Spoiler alert: I usually just include a brief clip or two in my movie reviews so as not to give too much away, but the second part of this video is somewhat near the end so I figured it deserved an official spoiler alert. It's not the climax of the film, though, just a major hurdle to be overcome. As usual, this is designed to be played in full-screen mode, so click the little gadget on the player's tool bar to expand it, ESC to bring it back down.
The Viking god Thor was a pretty awesome dude, right? I mean, he was really strong and was the god of thunder and had that really cool hammer and-
Wait a sec.
A hammer? You mean, like, if a bunch of nails stage a rebellion, Thor's the guy to call?
A hammer? I warned him, "You know, you could put an eye out with that thing!" So, that's who you're up against? Someone who can give you a really nasty conk on the ol' noggin?
A hammer?
So there I was watching Thor the other night and wow, what a great movie. I confess I usually don't like 'superhero' movies. I thought Batman 6 stunk up the joint, every Superman has been absolutely terrible (except every scene with the irrepressible Gene Hackman, of course), I never bothered watching the other Spiderman movies after that first travesty, and the list goes on. Green Lantern and Captain America are both in my Netflix queue, but I'm not hopeful.
Side question: If you were producing the first major 'Superman' movie of the modern era, wouldn't you want the plot to be a little more plausible than "If you reverse the rotation of the Earth, time goes backwards"?
Anyway, not only was Thor terrific, but it also answered our original question:
A hammer?
Yes, Virginia, a hammer. Here are three ways in which he uses the empowered hammer Mjölnir, utilizing elements such as lightning, raw energy, and the awesome cyclonic power of the vortex.
Elements you would expect from the God of Thunder.
Like the last line in the clip, there are a handful of cute comedic moments blended in. When they first come across the handsome, unconscious Thor, one of the girls says, "Whoa, does he need CPR? Because I totally know CPR."
A few more notes are below the fold.
And by the way, happy Thor's Day, everyone.
Thor is played by Chris Hemsworth, who had a brief role as Kirk's father at the beginning of the Star Trek prequel a few years ago. I thought he was wonderfully charismatic and immediately decided I want to be just like Thor when I grow up.
Natalie Portman plays the main (Earth) lead, and I have to admit I was really wrong about something. When I saw Christina Ricci as a young girl in Casper and the two Addams Family movies, I thought she was going to grow into a true exotic beauty. She didn't. When I saw Natalie Portman around the same age in The Professional and Heat, I thought she was going to grow into a rather plain lady, but as you saw in the above clip, she's blossomed into a wonderful looking woman.
The supporting cast was also superb. Idris Elba, who plays the guardian of the portal, was friggin' awesome, and as cute as Portman is, Jaimie Alexander (seen in the above clip with the beaming smile and below) is as hot as Catherine Zeta-Jones was at her peak.
In a dramatic break from Hollywood tradition, there's a secret government agency involved who confiscates the scientists' equipment — and they're actually not made out to be the usual baby-killing CIA-type bad guys. The head honcho is actually quite likeable and even gives Thor a chance to redeem Mjölnir when a real bad guy would have taken him down.
The great Anthony Hopkins plays Odin, Rene Russo plays his wife, and if these two old pros signed on, that should say something. If the guy who drags Portman out of danger looked slightly familiar, that's Stellan Skarsgard who played Bootstrap Bill in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies.
Doc gives this one 8 up twinkles, or '4 stars' by the old rating system. Highly recommended.
Newer ones get added to the bottom. The Deafening Silence — My favorite 'airline disaster' episode Men & Women of Film — A Hollywood collage Train Story with a Twist(er) — Kids! RC Madness — Three R/C airplane vids Happy Guy Fawkes D
Tracked: May 06, 09:20