races, and tries to identify with just one and hate the other half? Something to do with colonialism, I think … 

Then Loki makes a rape threat. I think. Could just be a "I'll kill Jane" threat. But either way it's scary and makes Thor fight him. 

And I'm just confused as to what's going on with Loki. As a villain he doesn't make a whole lotta sense. (And secretly, I don't think he's actually that attractive either. Not the point, I know, but when I can't make sense of the character anymore I go to the looks department, and if that doesn't work out either … I just don't know.)

So Loki … just let himself fall into space. 

And the link to Midgard has been severed. That's really sad. The movie lets us know by giving us some nicely quiet scenes, music and little to no dialogue. 

And it isn't entirely resolved. Jane is looking for a way to get Thor back, with SCIENCE! I approve! 

And in the after credits scene we get Nick Fury. YAY! Utto, Loki's controlling Dr. Mentor Guy!

So … Thor was pretty hit or miss with me. Good actors mostly. Terrible script. Some very good scenes scattered around just enough to keep me watching, but poorly shot fight sequences and a villain who just didn't make any sense in the end. 

Something I did like was the setting on Midgard. New Mexico! Not NYC, a small town in New Mexico! The shots of the deserts were beautiful and delightfully underplayed. I liked that a lot. I wish more movies took place in non-mainstream movie locations like that. I know why they don't, for budget reasons and such, but it stood out to me as a positive thing. 

Next up … Iron Man 2, or Captain America, or possibly the Incredible Hulk. Considering they keep switching things up with the Hulk and even switched actors, maybe I can just skip that one?

Comments

[aunt-zelda.livejournal.com]

This of course is easier to get if you are into the comics, like me. But I do give you that the script was a little sloppy in those points, especially because they deleted several scenes that helped to get into Loki's character psyche (like you pointed out that would have helped)
Yeah, I was just ... lost. There were chunks missing and thus the character came off as really poorly written, in a poorly written story. Which is a shame, because Tom Hiddleston is a good actor and it could have been a fantastic movie, if only the script had been better.
I mean, the fanfic is doing a wonderful job of fleshing out Loki's character and bringing in stuff from the comics and filling in the gaps. I get that his motivations are supposed to be proving himself as a son worthy of Odin and the throne and all that jazz and being jealous of Thor. But ... that didn't happen in the movies. It was kinda like they waved their arms and went "blah blah blah! Explosions!" and thought we wouldn't care.

Also, I understand that you right now don't like him because he made Thor cry (admit it, that's the mayor problem you got with him right now, hahaha)
Well, that was the moment he lost any sympathy he'd gained from me. Outcast smart guy surrounded by bros? All my sympathy. Total dick who tells his brother their dad is dead and their mom wants him to stay away from home and he's not allowed back home in their universe EVER AGAIN ... when simply saying "Father thinks you should stay put for a while, I'm trying to convince him to un-banish you but it'll take some time" would have sufficed? Yeah, all that sympathy = GONE. There's being evil and entertaining and then there's just being plain sadistic for the lolz.

[yersi-fanel.livejournal.com]

Yes. It was a cruel thing to say. But! Loki was not at his best at the moment (probably at his current worse) he basically was in the middle of an identity crisis, trying to prove himself to himself, and wanting Thor to stay the hell away from Asgard and yes, his choice of words were hard and cruel, but bear in mind that he was the antagonist in this movie and the audience has to side with Thor. Best choice? Make the audience dislike Loki.

He being mean and cruel was the easier way to accomplish that. But then again, It helped Thor to try and settle in what would have be his mortal life and then understand something was pretty fucked up with his brother, to the point of the fight and then Thor making the sacrifice, proving himself worthy and whoohoo, he's back.

So, basically the movie did exactly what the writers wanted: your sympathy for Loki was gone, because, hey! He's the bad guy; you're not supposed to like him, right?

Loki is not a dislikable character, but he has to be for ¾ of the film, because he's the bad guy, so he has to be horrible to the good guy, so you will dislike him at least while the climax is in progress, otherwise it wouldn't make sense. This is not a book; this is an action movie, so resolutions have to be that way.

[aunt-zelda.livejournal.com]

but bear in mind that he was the antagonist in this movie and the audience has to side with Thor.
Woulda been nice for the movie to establish that like ... any time before that scene. All of the sudden BAM, Loki is the bad guy! ... ok? Thanks for giving us like three vague hints before this and no scene where Loki made the decision to start fucking with his brother's head now.

It helped Thor to try and settle in what would have be his mortal life and then understand something was pretty fucked up with his brother, to the point of the fight and then Thor making the sacrifice, proving himself worthy and whoohoo, he's back.
That part I liked a lot. It was one of the few very good scenes in the Thor movie.

So, basically the movie did exactly what the writers wanted: your sympathy for Loki was gone, because, hey! He's the bad guy; you're not supposed to like him, right?
Yeah, in the clumsiest, laziest script writing way ever. They had the time to give Loki a few more scenes and flesh out his character, explain his motivations a bit more. Have a legit character arc. But instead ... no. "You're supposed to hate Loki now all of the sudden ... um, look he just made Thor cry and tell him his dad is dea! What a dick! Grrrr, hate this man now!" Why not have him drown some kittens while he was at it, to make sure the audience knew he was the bad guy now? *eyeroll*
I'm just saying, there was such potential there and the movie squandered it.

Loki is not a dislikable character, but he has to be for ¾ of the film, because he's the bad guy, so he has to be horrible to the good guy, so you will dislike him at least while the climax is in progress, otherwise it wouldn't make sense.
It doesn't make sense as it stands! For 3/4s of the movie Loki isn't even THERE! (Ok, ok, that's a bit of an exaggeration ... more like 7/10s.) He starts out pretty decent, not wanting Thor to be king but would YOU want Thor-at-the-beginning-of-this-movie to be king? Then he has a major bomb dropped on him about his whole life being a lie. Then he ... is king of Asgard while his dad sleeps. And seems pretty sane. The next thing we see is him sadistically messing with Thor. Then he cooks up a convoluted plan to make himself look good to his father. Then he sends a robot to kill Thor. These scenes are all disjointed and not long enough at all. A few more scenes, and longer ones, could have fixed a lot of the issues with this movie, explaining why Loki is doing this, his arc. But ... nah.

This is not a book; this is an action movie, so resolutions have to be that way.
Yeah, this is a movie, I should know why the villain is doing the stuff he's doing, even if he's like the Joker and doing it because he's INSANE. I still don't understand Loki's motivation in this movie. In the Avengers it's established (quickly, but still established) that Loki is 1) bugfuck crazy and 2) resents his brother and wants to outshine him. In the Thor movie we got barely any time with the main antagonist.
Loki goes from trying to get his brother into trouble and being thought of as a good friend and brother by everyone else, to freaking out over a major revelation about who he is, to making himself king and being a responsible king, to fucking with his brother for some reason, to sending a robot to kill his brother. What?

[yersi-fanel.livejournal.com]

Yup, it would have been nice to develop Loki more as a villain, but I'm actually ok that they didn't, because Loki as often as villa he is in the comics, he also is an anti-hero sometimes. I really want to see that come into be in the cinematic universe!

Also, as much as this phrase sucks, sadly is the truth: this movie is about Thor, not Loki.

Damn...

Yeah, in the clumsiest, laziest script writing way ever.

Right, but you were not thinking about the scrip before, you were just thinking about Loki being mean and how much your sympathy for him was gone because he hurt Thor's feelings.

When I walked into this movie, I was expecting nothing, I came out actually very satisfied, they did way better than I expected. They didn't have Thor to be the stupid oaf that breaks all things every time because "that's how we do it on Asgard", he does it just once and then learns, they didn't recycle the "he's not from here" joke, I was so happy they did that!

[aunt-zelda.livejournal.com]

Yup, it would have been nice to develop Loki more as a villain, but I'm actually ok that they didn't, because Loki as often as villa he is in the comics, he also is an anti-hero sometimes. I really want to see that come into be in the cinematic universe!
I'd have liked to see that too, but giving him so few scenes and trying to go in so many different directions with his character ...

Also, as much as this phrase sucks, sadly is the truth: this movie is about Thor, not Loki.
Yeah, but you could say that about any movie with a hero and a villain and say "this movie is about the hero/protagonist" but that doesn't excuse neglecting to establish the villain for the hero to go up against. For example, Star Wars is about Luke, not Darth Vader, but we understand Darth Vader completely, his motivations, his personality, etc. We don't know everything about him, we don't get him staring at the camera telling us what's going on in his head, in fact he's not even in a lot of the scenes of the movies, but it's enough. It's effective.
The movie had time to give us a little more about Loki. Like three scenes at most, maybe fifteen extra minutes if that, would have made the movie a little over 2 hours. That would have improved things immensely with a good writer or two.

They didn't have Thor to be the stupid oaf that breaks all things every time because "that's how we do it on Asgard", he does it just once and then learns, they didn't recycle the "he's not from here" joke, I was so happy they did that!
I LOVED Thor in this movie! The movie itself had some issues but I LOVED Thor. He wasn't a stupid oaf, he was actually pretty smart and considerate. When he smashed that mug and Jane explained people don't do that around here, he apologized and said he wouldn't do that anymore. He was just a ... nice guy. A really nice guy, the kind of friend you want to have your back in a fight or an argument to back you up. He basically saved the movie for me. Him, and Jane and Darcy. The story they were in wasn't the best, but those three made me want to finish the movie because they were fun characters and written well.

[yersi-fanel.livejournal.com]

I'd have liked to see that too, but giving him so few scenes and trying to go in so many different directions with his character ...

I know! But I like what Joss did and I want to see the direction it takes from now. There are so many theories and posibilities, but his character is more grounded now and he made quiet an impact after Avengers, is scarily exiting to see what will come next.

[aunt-zelda.livejournal.com]

Yes, while in the Thor movie his characterization was poorly handled with the script, he was much better in the Avengers and I have high hopes for him in future movies. Like the Thor sequel with Christopher Eccleston. *SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEE*