May 25th

Today finished day three of training, and I still love my new job just as much as I did two days ago. I can't wait to continue training and start my actual job. Of course today isn't supposed to me about my job, Friday is for reviews, so let's talk about something.

WARNING!!! This review might contain spoilers.

On Monday I watched the movie Thor. Obviously this movie has been out for awhile, but I hadn't seen it yet. I decided to watch it because my two weeks are ending on Avengers (meaning I can use my gift certificate to go to the movie for free), and everyone told me I needed to see the other videos first. I saw both Iron Mans and Captain America so the only hole in my repertoire was Thor, and now I've seen it as well.

The movie was actually better than I was expecting, a feeling I've experienced with all of the recent Marvel hero movies. I feel that they've really stepped up their game to show audiences that comics and cartoons are NOT the same thing. The action and scripts are always fantastic and I felt that Thor was the same.

Luckily for Thor, most audiences have at least a vague idea of Norse Mythology, so they weren't in need of a long voice over that explained the back story. They told the history as the told the story and it weaved together quite well. I've never read a single Thor comic, seen any show, and I know nothing about Marvel's version of Thor, and yet I didn't feel lost at all. That is the beauty of these Marvel movies, they explain everything so well that you don't feel like the loser who never read the comics. Of course there are probably plenty of Easter eggs for the avid comic fans, but I don't know what they are.

The movie's basic story line is that Odin (king of the Norse gods, who are actually aliens) is entering Odin sleep and needs one of his sons (Thor or Loki) to take over as king for the time he will be sleeping. Thor is the warrior, the fighter with the short temper. Loki is the magic user, the trickster, the cunning one who gets what he wants sneakily. Odin is best known for defeating the frost giants (another alien race), and they travel between the worlds via a bridge (which can also take them to Earth). At the moment that Thor is meant to be named the next king the frost giants attack! They are stopped, but it also stops the ceremony to name Thor.

Naturally, Thor gets angry and wants to chase down the frost giants and kill them for daring to come his home. Odin tries to convince him that starting a war over the actions of what could be a few rogue agents is not a kingly decision, but Thor refuses to listen and insolently insists that as king he wants to declare war. At that moment Odin reminds him that he's NOT king, and decides that he perhaps shouldn't be king. Thor is upset and childish enough that he takes his friends and Loki and goes to the frost giant planet anyway. They nearly get killed before Odin rescues them, at which point he strips Thor of his powers and sends him and his hammer to exile on Earth.

The rest of the movie is Thor meeting up with humans and learning the value of thinking before acting. He also learns the value of caring for others and realizes the price that a war can have. He also finds love because it wouldn't be a true super hero movie if he didn't find a normal girl to fall for. Meanwhile back on his home planet it's revealed that Loki is the one who let the frost giants in cause he wants to be king (shocker I know), so then there's his battle there and Thor's issues on Earth and then everything comes together and ends with Thor destroying the planet bridge so he can't return to his love on Earth. Of course it wouldn't be a Marvel movie without the end credit clip that hints at Avengers.

The acting in this movie was great, just the right mix of honest and exaggerated so that it seemed genuine. The writing was smart and witty (which is a requirement for me), and the plot, while predictable, didn't seem contrived. I highly enjoyed that the movie held a balance between action and drama, and the ending (before the end credit clip) left just enough questions that they can easily make a sequel. I'd give it 3.5 out of 5 stars. If you like superheros, rent Thor.