So, Thor was awesome...
I went to see Thor on Friday and I absolutely loved it.
I really enjoyed the first Thor movie even though I didn't think I would. In all honesty I wasn't a real big Thor fan. Wil has quite a few of the comics and I read the ones he had. I can't tell you anything about them. I've just never understood the appeal of the character -- of course, I never cared for the comic book Iron Man either. Ones a Norse God and the other's a billionaire playboy -- nothing in either of those characters really captures my imagination.
I went to see Thor because Wil wanted to and because he's always been a fan. I was very surprised at how much I liked the movie. I still like the movie when I rewatch it.
One of the most surprising aspects was how much I liked the female characters. Jane and Darcy were (are) awesome. They were smart and strong and quirky and they didn't have any stupid stereotypical behaviors that are usually given to smart and strong female characters to make them more acceptable. It was awesome. They are equally awesome in this movie. Yay for that!
I think though, the biggest surprise of the movie is Loki. Forget not being a fan of Thor, I really never understood the appeal of Loki. Or of the trickster character, to tell the truth. Characters that manipulate and lie and hurt other characters for fun never have appealed to me. I suppose that has a lot to do with the fact that I don't identify with that type of character and I always identify with the victim of the trickster. More than that, what I've really never understood was how anyone, once they knew who Loki was, would ever fall for him. Ever. It's never made any sense to me.
Until Thor gave me Loki. Suddenly, I understood. And it's that magical combination of writing and acting. I've seen other portrayals of the Trickster character but none of them ever made me want them to be on the side of good as much as Loki does.
A lot of it has to do with Tom Hiddleston. As Myria says "When he smiles on screen, you can't help but smile back." And that's so true.
But it's more than that. Because no matter how awesome Hiddleston is (and you just have to watch his comic con appearance to see how awesome he is), if he were written as a straight out villain, it wouldn't work. There is always a conflict in Loki. There's always an impulse -- when taken by surprise and without thinking about it -- for him to do the right thing. Of course, right after he did the right thing, he'll probably chose to do something horrid that will undo what he just did, but it's that first impulse it what saves the character.
In the end you really want Loki to be a good guy. You want him to make the right decision, to do the right thing, to be trustworthy. You want to trust him, so you choose to trust him. But at the same time, you know that he's not trustworthy. You really don't know which way the character will go. I don't think, quite honestly, that he always knows which way he will go. Even without that conflict, though, you still want him to be a good guy. In Avengers, when he was out-and-out a villain, when he didn't have any conflict in what he wanted to do or what his goals were or what he'd be willing to do to get it -- even then, when Thor offered his hand and asked if Loki would return to him as a brother, even then you wanted Loki to say yes.
And the Thor/Loki brother relationship? Also awesome. They are completely believable as brothers. Which is another reason why you want Loki to be a good guy. But he isn't. And that, my friend is exactly what a trickster character should be. I finally get it. I see why you would believe Loki even when you know he's going to betray you. I understand.
I also have to share this from e-online: 18 Time Thor's Tom Hiddleston was Almost Too Cute to Handle. And see, Myr? They also think he's adorable when he smiles.
I really enjoyed the first Thor movie even though I didn't think I would. In all honesty I wasn't a real big Thor fan. Wil has quite a few of the comics and I read the ones he had. I can't tell you anything about them. I've just never understood the appeal of the character -- of course, I never cared for the comic book Iron Man either. Ones a Norse God and the other's a billionaire playboy -- nothing in either of those characters really captures my imagination.
I went to see Thor because Wil wanted to and because he's always been a fan. I was very surprised at how much I liked the movie. I still like the movie when I rewatch it.
One of the most surprising aspects was how much I liked the female characters. Jane and Darcy were (are) awesome. They were smart and strong and quirky and they didn't have any stupid stereotypical behaviors that are usually given to smart and strong female characters to make them more acceptable. It was awesome. They are equally awesome in this movie. Yay for that!
I think though, the biggest surprise of the movie is Loki. Forget not being a fan of Thor, I really never understood the appeal of Loki. Or of the trickster character, to tell the truth. Characters that manipulate and lie and hurt other characters for fun never have appealed to me. I suppose that has a lot to do with the fact that I don't identify with that type of character and I always identify with the victim of the trickster. More than that, what I've really never understood was how anyone, once they knew who Loki was, would ever fall for him. Ever. It's never made any sense to me.
Until Thor gave me Loki. Suddenly, I understood. And it's that magical combination of writing and acting. I've seen other portrayals of the Trickster character but none of them ever made me want them to be on the side of good as much as Loki does.
A lot of it has to do with Tom Hiddleston. As Myria says "When he smiles on screen, you can't help but smile back." And that's so true.
But it's more than that. Because no matter how awesome Hiddleston is (and you just have to watch his comic con appearance to see how awesome he is), if he were written as a straight out villain, it wouldn't work. There is always a conflict in Loki. There's always an impulse -- when taken by surprise and without thinking about it -- for him to do the right thing. Of course, right after he did the right thing, he'll probably chose to do something horrid that will undo what he just did, but it's that first impulse it what saves the character.
In the end you really want Loki to be a good guy. You want him to make the right decision, to do the right thing, to be trustworthy. You want to trust him, so you choose to trust him. But at the same time, you know that he's not trustworthy. You really don't know which way the character will go. I don't think, quite honestly, that he always knows which way he will go. Even without that conflict, though, you still want him to be a good guy. In Avengers, when he was out-and-out a villain, when he didn't have any conflict in what he wanted to do or what his goals were or what he'd be willing to do to get it -- even then, when Thor offered his hand and asked if Loki would return to him as a brother, even then you wanted Loki to say yes.
And the Thor/Loki brother relationship? Also awesome. They are completely believable as brothers. Which is another reason why you want Loki to be a good guy. But he isn't. And that, my friend is exactly what a trickster character should be. I finally get it. I see why you would believe Loki even when you know he's going to betray you. I understand.
I also have to share this from e-online: 18 Time Thor's Tom Hiddleston was Almost Too Cute to Handle. And see, Myr? They also think he's adorable when he smiles.