I Didn't *Not* Like It....
Watched the first Thor movie last night. It was...not terrible? But certainly flawed. I'm unsure if that comes down to the direction or the script, but I suspect it was probably a combination of both. I love Kenneth Branagh in all his egocentric glory, but I don't believe I will ever understand why he was put in charge of this film. On the other hand, the writing, especial the Earth dialog, was just NOT GOOD. I felt embarrassed for Natalie Portman over some of the lines she had to say. Oh, and a wormhole that manifests as a tornado and leaves a crop circle? I'm going to be laughing my ass off at that for weeks...
Despite all of those criticisms, on the whole I think I did enjoy it. Trying to give emotional depth to a character who is notorious for being arrogant, superficial, and extraordinarily entitled (well, he is a god, after all), is a challenge, and I was pleased to see they made an effort, however poorly it was executed. Perhaps that's an unfair way of expressing what I'm trying to say....I guess to me it felt like they were trying to make two separate films, and where they joined together it was an imperfect fit. For me this boils down to the lack of chemistry between Thor and Pretty Scientist Lady. No convincing romantic tension there whatsoever. But then again, hey, the Asgard parts were cool, if a tad more Art Deco than I would have expected :p Seemed like they were trying to go for the art direction equivalent of a mash-up between Metropolis and a Maxfield Parrish painting.
I don't know. In the end this movie left me with a strong feeling of ambivalence. I am curious to see what they do with Thor in The Avengers and the sequel, but I couldn't care less whether he manages gets back together with his human girlfriend or not. I have a feeling I'm going to have to find out anyway...
Despite all of those criticisms, on the whole I think I did enjoy it. Trying to give emotional depth to a character who is notorious for being arrogant, superficial, and extraordinarily entitled (well, he is a god, after all), is a challenge, and I was pleased to see they made an effort, however poorly it was executed. Perhaps that's an unfair way of expressing what I'm trying to say....I guess to me it felt like they were trying to make two separate films, and where they joined together it was an imperfect fit. For me this boils down to the lack of chemistry between Thor and Pretty Scientist Lady. No convincing romantic tension there whatsoever. But then again, hey, the Asgard parts were cool, if a tad more Art Deco than I would have expected :p Seemed like they were trying to go for the art direction equivalent of a mash-up between Metropolis and a Maxfield Parrish painting.
I don't know. In the end this movie left me with a strong feeling of ambivalence. I am curious to see what they do with Thor in The Avengers and the sequel, but I couldn't care less whether he manages gets back together with his human girlfriend or not. I have a feeling I'm going to have to find out anyway...