Just like Iron Man did in 2008, Thor has surprised a lot of people and busted blocks to reign in the arrival of summer movie season (Fast Five, did open before it, but lacks a superhero, so it doesn’t count). Chris Hemsworth has got to be the talk of the town, with a successful opening, a rumored offer from the Snow White and the Huntsmen people, and just generally women swooning over his chiseled self for 120 minutes in cineplexes across the country.
The movie probably isn’t as “good” as Iron Man, but it’s leading star is easily as entertaining as Robert Downey Jr. One aspect that it’s inferior to Iron Man in, is the chemistry between the two stars that Downey Jr. and Paltrow had onscreen. It was so obvious when watching their scenes unfold that those two were friendly/comfortable with each other when the cameras weren’t rolling. Natalie Portman, who is the leading lady in Thor, doesn’t have that before mentioned chemistry with Hemsworth, but she’s an adept enough actress that audiences will certainly focus on her other qualities instead. This is hardly a major squabble to have with a $150 million blockbuster, but I’m trying to be a bit critical of a movie which I really loved, so bear with me.
Not being very familiar with the Thor comic books, the learning curve to understand where he comes from, what he can do, and why he’s doing it is more than adequately addressed by director, Kenneth Bragnagh, Stan Lee, and the rest of the film’s producers. But, I think the ultimate goal of familiarizing the audience with Thor and his abilities is to introduce another character of the Marvel universe and build anticipation for The Avengers Summer 2012 release. Well, this plan worked on me as Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk now have some serious competition in my book for “Most badass contemporary superhero”. I think Stan Lee and the rest of the Marvel execs hope Chris Evans, as Captain America, can add even more clutter to this later in the summer.
