Oh May Movie, we love you

[trinityvixen]

Thor was better, by far, than I could have imagined. I was completely taken aback at how it managed to balance being so funny with being so completely serious, and captivatingly so. I hope Kenneth Branaugh is proud of himself. He did actually manage to meld an almost assuredly mindless action film with something possessing more gravitas in order to generate a popcorn flick that still made you feel ways about stuff.

A lot of credit must be given to the leads, Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston. "What is my motivation?" may be a cliche, but cliches are cliches for a reason, and it seems like both men took the time to really probe at the corners of their characters. This may have been especially hard to do for Thor, who starts off as something akin to a high school football hero making the most of his big fish, small pond status (right before being slapped with the reality of the real world that doesn't give a shit that he can throw a ball however many feet). There's almost no "there" there, and while that's sort of the point--Thor has a lot of growing up to do--Hemsworth still managed to find shades of uncertainty, even self-doubt in his character. In particular, he managed to convey a lot of shame, embarrassment, and stubborn anger at feeling ashamed all at once in the scene in Asgard where Odin banishes him. You can see how much it hurts him to be dressed down by his father, how much he is still sure he's done the right thing and is being unfairly punished, and how scared he is that he has managed to cross a line he didn't know existed. It's a great scene, for all the players involved. One criticism I've heard is that Thor's maturity comes too fast. Indeed, it may--especially as regards the obligatory romantic subplot--but there's very little unnatural to it because you can pick up the threads that were woven, quite deftly and subtly, earlier in the movie. You have to be paying attention. For all that I admit to drooling over the man's body (oh how I drooled), I found myself most excited by his eyes. Hemsworth does a lot of emoting through significant gazes, and they are often just as sexy as the rest of him. (Oh so sexy. Holy God.)

Tom Hiddleston has a much richer part as Loki, and, as the antagonist, he should, really. Loki is a difficult character because, unlike some trickster archetypes, he doesn't really stand a chance of being misunderstood in a brainless bit of fiction. Loki is always the one you're going to suspect, and you'd be right to because he's probably doing something very naughty. Which is funny because most of what would have been Loki's mischievous ways starts off being only the hearsay of other characters. He's accused of having a "silver tongue" even though the worst you could say of him for most of the movie is that he has a politician's gift for extraditing himself--and others--from situations that might reflect poorly on him. For the most part, too, Hiddleston plays Loki as a straight-shooter with a sense of playfulness. An occasionally dangerous sense of playfulness, but not an unsympathetic one. He may even have been right to pull the prank he does at the beginning, seeing as Odin's difficulty pronouncing Thor his heir suggests that Odin, too, has some serious reservations about the fitness of his son to be king.

Loki is incredibly savvy, very observant, and very atypical in his antagonism. He is not malicious, not needlessly so, but he knows where to stick which pokers to stir the pot the best effect. All of the credit can be given to Hiddleston for that, as far as I'm concerned. Looking at trivia about the film on the IMDB, I read that Hiddleston put himself on a very strict diet so that he would physically have a very hungry, sharpish aspect. And, now I think of it, he absolutely did. So you have this aura of starving, ravenous ambition at the edges of a performance where Hiddleston is otherwise very open--his face seems completely honest (the better to fool you with, my dear). You can believe his every emotion to be sincere even as his actions scream of duplicity. It's really a nuanced bit of character writing enhanced by a phenomenally minimalist performance.

That there is even this much to say about performances is a testament to the effort to make something more of Thor than just about anyone could have expected. There's more X-Men 2 to this than there is, say, Iron Man, despite my liking both. Iron Man is a tad skimpy on the thoughtfulness at times in favor of action and humor. I think Thor manages to combine that with the consideration of causes and effects, especially as regards statecraft, and it comes out the better for it. In the end, will I want to rewatch Iron Man more often? Oh, probably, but that doesn't take away the fact that Thor achieved something here. Captain America, the bar has been raised.

(Also: ZOMG CHRIS HEMSWORTH IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HOT. I cannot overstate how entirely distracting that man is. All weekend, if I would let my mind drift it drifted to this. And I really like what's going on around them hips in this shot. Goddamn, boy. I maintain that if you are female and claim to be heterosexual and you don't think he's hot, you are lying. All the ladies were aflutter after the MAY MOVIE, and with good reason. Personally, much as I want to lick that rise of muscle just over his pants in that one shot, I was as much in love with the bee-ee-ee-youuu-tiful eyes he has. Because they are very pretty. Very, very, verily.)

Comments

[lnbw.livejournal.com]

Huh. You've just about convinced me. (Though I still think Chris Hemsworth was hotter when he had short hair.)

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I mean, your mileage may vary. I've read a lot of reviews (after the movie) that put a slight dent in my enthusiasm, but walking out of the movie, I was as pleased as I had been with Iron Man when that came out. (And much more so than I was with Iron Man 2 which I was straining to say I liked, unequivocally, even right after the movie ended.)

I think there's a lot to be found here, if you're willing. There are some people who have superhero movie fatigue, though, and they're straining to care about yet another hero's origin story. I understand that completely (witness my ambivalence-slash-fear of what is being done to Green Lantern), and I admit that I am a total sucker for an origin movie. (Although two of my favorites--X-Men 2 and Spider-Man 2--weren't origin stories.) I never get over that initial wonder at and the discovery of a hero coming into his (sigh, it's always his) abilities. There's such joy in it. Even in Thor in which Thor has had his abilities long before the movie begins and is only tasked with reclaiming them, it's a journey of self-discovery that I particularly enjoy.

So, yeah, I may be biased. I didn't think I'd like Thor, though, and I didn't even half want to like it. I was sure it was going to be a train wreck--Kenneth Branaugh and Marvel? What is this Frankenstein creation? And I wanted to enjoy it as such, but the early reviews suggested otherwise. So maybe I was more disposed to like it despite my determination to get cheese out of it prior to this past week. Still, I think it's got something worth at least a matinee watch.

[gryphonrose.livejournal.com]

I can't comment on the last part of your post except to say that there are times when I can say "okay, I can see why the ladies like him" and this was one of them. :) But I agree with all the rest--a MUCH better film than anticipated, and a fun May Movie outing, as usual.

[arcane-the-sage.livejournal.com]

I had a different criticism in mind. Just as Thor's maturity seems to come too fast, Loki's unraveling also was a bit too quick for a true Loki (more myth than comic). Granted a real Loki type plot would have need the film to be 8 hours long, but I felt that Loki lost it too quickly. He was always known for playing the long game, and a lot of what happens during the time Thor is "growing up" seem to be rushed. But then I also saw elements from the "Loki and Thor" graphic novel being worked into the movie as well (well written graphic novel, but hated what they did with Loki).

[ivy03.livejournal.com]

He may even have been right to pull the prank he does at the beginning
You mean the one that got two guards killed?

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I cannot ask for more than that we are entertained. And we were. Some of us more so than others. My friend's husband was put out that there was no eye-candy for the dudes (ahem? Natalie Portman? I'd do her!), and then she got to elbow him, hard, on their walk home because every goddamned advert in the city caters to the male gaze. It was nice to be catered to for once!

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

A lot of the ending felt a bit rushed, I grant you. Some of the logical/emotional leaps that the characters make seem done for the sake of not dragging the movie out any longer. But the set up and the progression is, up until the last half hour, extremely well done.

I also must point out that your particular fascination with a trickster god is sounding very fanboy-defensive, which? Is totally fine. I get very fangirl-defensive about stuff that, even when it is objectively done well, doesn't cater to what I know of the character, or what I like about it. You have a special interest in Loki and are disappointed in not getting what you claim is the "real Loki type plot." That's natural. But you're exceptional in this case as most everybody else likes what they got just fine. (And may have been surprised to get even as much nuance as they got.)

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

It's funny: the second I posted this, I re-read that bit and thought about the whole "prank" he claimed it was, and I remembered how the guards were murdered. I almost retracted the statement. But then I considered what was supposed to be at the heart of the movie--the idea that being a leader means making compromises that you're not always happy with if it ensures the minimal amount of suffering and the maximal amount of peace.

Loki's calculations, with that stunt, are not entirely outside of this maxim. For the cost of two guards, he managed to see that his brother was not made king. At the time, this could not have been argued to be anything but a very poor decision on Odin's part (which, again, I think Odin himself recognized, hence his hesitation). Thor was not ready, and Thor not ready to really lead is a greater danger to even more lives. For the price of two guards, Loki could easily have saved billions. It seems very callous and petty--killing two men in cold blood to shame your brother--but I think Hiddleston and the script played it out that you can believe Loki was as much seriously worried about an Asgard under Thor's rule as he was derailed by jealousy.

[gryphonrose.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't say no eye-candy--in addition to Portman you've got Jaimie Alexander and Kat Dennings. Yes, there was more eye-candy for women in this one, but I'm fine with that--it makes sense, given the movie, and it's not like we didn't have plenty of explosions and action to keep us men entertained. :)

[gryphonrose.livejournal.com]

I agree--there are definitely points in the movie where I genuinely believe that Loki cares for Thor, and for Asgard, and wants what's best for everyone as well as what he wants for himself. Which comes across far more in the myths than in the comics, so Branaugh did a nice job bringing that in. This is the movie to wave at Ang Lee and say "see? Just because you aren't a comics geek doesn't mean you can't make a good movie that comic geeks will enjoy!"

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I liked that a lot. There's enough plausible denial (potentially self-denial) to Loki's actions that you almost believe he thought he was doing the right thing. In a different movie, he'd be the tarnished white knight who made the best of a series of bad decisions and ends up fucked but who can't entirely throw off. In this kind of movie, he ends up the villain. I thought it was really interesting, though, that neither Odin nor Thor really hated him for what he did. They both still love him enough to want to save him from his own mistakes, to correct them as Odin forced Thor to do. I find the inability to shake off someone you legitimately love just because he did a bad thing very appealing and true-to-life.

Kenneth Branaugh did a director's version of hot girls pandering to nerds (http://filmdrunk.uproxx.com/2011/05/mash-upsupercut-hot-women-pandering-to-nerds) here or there, but I think you're more or less right that he's not a comics dude. So SUCK IT, Ang Lee. Man, I'm gonna go buy The Incredible Hulk RIGHT NOW just to make Ang Lee feel the burn that much harder.

[bigscary.livejournal.com]

I went expecting it to be abominable, and was shocked by how good it was. It doesn't do the things for ms that it seems to do for you vis a vis eyecandy, but the Loki/Everyone dynamic really really works. Remember, no one ever thinks they're evil.

[neo-leviathan.livejournal.com]

Thor was.. interesting. They certainly did some fun things, though damn I wish I knew who the big-arse guy who went toe to toe with Thor at the SHIELD base was ><

The main bit that bugged me (apart from the butchering of Norse Mythology) was Loki's final plan & Thor's reaction.
Thor: "WTF are you doing Loki?"
Loki: "I'm going to destroy the Frost Giant race! And planet!"
Thor: "You cannot murde.. hang on. Frost Giants? The race that prophesy says will destroy Asgard at Ragnarok?"
Loki: "Yes!"
Thor: "And you're sure that blowing up the planet won't cause a backlash through the Bifrost and destroy us?"
Loki: "Of course I am! I'm not suicidal"
Thor: ".. ok, and you're sure that destroying the planet won't like, break the World Tree or anything"
Loki: "Don't be an idiot! The distances involved are vast beyond what your tiny brain can comprehend! The other worlds will be fine"
Thor: "You know Loki.."
Loki: "DON'T TRY TO STOP ME THOR!"
Thor: "Stop you? Pfft, go nuts brother. You like roast mutton and swiss on your sandwiches right? I'll have someone bring us some grub"
Loki: "... you're not going to stop me?"
Thor: "From destroying the bastards who I wanted to kill only a few weeks ago? The ones destined to destroy the world tree? Fuck that. We're still going to Have Words about you nearly killing Dad though"
Loki: "... fair enough. Give me ten minutes. And bring me that sandwich"

FAR more likely an outcome than an arbitrary "I must stop you from doing this thing that you want to do that I also think should be done but you're evil so I can't let you do"

[arcane-the-sage.livejournal.com]

Trickster gods, plural ~_^

90% of the time Marvel shortchanges Loki, making him out to be a typical super-villain. In the myths he's so much more. So when the first half hour of the movie comes across more like Loki of myth than the Loki of Marvel I let my hopes build up. Then they came crashing back down when the character in the movie started acting more like a gamer boy who's fireball just got dispelled. True one of my all time favorite Loki related plots from legend unfolded over the course of human generations, but I was hoping for at least references to sub-plots building into something big. Ok, that or a shot of Fenris ^_^'

[arcane-the-sage.livejournal.com]

*mostly agrees*

I would only correct you on one thing.... It would be a joint of mutton and a horn of mead ~_^

[habiliments.livejournal.com]

Totally not lying when I say I cannot even begin to figure out how that dude is hot. He's squinty-eyed and overly buff and looks like a logger. Not that there's anything wrong with loggers. I just can't see it at ALL. But then I like 'em slim and dark-haired, so...

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

I think that's why it's got a stronger villain character--Loki is definitely bad, but he doesn't see it. It helps when your villain isn't twirling his mustache.

[trinityvixen.livejournal.com]

Then I must conclude that you are lying. Because DAMN he be fine. I agree with you that he might even be TOO big, but he's also just beautiful in addition to being toned like a god.