Thor

Ten minutes after this movie ended, I forgot I'd watched it. Literally.

A month later when I realized I'd forgotten, I saved this blog post as a draft with just the title Thor, so I'd not forget again. My forgetfulness means two things. First of all, Thor was not a great movie. Secondly, Thor was not a bad movie. I'd place it solidly in the Meh category and would not say more about it, except that a couple thoughts niggle the back of my brain.

Why did Thor fall in love with with the girl Jane Foster? Love comes about when one person takes a measurement of many factors regarding another person. This usually takes time and experiences together. Sometimes it occurs quickly, but what did she ever do for him? What drew him to her? After he returned her research, then he's done with her (except as a dalliance), right? She's small fry even in our world and he's top dog in his. Anyway, the story wasn't even romance, so let's move on.

Why should I care about Thor's world? Actually, the question is a little misleading. I cared about his world. I cared that Loki set up an ultimate trap to destroy the ice bad guys. I applauded his stepping in to make big choices to destroy an enemy who would attempt to destroy them.

(Let me step aside for a second and address this further. Hollywood writers, please bear this in mind: when something threatens your world, take them out. Captain America and Green Lantern killed villains with ease, don't forget. In watching some of your movies, I'm learning that some superheroes are just dumb (I'm looking at you Batman and Superman). Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of a dumb, powerful hero with powerful noble ideals that just don't work out for the innocent bystanders. The problem is when you writers equate being dumb with being noble. You must give me a reason why the hero shouldn't kill the villain. (Vader is Luke's father, Green Goblin is Spiderman's mentor and a friend's father, Spock and Kirk are friends in an alternate time stream, etc., I mean come on, anything would be good here.) Just don't try to tell me that killing bad guys who would kill indiscriminately is bad, which conversely means not killing these bad guys is good/noble. The bad guys will continue to kill innocent people until they are stopped dead, literally. Please don't argue that the good guy would become bad by killing. There is a line in the mind between justice and preemptive defense versus vigilante, retribution, "making them pay," and revenge. If a hero cannot see the difference, then the hero is already too close being a psychopath and should not be out on the street.)

Back to the question: Why should I care about Thor's world? As the plot builds, I actually do come to care for Thor's world, with Thor not in it. His poor brother got gypped when Thor returns, and I feel sorry for him. I kind of liked the idea of Thor being banished. That idea, fleshed out, would have made the movie great for me. Instead Thor breaks a road that I don't understand and don't care about. Loki is mad for good reason. Remember that Loki only acted in his planet's best interest. His methods might be uncouth, but they were effective. Now if he'd have turned his gun against Earth, which was not a threat, then Loki would have been a bad guy. Do you see the difference?

The movie was good enough to watch, but other than major themes that Hollywood often bends out of shape, the movie was forgettable. It was worth the Redbox rental.