DVD: THOR

It's no secret, especially to readers of this blog, that I'm not a great fan of Marvel superheroes. Thor, in particular, being one I found both irritating, with cod-archaic mode of speech, and boring, with a no-dimensional personality. So I was quite surprised when good reviews rolled in by the dozen and which encouraged me to buy the DVD when it came down in price a bit.

I still remained to be convinced but damned if Marvel didn't do the 2011 triple of really entertaining well-made super-hero movies. Captain America and X-Men First Class being the others which actually dragged me to cinema (see appropriate posts). 2012 brings Joss Whedon's Avengers which everyone expects to be utterly brilliant and anything less will be a disappointment. DC have much better characters than Marvel but, Batman excepted, they just can't seem to get it together on the film front.

There is a lot that Thor the movie gets right and very little it gets wrong.

First off is Asgard and the Asgardian gods. They aren't the supernatural based entities of myth and Marvel comics. Instead they are the products of science that is so far advanced that it looks -and here is where director Branagh is really clever- almost but not quite like magic. When Heimdall operates Bifrost to transport people to other realms, it is clearly a teleportational device. These gods are more like the Hindu gods of Roger Zelazny's award-winning Science Fiction novel Lord of Light. The Norse myths surrounding the Asgardians are the perceptions of a primitive people viewing a science they can't comprehend. The design of Asgard itself is very impressive which is just as well as a surprising amount of the running time is spent there.

Secondly, the story is kept quite simple. When Thor, on the verge of being given the kingship, arrogantly disobeys Odin and attacks the Frost Giants on their homeworld of Jotunheim almost bringing about disaster, Odin removes his powers and banishes him to Earth. While Thor learns a lesson in humility in a New Mexico town with the help of astro-physicist Jane Foster, his brother Loki, with Odin in a god-coma, seems to be bringing about the downfall of Asgard by secretly allying with the Frost Giants because (spoiler omitted). Odin has also sent Thor's hammer to Earth. The hammer can only be lifted by someone worthy of the power of Thor and is discovered by SHIELD which sets up a camp around it. Thor's buddies (the Warriors Three plus Lady Sif) go to Earth to help him and Loki tries to put a stop to it which leads to the climax. 

It's all very clearly told, at a good pace, and leavened by touches of humour. On seeing the Warriors Three, a cop reports in that there's "Robin Hood, a ninja, and ...some other guy." The 'other guy' should be Falstaff after whom the portly character Volstagg is named and is a sly Shakespearean joke which, I assume, was inserted by director Kenneth Branagh who knows more than a little about Shakespeare.

The acting is more than acceptable. I can't imagine anyone giving a better performance as Thor than Chris Hemsworth, who can act. It's impossible to imagine anyone else convincingly playing Odin other than Anthony Hopkins who provides the gravitas necessary to take the character seriously. Tom Hiddleston underplays Loki rather than making him a hissable villain. Natalie Portman (Jane Foster) is one of the best young Hollywood actresses around. Idris Elba as Heimdall provides provides great dignity and power to an otherwise one-note role.

Branagh has done a terrific job on this film. Sure it's a popcorn movie, but it's a really good popcorn movie.

GRAPHIC NOVELS: COMIC BOOK DAY - 1 IN A FOUR-PART MINISERIES

1.  Introduction. 

Regular readers will know that I’m a big fan of graphic novels and that most graphic novels are basically a collection of comics. They may be a miniseries (anything from 3-9 issues), a collection of a regular title which may contain one long story or a collection of stories (usually 6 issues, but it varies. And the odds are that they are about super heroes, super villains, or monsters. 

I’ll be reviewing 5 graphic novels which fit into one or more of these categories. Appropriately there are two each from the major comic publishers –DC and Marvel- and one from what is known as the Independents, in this case Image. I’m also going to be reviewing some comic-related books but I’ll get to them later. I’ve called it Comic Book Day in acknowledgement of Free Comic Book Day when publishers release special editions or samplers to Comic Shops to be given away free to their customers.

Now while there are many graphic stories/graphic novels which can be considered to be Art (Love & Rockets, Maus to state the obvious), the books I’m reviewing today aren’t Art. They may be skilfully done, indeed they are all skilfully done but no-one could ever honestly claim that they aren’t anything but entertainment. And what’s wrong with that? We all love being entertained and I love being entertained by superhero stories, among many other things.

2.   Superman: The Black Ring vol.1. Written by Paul Cornell, drawn by Pete Woods. DC Comics.  Hardback, collects  Action Comics 890-895.

The title is misleading as it should really be called:

The New Adventures of Superman’s Arch-enemy, Lex Luthor: The Black Ring vol. 1. 

Superman never actually appears as a character, though he is frequently referred to. What we have is Lex Luthor and his disposable employees plus an android Lois Lane investigating a mysterious energy source and a mysterious unknown enemy attempting to thwart him at every turn. Various villains appear such as Mr Mind, Gorilla Grodd, Slade Wilson the Terminator, and Vandal Savage. Don’t worry if they don’t mean anything to you as it isn’t really important. Of particular interest, however, is the guest appearance of Neil Gaiman’s character Death from the Sandman series and an entire issue/chapter is devoted to Luthor and Death talking.

Otherwise it’s all good fun supervillain stuff. What stands out, however, is Cornell’s portrayal of Luthor which manages to be fresh without changing anything canonical. The android Lois Lane was created by Lex to provide him with insights into his own behaviour, to challenge his thinking so that he takes nothing for granted. Also of interest is the fact that he regular has sex with the android (nit-picking: it’s more of a robot) Lois Lane making you wonder what that tells you about him.

It’s all very slickly done, just not quite as strikingly good as reviews of the comics suggested. There is a concluding collection to come, probably later this year.

3.   Avengers Prime. Written by Brian Bendis, art by Alan Davis & Mark Farmer. Marvel.  Paperback, collects 5 issue miniseries.

This is a spin-off from an on-going saga in which Norman Osborne (the former Green Goblin and full-time psycho) was given took control of the USA’s security. But you don’t need to know any of that. The story opens with the Avengers in the ruins of a destroyed Asgard. Within eight pages, Thor (movie just released), Iron Man (2 movies), and Steve Rogers (formerly, but not currently, Captain America –movie out soon) are whisked away in a vortex and find themselves separated and in a hostile violent land.

Cue an action-packed fantasy adventure.

An unarmed Cap wanders into a packed goblin tavern and wipes the floor with the lot of them, gaining a shield and a sword and is shortly afterwards befriended by a comely maiden. Thor has a hard time of it at the hands and spells of old enemy the Enchantress. Iron Man faces a bunch of ogres and tells them that Thor is a buddy of his which isn’t a good idea as one of them is Fafnir, a part-time dragon that Thor once killed.

But the real enemy is Hela Goddess of Death whom our three heroes, with the aid of some new friends, must defeat.

But who cares? The reason I bought this is because of the gorgeous art by Alan Davis, one of the great superhero artists, and British to boot, of the last 25 years. If it hadn’t been for the participation of Davis, I wouldn’t have bothered. I really couldn’t care less about the story which is no better or worse than you’d expect, but with Davis the result is a fun attractive romp.

 Today's Lunchtime Special. Starter: Tony Stark. Main Course: Horse.