Several years ago, one of my RIT students gave me Mjolnir--Thor's hammer. He was an artist and the copy was very good. This student was doing a presentation on Joseph Campbell's hero cycle in relation to the Marvel-marvel, Thor. You see, Thor is one of the few "superhero" demi-gods who finds himself humbled here on Earth as the disabled human--Dr. Donald Blake--that is, until Mjolnir is in Blake's ready hands.
Most superheroes are super-strong, super-fast, super at everything--outside of Donald Blake aka Thor, Daredevil, and Professor X, there aren't many disabled superheroes. While that may seem strange to non-handicapped people--a disabled superhero--I say this: How is it "super" or "heroic" to go off and fight crime and swing from rooftops when all you have to fight from within is your own fear? If you have a healthy body, there's nothing "super" or "heroic" about anyone who say, runs a marathon or climbs a mountain. Any healthy body can take on such challenges with the right training. Do you want to know what is heroic? Walking a 5K for charity with a walker on a prosthetic brace, even when the prosthetic is digging into your skin, causing you to bleed--for the entire 3.1 miles. And though Thor is a Norse god and the son of Odin--the mightiest of all the gods in Asgard--a man like Dr. Donald Blake is one of the few humans strong enough to host Thor. That's right--a disabled person can be superheroically-strong. Do you know how strong a person has to be to shoulder the burden of disability? And the courage! Too bad most people don't see the disabled that way.
Turns out, neither did Kevin Feige at Marvel.
That missing piece to the original Thor storyline felt sad to me. Of course, because most of the world isn't disabled and barely thinks of the condition as relative, no one else cared.
Kiwi-born Aussie-actor Chris Hemsworth is truly perfect in his role; I'm so glad Branaugh agreed to have Hemsworth back for that second reading! He is amazingly god-like in his physicality--much of which is due to good, old fashioned surfing. In my UNSW days, Hemsworth could have easily been one of the many surfers I'd hear pounding down the pavement toward Bondi in the wee-hours of the morning just before the kookaburras began causing their racket. Some mornings, I'd get up early and sit at the Zucchini Blossom, drink an espresso, and watch the wet-suited wild men drive like a pod of mad whales to the beckoning shore. Alas, my view is not nearly as good these days....
Hemsworth and Natalie Portman (Dr. Jane Foster) didn't have much chemistry. I'm not quite sure why--but it seemed forced, artificial. Of course, it was...but it's not supposed to feel like that to the audience. Portman is not a terribly believable scientist either. Having been in academia for more than 15 years, I'm sorry to say we're not a handsome group. We tend not to be gorgeous, hot, Israeli-American actresses...even if a few of us attended the Ivy-leagues. But, it is a movie. We are supposed to suspend our disbelief. Usually, with a movie like Thor, that disbelief comes in with the idea of cosmic gods fighting somewhere in outerspace....
Londoner Idris Elba plays Heimdall and a GREAT Heimdall at that! Loved his take on the sentry to Asgard. All that silly business about someone who isn't pasty playing the part is pure poppycock. Keep it coming, Idris!!! I'm a big fan of your work and look forward to 2012's Alien prequal, Prometheus.
Sir Anthony Hopkins, the Welshman who kept us all glued to our seats as Thomas Harris's psychotic sociopath, Hannibal Lecter, is a good Odin; his performance reminded me of a seasoned Richard the Lion Heart circa 1968....
Though Kenneth Branaugh is AWESOME--with all the due gravitas one might apply to the word--the locations were rather limited. His directorial strength was apparent in his steady gaze of the human condition--which all superhero storylines--whether about gods or monsters--really represent.
My son and I saw the film on Mother's Day. We've been reading Thor for longer than I care to admit. It's difficult not to allow the thrill of seeing one of your favorite comic books come to life overwhelm one's critical sensabilities. That said, the film was very entertaining--not too heavy--yet with a definite side of beef. Even the staunchest vegetarians will enjoy biting into this dishy adaptation of the Norse god who could....
THOR gets a heart-y 8.5/10 on the Housel-scale. I would agree with the Entertainment Weekly reviewer's grade of A-, but was never an easy grader.
Looking forward to seeing more of Hemsworth in The Avengers and hope Branaugh dons his director's cap again for Thor II. Until next time, that's a wrap!
Most superheroes are super-strong, super-fast, super at everything--outside of Donald Blake aka Thor, Daredevil, and Professor X, there aren't many disabled superheroes. While that may seem strange to non-handicapped people--a disabled superhero--I say this: How is it "super" or "heroic" to go off and fight crime and swing from rooftops when all you have to fight from within is your own fear? If you have a healthy body, there's nothing "super" or "heroic" about anyone who say, runs a marathon or climbs a mountain. Any healthy body can take on such challenges with the right training. Do you want to know what is heroic? Walking a 5K for charity with a walker on a prosthetic brace, even when the prosthetic is digging into your skin, causing you to bleed--for the entire 3.1 miles. And though Thor is a Norse god and the son of Odin--the mightiest of all the gods in Asgard--a man like Dr. Donald Blake is one of the few humans strong enough to host Thor. That's right--a disabled person can be superheroically-strong. Do you know how strong a person has to be to shoulder the burden of disability? And the courage! Too bad most people don't see the disabled that way.
Turns out, neither did Kevin Feige at Marvel.
That missing piece to the original Thor storyline felt sad to me. Of course, because most of the world isn't disabled and barely thinks of the condition as relative, no one else cared.
Kiwi-born Aussie-actor Chris Hemsworth is truly perfect in his role; I'm so glad Branaugh agreed to have Hemsworth back for that second reading! He is amazingly god-like in his physicality--much of which is due to good, old fashioned surfing. In my UNSW days, Hemsworth could have easily been one of the many surfers I'd hear pounding down the pavement toward Bondi in the wee-hours of the morning just before the kookaburras began causing their racket. Some mornings, I'd get up early and sit at the Zucchini Blossom, drink an espresso, and watch the wet-suited wild men drive like a pod of mad whales to the beckoning shore. Alas, my view is not nearly as good these days....
Hemsworth and Natalie Portman (Dr. Jane Foster) didn't have much chemistry. I'm not quite sure why--but it seemed forced, artificial. Of course, it was...but it's not supposed to feel like that to the audience. Portman is not a terribly believable scientist either. Having been in academia for more than 15 years, I'm sorry to say we're not a handsome group. We tend not to be gorgeous, hot, Israeli-American actresses...even if a few of us attended the Ivy-leagues. But, it is a movie. We are supposed to suspend our disbelief. Usually, with a movie like Thor, that disbelief comes in with the idea of cosmic gods fighting somewhere in outerspace....
Londoner Idris Elba plays Heimdall and a GREAT Heimdall at that! Loved his take on the sentry to Asgard. All that silly business about someone who isn't pasty playing the part is pure poppycock. Keep it coming, Idris!!! I'm a big fan of your work and look forward to 2012's Alien prequal, Prometheus.
Sir Anthony Hopkins, the Welshman who kept us all glued to our seats as Thomas Harris's psychotic sociopath, Hannibal Lecter, is a good Odin; his performance reminded me of a seasoned Richard the Lion Heart circa 1968....
Though Kenneth Branaugh is AWESOME--with all the due gravitas one might apply to the word--the locations were rather limited. His directorial strength was apparent in his steady gaze of the human condition--which all superhero storylines--whether about gods or monsters--really represent.
My son and I saw the film on Mother's Day. We've been reading Thor for longer than I care to admit. It's difficult not to allow the thrill of seeing one of your favorite comic books come to life overwhelm one's critical sensabilities. That said, the film was very entertaining--not too heavy--yet with a definite side of beef. Even the staunchest vegetarians will enjoy biting into this dishy adaptation of the Norse god who could....
THOR gets a heart-y 8.5/10 on the Housel-scale. I would agree with the Entertainment Weekly reviewer's grade of A-, but was never an easy grader.
Looking forward to seeing more of Hemsworth in The Avengers and hope Branaugh dons his director's cap again for Thor II. Until next time, that's a wrap!
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