Mighty Thor!

[alias_sqbr]

Just saw Thor. I enjoyed it, though I've definitely seen better films. Some off the top of my head reactions:

Things I liked:

• The main three human characters were likable and interesting, as was Thor. I liked the inclusion of Stellan Skarsgard as a northern European boggling incredulously when Thor mentions random Norse mythology.
  
• The plot wasn't totally predictable, was a nice change from the usual superhero fare and had me pretty engaged.
  
• The combination of JMS's story and Kenneth Branagh directing made for some effective godly epicness in parts.
  
• There were TWO moderately significant female characters who could just as easily have been male (a research assistant and Thor's friend Sif) and at no point become anyone's love interest/mother etc.
  

Things I didn't like:

• I get the feeling actual Northern Europeans would find the portrayal of Norse mythology hilariously terrible.
  
• Loki had no sense of humour! None! He was good at tricking people but he didn't seem to be having a lot of fun doing it. Admittedly, my understanding of Loki's personality is based on possibly dodgy retellings, and this is based on the comics, but overall he could have been more interesting than he was.
  
• Thor, Odin and Loki were the only Asgardians with much of a personality, everyone else's plot and arc was very much All About Thor.
  
• The combination of JMS's story and Kenneth Branagh directing meant a lot of self important cheese. Also the sets looked silly.
  
• The ending wasn't as cliched as I was expecting, but felt rushed and confused, and didn't have the emotional weight they seemed to be going for.
  

Overall I think I really benefited from having a very shallow understanding of Norse mythology. All the talk about Bifrost was a bit surreal since the only other time I've really seen it mentioned was the scifi novel "Strength of Stones" about sentient cities, and I kept thinking of Stargate.

Comments

[leecetheartist]

Oh dear. I have a great fondness for Norse mythology.

Backs away from film.

[sami]

It's overall less mangled than the usual Marvelverse mythology pertaining to Thor, actually, but basically actual, accurate Norse mythology isn't particularly compatible with Marvelverse.

[aquaeri]

I'll assume it's the comic Norse mythology, not the Scandinavian Norse mythology, if I go watch. (Idris Elba looks awesome! Norse mythology could use some racial admixture)

(I don't have any "Scandinavian ancestry" icons - maybe I should fix that?)

[sami]

I found the people freaking out at Idris Elba's casting kind of hilarious, because if it had been based on actual concern for the mythology rather than racism, they would have pointed out that arguably Heimdall is the one Norse god you *can't* cast black, because he was called "the whitest of the Aesir".

But they didn't, so their opinions were patently invalid.

Having seen the movie, I can state with confidence that Idris Elba, as Heimdall, was *freaking awesome* to a degree that, at a couple of points, gave me happy shivers down my spine. Which is the only thing that actually matters, since this is an Avengers movie, not a nominally accurate film about the mythology of the Aesir.

(Were it supposed to be relatively accurate, I hasten to make completely clear that I would have no problem with casting a black guy as any of the other Aesir - just not Heimdall, because he was the whitest.)

[aquaeri]

It's my understanding that the word used is ambiguous, and Heimdall might not be the whitest, but the brightest (however one defines that in a god). The gold armour seems to fit :-).

[sami]

So do the eyes like molten copper. *swoon* And the... I don't even know how to describe it. Idris Elba's performance has this kind of dark radiance to it. It's like... all the others are superheroes. Heimdall is a god. Not a loving god, or even a merciful god, but a god. Heimdall watches, Heimdall sees, and his wrath is to be feared.

[aquaeri]

In other words, he was cast perfectly, regardless of skin colour.

[sami]

Precisely.

And clearly the number of available white actors who could turn in that kind of performance was precisely zero, or presumably they would have cast those dudes as some of the other Aesir. Which didn't happen. So they had one, and he was Idris Elba, and they made him Heimdall because Heimdall needs that kind of gravitas. So even if they'd wanted to cast him white, that would have been a terrible, terrible plan.

Hell, maybe they did. Maybe it was like, "Well, it's Norse mythology, and black people weren't exactly common in medieval Scandinavia, but we just don't have any white actors who are awesome enough, so... Elba it is."

[alias_sqbr]

Also: Thor should be a redhead! Asgard is not an alien planet! In general the film is so clearly not attempting to be an accurate depiction of the old stories that to pick on that one detail as the Thing That Ruins Everything is...suspect to say the least.

[alias_sqbr]

Yes, if you do that you may be ok, though not having read the comics I can make no guarantees to it following comics canon either :)

[celamity]

The one local review I've read expressed bemusement that Asgard was some weird planet and was confused by Loki and Thor's brotherly relationship (I don't think the reviewer quite realized that the comic book mythology is quite distinct from the actual one), but thought that Idris Elba was hot.

A trickster without humour? Bah.

[alias_sqbr]

The one local review I've read expressed bemusement that Asgard was some weird planet and was confused by Loki and Thor's brotherly relationship (I don't think the reviewer quite realized that the comic book mythology is quite distinct from the actual one), but thought that Idris Elba was hot.

Heh, well, that's the important thing isn't it? :D (Personally I think Idris Elba is lovely but as Heimdal his eyes were disconcertingly supernatural looking. Which I suppose was the point!)

A trickster without humour? Bah.

The weird thing is that at one point someone says "I know Loki is always doing tricks on people, but this seems a bit much", it really didn't ring true to me.

[sami]

Actually, the Norse mythology was really quite good - closer to the original myths than the Marvelverse canon. (I know I'm not actually a Northern European, but on the other hand, I do know a fair amount about Norse mythology.) The implication that Odin lost his eye fighting in Jotunheim was a bit *twitch*, and the functioning of Bifrost was very :comics:ed.

Loki was fine with me except for the whole "adopted by Odin" thing, which... no, but Loki isn't really to be expected to be "mischievous" in the way you're talking. People sometimes draw the wrong conclusion about trickster gods - in many cases, Loki's in particular, they're less mischievous and more malicious.

Loki, after all, is currently bound beneath the earth (with the entrails of his own son), getting venom dripped on him by a serpent, and is slated to play a key role in bringing about Ragnarok, in the course of which he and Heimdall will slay each other. He's also on record as having been known to murder servants at a banquet on the grounds that they were being praised for excellent service. Loki was a guest, not even a rival to the servants.

He wasn't raised as Odin's son, but they were once very close; they mixed their blood together, and Odin declared he would not drink ale unless it was brought to both of them.

This could be said to be poor judgement on the part of the All-Father, since Loki is a pretty comprehensively unpleasant person.

[alias_sqbr]

Oh, I didn't necessarily expect him to be cheerful about it, I just expected at least a little smile to himself every now and then or something. I guess I just didn't feel like I got a handle on his character, it was like he did such a good job of coming across as blandly sensible and joyless that he almost tricked the audience, and yet he was described by the other gods (who aren't shown as being super quick on the uptake) as being "always tricking people".

[sami]

Well - not to suggest that there wasn't probably a flaw in the writing, or anything - that kind of fits in too. Mythologically speaking, Loki ended up being accused by the other gods of doing a lot of things he didn't even do, because there'd been enough stuff he did do that they just assumed things were his fault.

[leecetheartist]

Hmm. Interesting, thank you everyone for your comments. I might give it a look sometime. After all, I did see the remake of Clash of the Titans. Hmm. Not that that was a *good* thing, necessarily.

But now I'm a little more interested.

[alias_sqbr]

Yes, I think if you went in not expecting accuracy you might be able to enjoy it. It's certainly not a bad film for what it is, though it does have it's flaws.

[(Anonymous)]

+++I get the feeling actual Northern Europeans would find the portrayal of Norse mythology hilariously terrible.+++

Heh.

http://satwcomic.com/nordic-halloween

-Matthew

[alias_sqbr]

Heehee.

(But: WHICH Matthew? I know many!)

[(Anonymous)]

Matthew Farrer. >tips hat< I'm not sure that we've actually met, but we know some of the same people online (I generally see your posts on Stu or Alisa's LJ flists).

[alias_sqbr]

Ah, ok! Hello, nice to meet you :) (I have dreamwidth invites if you'd like, though your'e welcome to stay anon if you'd prefer)