The Avengers Are Coming: Part Three

THOR (2011)

Who in the world ever thought Kenneth Branagh, an actor/filmmaker best known for adapting Shakespeare, would direct a movie about a superhero from the pages of a Marvel comic? Anyone who says they predicted such a thing simply has to be lying, but here we are. Early on the picture feels particularly un-Branagh-like, with an excess of computer animation; the entire frame seems to be filled with CGI for most of the first twenty minutes. Of course, like Avatar (2009), they had to create an entirely different world from our own. Asgard is a land of rainbow bridges and golden spires, seemingly surrounded by a vast ocean and then...outer space. The “rules” of this place are never fully understood, it doesn't quite feel fleshed out or real, certainly not compared to Avatar's Pandora, but then again we aren't in Asgard much and most of the action is confined to the palace when we are.

We begin with a variation on Norse mythology, related in a story by Odin (Anthony Hopkins), the king of Asgard. The tale involves evil beings called Frost Giants from one of the nine realms known as Jotunheim, who once tried to conquer Earth. Odin's forces drove the Frost Giants back to Jotunheim and stole a glowing blue casket that served as their power source. Why do we need to know all this? Because on the day that Odin's eldest son, Thor (Chris Hemsworth), is to become king, the Frost Giants infiltrate the palace in Asgard to retrieve the casket. A huge “Destroyer” robot laser beams them all into oblivion, protecting the treasure room.

Thor wants to take an army to Jotunheim seeking revenge, but Odin is still king, and he disagrees. Recklessly, Thor and a small group of allies, including his brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), go to Jotunheim on their own and engage in a big, over-the-top cartoon battle with the Frost Giants. The movie came very close to losing me at this point, I was simply not engaged or impressed by these silly antics. Odin comes to the rescue, however, and he's so upset that he strips Thor of his power (the hammer), and exiles him to Earth. Like a nice father, he tosses the hammer down to Earth too, just in case someone down there is more worthy of Thor's power, perhaps eventually Thor himself.

It's a good thing Thor landed in New Mexico because they happen to speak in Thor's own ancient Asgardian tongue, a language also known as English. The Frost Giants are fluent, as well. It's an easy Marvel universe to live in, indeed. If Thor had landed in Japan, I guess the movie would have just ended on a hopeless note? Anyway, in New Mexico he meets Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), an astrophysicist, and her teacher, Dr. Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard). This is where the movie hits its stride and reveals its sense of humor. The comedy is based around the fish out of water situation, Thor's goofy comments that sounded just fine back in Asgard, and the fact that he still thinks he is a powerhouse when he's not. Of the five Marvel films leading up to The Avengers, I dare say only the original Iron Man was this lighthearted and funny.

Thor realizes he will need his hammer back, but its landing place has been surrounded by S.H.I.E.L.D. No one can remove it from where it rests, much like Excalibur. Thor successfully fights his way in, but even he fails to remove the hammer. In this scene, we are introduced to Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) and his crazy bow and arrow, both in the service of S.H.I.E.L.D. He will play a larger role in The Avengers, but for the moment Thor gets interrogated by Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg, his third time in Coulson's shoes). Loki visits his brother when Coulson is out of the room, and we learn shortly that he has betrayed Thor, Odin, and all of Asgard.

Obviously Thor won't remain a prisoner, there will be more butt kicking and his power will return before he takes on Loki. We essentially know these things before we even sit down with our popcorn. Still, Thor is a pretty fun comic book adventure, and a notch better than your average origin story. It's overkill in the beginning, with all the CG “spectacle” and huge, sleep inducing battles, but while they could have been done better, those moments ultimately set the stage for what is to come. Obviously, there are plenty of things that make no logical sense, and there is never any real feeling of danger since Thor seems immortal, pretty much. At one point he is blasted through the wall of the palace in Asgard and plummets about a quarter mile. The next time we see him, he's flying across the rainbow bridge without a scratch.

Thor is also elevated a bit by the character of Loki, the best villain of the five Avengers prequels. I won't go into all the reasons why, because the guy has motives I didn't even explain in this review. Suffice it to say that he's not all bad here. His actions are terribly wrong, no doubt, but his motivations stem from an understandable inferiority complex and a burning desire to look like the better son in his father's eyes. I think it was a hell of a choice by Marvel and Joss Whedon to make Loki the lead villain in The Avengers, and I'm looking forward to how that plays out.

This picture also boasts the best post-credits sequence of the bunch. We see Dr. Selvig under Loki's control, in a S.H.I.E.L.D. building, as Nick Fury reveals an object we will later recognize (in Captain America: The First Avenger) as the Tesseract. “What is it,” Selvig asks. Fury replies, “Power doctor. If we can figure out how to tap it, maybe unlimited power.” Then Loki appears in a reflection and whispers, “Well, I guess that's worth a look.”

Thor (2011): 6 out of 10
Avatar (2009): 8 out of 10

CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER (2011)

Prior to Captain America, Joe Johnston (Jumanji, Jurassic Park III, The Wolfman, etc.) had made only one genuinely good movie called October Sky (1999). After Captain America, he has still only made one good movie.

The visuals and music here are bathed in nostalgia for “the greatest generation”, Johnston's intent was not lost on me. This romanticized, artificial looking 1940's version of New York City works at first, in the same way that a postcard does. It's nowhere near as impressive as the 1933 New York City seen in Peter Jackson's King Kong (2005), but it's oddly appealing, up to a point, and shows admirable craftsmanship. Ultimately, it just starts to feel too phony, even for a comic book movie.

What does not feel phony are the effects that transformed the well built, six foot tall Chris Evans into the little shrimp, Steve Rogers. He convincingly looks about five feet tall and less than a hundred pounds, with arms like tent poles. When we first meet the guy, the military won't even enlist him to fight in World War II. Eventually, Dr. Erskine (Stanley Tucci), a German expat who has created a “super soldier” serum, overhears Rogers chatting with his enlisted buddy, Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan). Erskine realizes the kid has heart, and makes him a candidate for the super soldier experiment.

Around this time Tommy Lee Jones shows up as Colonel Phillips, and his chosen candidate for the program is much more physically gifted. He and Erskine test the recruits by tossing a fake live grenade at them, from which the colonel's candidate runs for cover as Steve Rogers dives onto it to save the others. Before the procedure takes place, Erskine informs Rogers that a prototype version of the serum was given to a Nazi officer back in Germany named Johann Schmidt. At this point we have already seen Schmidt and his HYDRA soldiers break into a castle in Norway to steal an object of great power called the Tesseract. “The jewel of Odin's treasure room,” he calls it. This connects the story to Thor and beyond, as the Tesseract is said to play an important part in The Avengers.

Anyway, aided by Erskine and Dominic Cooper as Howard Stark (father of Tony Stark from Iron Man), Rogers becomes a large and powerful super soldier. For a while he just dresses up as a character named “Captain America” and sells war bonds. Then he finds out his friend Bucky has been lost with his squad behind enemy lines, and decides to come to his rescue once Stark outfits him with improved armor and an impenetrable Vibranium shield (this explains how a prototype version of the shield ends up in Tony Stark's office in Iron Man). Eventually Captain America leads an assault on HYDRA and Red Skull (the true form of Johann Schmidt), who are outfitted with all new powers as a result of possessing the Tesseract.

Unfortunately, Captain America never quite comes together the way it should. It's not bad at all, it's just not good either. The new and improved Steve Rogers has a tendency to be somewhat boring compared to the other Marvel characters, and I'm not a fan of Red Skull. He may have been a great villain in the comics, but here he's a dime-a-dozen power mad dictator. The action scenes are hit-and-miss, nothing manages to stand out, and the entire exercise feels a bit stale. Still, this movie does explain how Captain America ends up in the same year as Iron Man, Hulk, and the rest of the crew. He's frozen near the end of the film and gets rediscovered in the future where he's recruited by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson).

You know, I might be expecting too much, but another thing I find unfortunate about this story is that Rogers has to be voluntarily injected with an experimental serum in order to become a hero. Granted, even before Peter Parker was bitten by the genetically altered spider, which was not a choice I might add, he was more physically blessed than this kid. Rogers has a knack for strategy, leadership, and personal sacrifice though; traits that would exist without the serum. I realize it's cool to imagine this small fry growing big and strong, otherwise we wouldn't have Captain America. I get it. However, another part of me would find him more heroic if he rose above his shortcomings naturally. I liked the kid better when he was the underdog.

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011): 5 out of 10
Jumanji (1995): 5 out of 10
Jurassic Park III (2001): 5 out of 10
The Wolfman (2010): 4 out of 10
October Sky (1999): 7 out of 10
King Kong (2005): 6 out of 10