UPDATE! MY mini-REVIEW OF THOR!

Marvel has done a great job with their "in universe" movies Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man 2. I’ve loved each of them to one degree or another, but a fair argument could be made that we’ve been getting slightly diminishing returns the more they keep doing it. With Thor, the trend is finally reversed.

Not since the original Iron Man has a Marvel movie been so much fun. I think I was grinning like an idiot from beginning to end. The tone, pace and grandeur of Thor are just so spot on and handled so well that you can’t help but forgive the filmmakers for those few places where the narrative stumbles. Things that could have been so, so silly–the costumes, the sets, Thor’s fish-out-of-water experiences–come across just right once witnessed on screen in their proper context. That’s tone. That’s tone done incredibly well.

It helps that the expert casting Marvel has become known for continues here. Chris Hemsworth owns Thor in a way that makes me never want to see another actor in that role. He brings a humanity to the God of Thunder that doesn’t come across in the comics. Anthony Hopkins is typically great as Odin and (new to me) Tom Hiddleston as Loki is the first Marvel villain I want to see more of. Thankfully, he’s confirmed to be back next year for The Avengers. 

I loved Natalie Portman in this as well. She’s allowed to be charming and girlish and strong, but the script does fail her and Hemsworth a bit with the romance. It would have been nice to get some sense of what Thor sees in her beyond the pretty face. Just one scene of Portman’s Jane Foster challenging Thor a little more would have really helped. Their romance is all pull and no push. 

But, really, that’s a minor complaint. I had a blast and the further away from the movie I get, the less its faults matter to me. Really looking forward to checking this one out again on home video.

Rating: 4 out of 5 vials of S.P.U.

UPDATE! THE ANNOTATED SUPERFOGEYS 314!

For you continuity buffs, the scenes depicted in this strip occur about a decade or so after this, and just a couple of weeks before this. Wonder how the Captain would feel if he ever found out?

 INTERFERENCE!

Been enjoying Mother’s Day with my family today (and still adjusting to the new MWF schedule) so the post isn’t quite ready for public consumption. Expect a full update later today with my review of THOR and a look at a special piece of art I created for my wife as a Mother’s Day Gift. (UPDATE! – Nah, I’ll save that for Wednesday.) 

For now, enjoy today’s strip and take a look at the fourth page of Jerry’s Origin with art by John Jett if you haven’t already! (Remember, SuperFogeys Origins updates are now on Fridays!)

See you on Wednesday with SuperFogeys 315!