MOVIE NEWS: Thor

Don’t look now, blog readers. It may say May 6 on your calendars, but according to Hollywood it is the start of summer movie season! Rejoice! There are tons of movies on tap for kids and families over the next few months, including a pretty huge number of comic book movies.

Speaking of which, I posted a poll on the blog to find out which of the four big superhero flicks you’re most looking forward to. The dominant answer so far: none of the above! (Yikes!) Coming in second in the poll, however, is a movie I saw earlier this week, Thor, and I’m here to share some thoughts about it.

Thor is the son of Odin, the most powerful god in Norse mythology. He has a brave heart, super strength, an indestructable hammer that shoots back to him like a boomerang after he throws it, and a huge ego. He’s so egotistical, in fact, that Odin strips him of his powers and banishes him to Earth to learn a lesson or two in humility.

But how will the inhabitants of Earth take to Thor? And will Thor’s homeland, Asgard, be able to survive without him? You’ll have to see this movie to find out!

Here are a few observations about the film:

1) It’s big. Big story, big heroes, big villains, big action, big fight scenes, big explosions, big sound effects… and so on. Just big all around. That last point in the list was particularly noticeable. If you like a loud, immersive movie, this one’s for you.

2) It’s pretty funny. This movie could’ve been painfully serious — I mean, Thor is a serious warrior stuck in serious circumstances. But the actor who plays him, Chris Helmsworth, does a good job of poking a little fun at himself and his straight-faced nature. For instance, in one scene, he stomps into a pet store and demands a horse without a trace of self-consciousness. It’s hilarious!

3) It doesn’t need to be seen in 3-D. I’ve said this in the past. However, this movie more than any other does not need to be seen in 3-D. One of the major reasons for this is it wasn’t filmed with a 3-D camera — the filmmakers added 3-D effects after the movie was already made, which doesn’t provide the same results.

Overall, I thought Thor was a fun summer movie with a lot of good action and some humour as well. As I said above, though, it’s got a lot of fight scenes on par with the Lord of the Rings movies or Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I. If that type of fantasy violence isn’t your thing, neither is this movie.

What do you think, blog readers? Will you see this movie? Are you tired of comic book movies in general? Let me know in the comments below!

Craig, owlblog@owlkids.com