Chris Hemsworth is Marvel's Thor!

[Doctor Who?]

Loki was a bad guy you could sympathize with.

Loki as portrayed by Tom Hiddleston is a fully 3 dimensional being. I think it is refreshing that Loki is a villain who's not your standard "I'M GOING TO RULE THE UNIVERSE!!!" type villain who's evil just for the sake of being evil. He really honestly believes what he's doing is all for the good of Asgard.
I suppose it was his way of making amends and helping himself feel less guilty about letting those Frost Giants into Asgard as a prank during Odin's ceremony for Thor, which set off the events that transpired afterwards with Thor defying Odin by traveling to Jotunheim and attacking the Frost Giants.
But I think the most endearing quality about Loki is the fact that he has the intelligence to understand there's just something different about him that he couldn't quite put a finger on, like he feels he's just being tolerated because Odin commands it.
I think it's that type of feeling all adopted children must feel at times, that they know somehow the family they're living with is not  biologically connected to them which causes a lot of confliction inside them. But with Loki this is magnified when he finds out for himself as an adult that he's not Asgardian but a Frost Giant disguised as an Asgardian. You can understand why he'd be so angry at not having this little detail explained to him a lot earlier which could have clarified his feelings of being an outcast. Of course Odin is in a vulnerable position though. I'm sure that he wouldn't want the common people of Asgard to find out that one of their princes is in fact the enemy and living among them. That and I don't recall Odin revealing that Loki is actually the son of Laufey, the King of the Frost Giants, yet, whom Loki himself had killed.

Yeah there is nothing I hate more then seeing good actors slumming it and acting all stiff like we saw with Portman in Star Wars.  I tell you the truth because of those movies I have forgotten what a great actress she was,it was shock seeing her not only be good in something but so relaxed.  That is another thing this movie has going for it the inter cast seems to be relaxed and enjoying themselves.  It reminds me of watching a Tv show where the cast is getting along and they have been working together for a while. They all seem to be enjoying themselves and they know how to act together.  In this type of movie it is true,if the cast his having a good time it will come through on screen and the movie will be fun too.

This movie must have had as much green screen work as the Star Wars movies so I can't understand why no one in the Star Wars movies was able to acting this well.  i mean those movies have a good cast too,but they all came across as stiff as a board.  I really think if the Star Wars movies had had this kind of relaxed acting and sense of fun despite the plot holes they would have been enjoyable.

This is just so true! Natalie Portman is such a genuinely talented, organic actress. No matter what sort of character she's playing, under the right direction and guidance, you can believe that that fictional being could actually represent a living, breathing person. As much as I like the original trilogy, Lucas is better at the creative side of the coin, not directing, but ego dictates that he must have full control over everything, right down to the direction instead of trusting a more capable directing talent. I view the prequels and those over bloated "enhanced" versions of the original trilogy as more of a vanity project for Lucas. It's evident he cares more about the exterior qualities of the film as opposed to the interior qualities of a capable actor or actress' performance. Asgard was just as eye poppingly beautiful as any world Lucas created on his green screen, but yet the performances by the principle actors were not upstaged by the visuals. The visuals only complimented the performances. I think a lot of the credit for that should go to Kenneth Branaugh for bringing out the best in his talent. He could have just sat back and let Natalie, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, et. al. fend for themselves, making the excuse that Thor was just a mindless, blockbuster popcorn project, but thankfully he didn't.

Yeah Loki was the best villain I have ever seen in a comic book movie.  i mean for the first time I believed a villain was a person and not just an insane monster.  I didn't know JMS worked on this movie until the end credits,but throughout the whole movie I kept thinking that Loki was the best most tragic villain I had seen since Londo. I know three other writers were credited but i am willing to bet Loki was mostly the work of JMS.  Now my friend and I both agreed this was one of the most enjayable movies we had seen in years but niether one of us has ever read a Thor comic,do fans of the comics think this movie was good?

Oh and I think Branaugh should direct more action movies,he seems to have a nack for getting good acting out of the cast and not letting the incredible SFX upstage the actors.  Imagine a Transofrmers movie where you liked the human character and they were well acted and written.

[Cosmic Muse]

Yeah Loki was the best villain I have ever seen in a comic book movie.  i mean for the first time I believed a villain was a person and not just an insane monster.  I didn't know JMS worked on this movie until the end credits,but throughout the whole movie I kept thinking that Loki was the best most tragic villain I had seen since Londo. I know three other writers were credited but i am willing to bet Loki was mostly the work of JMS.

I think creating a fully realized, magnetic villain like Loki is the responsibility of several people. Yes, the writers are important and so is the director, but the one with the biggest responsibility is the actor to convey what is written down with enough emotion for the audience to understand that the character is a complex individual with thought and emotions. Too many times Hollywood action movies tell us we should hate a certain character just because he's evil. With Loki you are naturally offended by his actions of course because they go against the fabric of what is considered practical decency, but you also realize that deep down he is just lashing out not because he's evil, but because all his life he's been living a lie and that despite all his efforts to win the love of Odin he will never be anything more than the spare heir with no chance at the throne. You can feel his frustration at having no real purpose except to be some sort of accessory despite his vast depths of intelligence.

Now my friend and I both agreed this was one of the most enjoyable movies we had seen in years but neither one of us has ever read a Thor comic,do fans of the comics think this movie was good?

I can't speak for anyone who is a fan of the comics as I've never read a Thor comic in my life. I was mostly into X-Men and Spider-man back then. I was only conscious of who Thor was and not so much his comic book mythos. Mostly I knew he was a God made flesh with a huge hammer. But the comic book fan in me just loves this movie. It is just blocked scene for scene like turning the page of a comic book. I thoroughly enjoyed myself with this movie. To me it was a perfect balance of drama and humorous moments.

Oh and I think Branaugh should direct more action movies,he seems to have a knack for getting good acting out of the cast and not letting the incredible SFX upstage the actors.  Imagine a Transformers movie where you liked the human character and they were well acted and written.

After watching a few interviews with Kenneth Branaugh I am just grateful for his intelligence and the fact that he doesn't treat the audience as idiots. I can't recall one moment in Thor where I felt like I was being talked down to or lead by the hand from one plot point to the other. Many times he just left us to use our brains to figure things out. Something so simple like Thor failing to pull Mjolnir from the ground didn't need dialogue for you to figure out the symbolism of its meaning. The definition of what that moment meant was there in Chris Hemsworth's performance.

[Doctor Who?]

Yeah Thor,Inception,and The Dark Knight I think are three movies that prove an action movie doesn't have to be dumb.

Also I agree I was really impressed with Hemsworth,I really think he has what it takes to be a big star.  He looks good in action scenes,he seems to have fun,and he is a really good actor.  Those are all things that can help make a movie fun to watch.

[Darth Geek]

Also I agree I was really impressed with Hemsworth,I really think he has what it takes to be a big star.  He looks good in action scenes,he seems to have fun,and he is a really good actor.  Those are all things that can help make a movie fun to watch.

Agreed. He's kind of the anti-Sam Worthington.

Oh and I think Branaugh should direct more action movies,he seems to have a nack for getting good acting out of the cast and not letting the incredible SFX upstage the actors.  Imagine a Transofrmers movie where you liked the human character and they were well acted and written.

While he did get good acting performances out of his cast in the FX heavy scenes, I thought some of the fight scenes at the beginning were filmed too close and it was difficult to tell what was going on. Later on they got better, though.

[Dim of the Yard]

Oh and I think Branaugh should direct more action movies,he seems to have a nack for getting good acting out of the cast and not letting the incredible SFX upstage the actors.  Imagine a Transofrmers movie where you liked the human character and they were well acted and written.

While he did get good acting performances out of his cast in the FX heavy scenes, I thought some of the fight scenes at the beginning were filmed too close and it was difficult to tell what was going on. Later on they got better, though.

I kind of had the same impression. The earlier fight scenes seemed too spastic, which really made me glad I didn't spring for the 3D version. They did seem to improve over the course of the movie, though, probably since the rest of the fight scenes weren't "handful of people versus giant army."

[Darth Geek]

Oh and I think Branaugh should direct more action movies,he seems to have a nack for getting good acting out of the cast and not letting the incredible SFX upstage the actors.  Imagine a Transofrmers movie where you liked the human character and they were well acted and written.

While he did get good acting performances out of his cast in the FX heavy scenes, I thought some of the fight scenes at the beginning were filmed too close and it was difficult to tell what was going on. Later on they got better, though.

I kind of had the same impression. The earlier fight scenes seemed too spastic, which really made me glad I didn't spring for the 3D version. They did seem to improve over the course of the movie, though, probably since the rest of the fight scenes weren't "handful of people versus giant army."

I saw it in 2D, and given how dark the scenes were during the fights in the Ice Giants' world, I can't imagine how dificult it would be to see in 3D with those glasses making it even darker.

[Doctor Who?]

I saw it in 3D and I am shocked to say it wasn't as bad as some other 3D I have seen.  In a few scenes the edges of the screen were blurry and a few things in the background looked a little flat but other then that it was okay.  If I had a choice I would still go for the 2D version but it was not a disaster.  Oh and I didn't have any trouble telling what was going on in any of the fight scenes but that is just me.

[Compound]

DVD release date: September 13

[Doctor Who?]

DVD release date: September 13

YES!

[Darth Geek]

A day after my birthday. Woo!

[D.B. Barnes]

We Have A 'Thor 2′ Villain: Christopher Eccleston To Play Malekith The Accursed

Christopher Eccleston has been set for the villain role in Marvel Studios' Thor: The Dark World, starring opposite Chris Hemsworth in the role of Malekith The Accursed. If you don't know who Malekith is, your Hall H privileges at Comic-Con are officially suspended. He is a super-villain in the Marvel Universe, the ruler of the Dark Elves of Svartalfheim. In the Marvel Comics, he clashed mightily with Thor, and will go up against the hammer-wielding son of Odin in the film directed by Game of Thrones' Alan Taylor. He once wielded the Casket of Ancient Winters. We know Eccleston from Doctor Who, and he is repped by Principal Entertainment.

[Johnny Unusual]

Will this clean him of the sin of GI Joe?  At least he was smart enough to escape Heroes after season one.

[Relaxing Dragon]

Will this clean him of the sin of GI Joe?  At least he was smart enough to escape Heroes after season one.

Eccleston's always struck me as a poor man's Mark Strong (who himself strikes me as a poor man's Ralph Fiennes), but he's done plenty of quality work. He's one of those guys who never got quite as big as they deserved, so something like this is definitely good for him.

[mrbasehart]

Ecclestone is joining the proud tradition of English actors being total dicks in blockbuster movies.  I didn't like him as Doctor Who, but he is a fine actor.

[Johnny Unusual]

Ecclestone is joining the proud tradition of English actors being total dicks in blockbuster movies.

Remember when Ecclestone was fired from the rock quarry by Mr. Slate?

"ECCLESTONE!"