Good heavens Kenneth Brannagh, wotan amazingly specky film. Yes, I took advantage of an evening to kill in Adelaide yesterday - the business part of my one-night visit was over - and went to the big-screen showing of Thor, complete with 3D and super FX. But it failed to grab me entirely, despite the enticing well-loved mythology of the Norse gods (grafted to the modern world via a thin science-fictional storyline). Clever ideas, perhaps, yet the whole effort is - and I am sad to be dismissive - a waste of space. Iotunheim (world of the Frost Giants); Asgard (home of the Norse immortals; y'know ... Odin the Allfather; Thor with his magical hammer Mjolnir; Loki); and Earth (Mitgard or 'Middle Earth' in the tales, but not named in the movie, I suppose to avoid confusion with Tolkien's Middle Earth - but guess where HE got it from)... these worlds are presented as three of the nine 'realms' in time and space, and the non-human ones are alien races which once interacted with our Earth. Well, I kinda enjoyed it by default.
Loki (the mischief-maker god/giant in the mythology) in this film is a suave bad guy, usurper of Odin's throne. Pity, I always had a soft spot for Loki as recipient of very bad press. The restless camera, or faked camera for those CG scenes, makes sure you can't actually enjoy the artwork: maybe like helplessly watching an out of control hyperactive two-year old for two hours straight, with the Exit door locked. My favourite character in the end, on screen for about ten minutes, was the destructive robot killer sent to Earth by Loki, a clear allusion to Gort from the 1950s The Day the Earth Stood Still all those cinematic years ago. Guess which film I think is the better one. Michael Rennie, one; Kenneth Brannagh, zero.
Actually, highlight of my trip was the chocolate eclair from the Ardrossan bakery.
Loki (the mischief-maker god/giant in the mythology) in this film is a suave bad guy, usurper of Odin's throne. Pity, I always had a soft spot for Loki as recipient of very bad press. The restless camera, or faked camera for those CG scenes, makes sure you can't actually enjoy the artwork: maybe like helplessly watching an out of control hyperactive two-year old for two hours straight, with the Exit door locked. My favourite character in the end, on screen for about ten minutes, was the destructive robot killer sent to Earth by Loki, a clear allusion to Gort from the 1950s The Day the Earth Stood Still all those cinematic years ago. Guess which film I think is the better one. Michael Rennie, one; Kenneth Brannagh, zero.
Actually, highlight of my trip was the chocolate eclair from the Ardrossan bakery.
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