Tag Archives: Chris Hemsworth

Avengers: Age of Ultron {Film Review}

Posted on by

One of the most anticipated movies of the summer has finally hit cinemas and anticipation would be an understatement. After the release of both Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy last year, both fans and general audiences were expecting this 11th entry in Marvel Cinematic Universe to top everything off.

After the events of The Winter Soldier, The Avengers (consists of Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans), Tony Stark/Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Bruce Banner/Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner)) pursue the last HYDRA commander, Baron Wolfgang von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann). However, they also come across Strucker’s experiments with the twins, Pietro Maximoff/Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) (changed from being mutants and Magneto’s children to experiments, due to 20th Century Fox owning rights to X-Men). Stark starts thinking about retiring from being Iron Man and starts creating, along with Banner, a new set of A.I. drones to tackle future threats (even extraterrestrial). Thus Ultron (James Spader) is born but doesn’t pan out as expected. Like a new child, he quickly takes action by having one primary goal; human extinction.

avengers_age_of_ultron_ver11_xlgThe movie doesn’t waste any time setting things up (if you haven’t been following the events from previous movies, good luck) and we’re straight into our first big action set-piece. It may feel a little rushed at times but it all flows seamlessly together. The whole MCU is already established at this point, though the few scenes where it takes a break from the action is one of the highlights. The entire cast fits into their characters like a glove, fully adjusting to their roles that we’ve been following since 2008. It completely shows their camaraderie as working in a team, as what made The Avengers such a treat to watch. Their witty banter and emotional connection are probably one of the most compelling moments in this movie (especially a running gag with Rogers and the team). We’re even given more back-story to Barton and Romanoff, which fleshed out their characters in a huge way than before. Both Maximoff twins are a welcome addition, giving Avengers an extra challenge to tackle. Wanda uses her hypnosis to bring out the team’s fears, thus adding a human layer to their characterisation.There are a few additional characters put into the mix (Andy Serkis as Ulysses Klaue to name one of many and antagonist for future Black Panther film) and may feel a little much to take all in but you tend to go along with the ride. Though it’s James Spader who steals the spot-light and he’s the most charismatic and intimidating villain since Loki. His introduction is undeniably gripping and quite spine-chilling with his speech towards the Avengers. He observes the world with childlike perception, slowly growing incredibly intellectual but also persistent on bringing total destruction on a global scale.

Writer/director Joss Whedon may excel on delivering wisecracks here and there but doesn’t fall short of the spectacle and there’s plenty of that on display! The creative fight combos between the heroes (mainly from Captain America and Thor) shows their ability to work as a team. The Hulkbuster vs Hulk scene was incredibly entertaining to watch, yet follows Man of Steel’s complete utter city destruction (may not be on the same scale but comes close). The design of Ultron is pretty much a Terminator pumped with steroids but given a face similar to Michael Bay’s Transformers movies. Given a lot to deliver expressions from the face with Spader also providing motion-capture performance. Although Quicksilver was the scene-stealer from X-Men: Days of Future Past, this portrayal of Quicksilver is just as creative and does convey his intense speed through-out the movie. Brian Tyler and Danny Elfman’s score gets you pumped for rooting our heroes but also delivering the right emotional notes during such scenes with our characters.

Overall; one of the best entries in the series. It somewhat surpasses the sequel on expanding the MCU series but also fleshing out our protagonist’s and making it worth investing from beginning to end. Joss Whedon makes his last outing with Marvel a bang and has given us a fantastic villain with Ultron. Next up, Ant-Man.

5 out of 5

p.s. Stay for a mid-credits scene, though you probably were ready to do that anyways.

Charlize Theron Negotiates $10 Million Pay Rise After Sony Hack Revealed Male Co-Star Was Paid More

Posted on by

Charlize Theron Negotiates $10 Million Pay Rise After Sony Hack Revealed Male Co-Star Was Paid More, equal pay, charlize theron, The Sony Hacks revealed a lot of unpleasant things, and one of them was the unequal pay between men and women, even in Hollywood. One, amazing, ballsy, actress was having none of this however. Charlize Theron negotiated a $10 million pay rise after reading that male co-star Chris Hemsworth was to be paid millions more for The Huntsman. She will now be paid the same as her male co-star. What an inspiration. We need more honesty about pay so more women can get paid what they are worth, and certainly as much as men. The pay gap between men and women is still significantly unequal. 

The hacked emails from Sony showed vast pay gaps between male and female stars. In American Hustle all of the male stars, and the male director, got 9 per cent of back-end profits. The two female stars, Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence only got 7 per cent. This is despite the fact that Jennifer Lawrence was an Oscar-winning actress and that Amy Adams had been nominated four times.

At Sony things were not any better. Out of 6,000 employees, only one of the seventeen who made over  $1 million or more was a woman. Even worse, while Michael De Luca and Hannah Minghella share a job as co-presidents of production at Columbia Pictures, De Luca makes almost  $1 million more than Minghella. 

In the UK the pay disparity between men and women is so great that women effectively work from November 4th until the end of the year for free. There are a number of social and feminist movements trying to make a difference. We must join them and do what we can. Find out how much men doing the same job are being paid and negotiate a better deal.

Thor: The Dark World {Film Review}

Posted on by

With Iron Man 3 and The Wolverine out of the way, it is now the God of Thunder’s turn to shine from Marvel. Set straight after the events from The Avengers, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is a prisoner of Asgard and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is busy keeping order to the Nine Realms. Though this all comes after a (rather obligatory and unneeded) opening with Anthony Hopkins’ Odin providing a voice-over. We’re introduced to Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), leader of the dark elves who has been searching a dark force called the Aether. Though defeated by Odin’s father, he and his army have escape and wait while in hibernated suspension till the Aether has been recovered.

 

Thor isn’t an easy character to be taken seriously, he is also the least relatable character out of The Avengers (he is a God after all). Kenneth Branagh succeeded on bringing Thor to life in 2011 but also handling the character with such sophistication (having adapted William Shakespeare’s plays helps). Director Alan Taylor now takes rein of the sequel and it’s not surprising with his previous credits (The Sopranos, Game of Thrones etc.) that he was a fitting choice. Though the big question was where do you take the story after Thor and The Avengers? Quite simply, you amp up the scale!

Thor - The Dark World

 

Chris Hemsworth returns as Thor and he delivers such charismatic charm. As said before, he may not be relatable but being likeable makes a huge difference if we’re going to be rooting for him. He continues to grow valiant and noble, even taking huge risks that not only will cost lives but their loyalty to his father and to Asgard. Sif (Jaimie Alexander) and the Warriors Three (Fandral (Zachary Levi), Hogun (Tadanobu Asano) and Volstagg (Ray Stevenson)) all return to bring their support (even if they’re given little to do). Anthony Hopkins makes a commanding presence as Odin, though he also can’t help but camp it up at times. Frigga finally has more to do and say this time round, making up for her lack of presence in the first movie. Though the character of Jane Foster is the most frustrating, mainly because she’s such an uninteresting character and is, ultimately, a damsel-in-distress. As Darcy (Kat Dennings) mentions that she’s been constantly looking for Thor but also eating her feelings away with ice cream in her pyjamas. I understand you were swooned by a God and see him in New York battling aliens but she’s such a pathetic character to even remotely worry for her when she’s in peril (no wonder Natalie Portman doesn’t talk about her much because there’s not much to talk about). Stellan Skarsgård as Erik Selvig and Kat Dennings’ Darcy are the supplemental comedy reliefs, though their scenes does come across being desperate comedy.

 

Christopher Eccleston’s Malekith brings menace but he’s unfortunately another weak Marvel villain (along with Mandarin in Iron Man 3). His motive is simply to bring darkness to the universe, yet it isn’t as threatening as it should be and comes out being one-dimensional. At least with General Zod in Man of Steel, you understand the reason for his motives despite the extremes he will take to achieve them. Though the highlight is Tom Hiddleston as Loki, he absolutely takes this opportunity to go all out and have fun. The scene between Thor and Loki are very funny, exchanging witty comebacks and sarcastic remarks on each other. Though underneath this comedic bantering, there’s an emotional core and you become attached to these two. There are a few cameos that many will enjoy, though one in particular will have scratching their heads on who he is and what relevance has he to do with Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. Oh and Stan Lee makes his appearance of course.

 

This movie has certainly been given a huge make-over since the first movie. Marvel was keeping it safe by having the budget moderately low in the first movie, they now give Taylor an arsenal to expand the Thor universe. The majority of this movie takes place in Asgard or Svartalfheim and really brings the sci-fi/fantasy settings to great use. It does contain some beautiful imagery (Asgard looks alive and robust, even aerial shots of Malekith’s ship floating in space). With the mix of fantasy and sci-fi, the movie does give the audience a task to just roll with it but manages to pull it off. The final climactic battle between Thor and Malekith is short but not excessive enough to keep it from being exciting and creative (something Zack Snyder should have done with Man of Steel).

Overall: Thor’s second entry is great fun and Taylor has continued to bring sophistication but also confidence to the character. Doesn’t exceed to greatness but it does whet movie-goers appetites for Marvel’s next outing with Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy next year.

large_4

 

 

 

Victoria Fox on Temptation Island | Frost Interviews

Posted on by

Frost magazine has interview author Victoria Fox on her bonk-busting book “Temptation Island”. It is a very fun read and the review is here.

How did you become a writer?

Writing novels was always the dream but one I’d decided not to pursue until later. After university I got a job in publishing, joining as editorial assistant on a women’s fiction list and four years later working as an editor: this taught me a great deal about the business of how books are produced as well as an insight into the market. I realised I was waiting to find a truly exciting, shocking, racy bonkbuster like the ones I’d enjoyed as a teen, a proper brick of a book packed with sex and scandal, but none were quite hitting it for me, so I decided to have a go myself. ‘Write what you know’ is a great piece of advice for aspiring authors – as soon as I sat down to my debut Hollywood Sinners it just sort of all fell out. Curious as to whether I was on to something, I submitted a partial manuscript (about 30,000 words) anonymously to a literary agent
and happily she agreed to represent me. Shortly after I resigned from my job to complete the novel and three months later we had a deal.

Could you ever be anything else?

As a child I saw myself as one of three things: a vet, a gymnast or a writer. The first was out because I’m terrible at science (once I got 4% in a GCSE Chemistry test) and the second because I can’t do gymnastics. The last was the one that never went away. I’d be happy working as lots of things but don’t think I’d ever be cured of the writing bug. Certainly I’d be doing it as a hobby if I weren’t lucky enough to be making a living from it.




Did you base the characters on any real people?

Both Hollywood Sinners and Temptation Island feature sensational celebrity scandals, so I’d be in hot water if I said the characters were based on anyone in real life. Instead they’re inspired by what I see and read about in the papers and online, and often will be a mix of several intrigues that capture my attention. One of the great things about bonkbusters is that their characters can be truly outrageous, so I like to go all out with my players and make them as exciting and memorable as possible. If readers think they identify a real person then that’s great – I used to love trying to spot who was who in Jackie Collins’ novels: it’s part of the fun.

How do you come up with ideas for your books?




I’m afraid I read rather too many celebrity magazines. It’s a guilty pleasure. I love to see who’s dating whom, what so-and-so wore at whatever premiere, where the rich and famous have taken their super-yachts this summer . . . all that kind of stuff. Hollywood Sinners came from an idea I had about an A-list movie couple – it was a germ of a notion but enough to spin a story, and then I had all these power couples coming out of the woodwork with their individual stories and a novel was born. Temptation Island takes that scandal one step further, I suppose. This time I’ve focused on a very controversial theme, and am interested to know what people think!


What is your writing ritual like?

I have to be disciplined and stick to a routine. I’ll get up early because I’m most productive in the mornings, and work through till lunch when I’ll try to go to the gym (if I don’t do this I get really bad mid-afternoon brain slump). The rest of the day is sporadic; I’ll get distracted by emails and Facebook, but will usually produce a thousand more words before my boyfriend gets in from work. For me it’s important to try and keep to ‘normal’ work hours, so nine to five, Monday to Friday. I don’t want to be out of sync with my friends and try to keep my weekends free. However the lovely thing about working for yourself is that if it doesn’t pan out that way, and the creative tap isn’t one you can always turn on, you can make up the word count another time. It’s also wise to sustain a separate office area so you can close the door on work at the end of the day.



Do you think the recession makes people turn to novels like Temptation Island, and that need for escapism?

Bonkbusters should always provide escapism. They’re gateways into glittering worlds that we’d typically never be able to touch, arenas where everything goes and anything can happen. It stands to reason that during a recession readers reach for this kind of entertainment, but having said that in recent years it’s been crime novels – which offer a grimmer view of life – that have proved wildly popular. Perhaps the recent success of E L James’ Fifty Shades trilogy marks a turning of the tide, and a sign that the women’s market is switching to sex and fantasy for the same fix. I hope so, because bonkbusters have all the great things about erotic fiction and heaps more on top: the glam locations, the juicy storylines and the utterly transporting experience. Recession or not, I think they provide the perfect respite.


If you could go to an island like the characters, what would you take with you?

If I ended up on the one in the book, I’d take a cutthroat hack (or be one myself) so I could blow wide open the biggest Hollywood scandal in the history of the world! On a regular island, like if I were Tom Hanks in Castaway (!), I’d take a box of matches, an encyclopaedia and a pen and paper. That sounds boring, doesn’t it? Hmm. How much can I take? A fridge of chilled champagne would be good, and so would a hot guy who I’d set to work building me a raft without his clothes on.


How long did the book take to write?

Temptation Island took me four months to write and two to edit. If I’m strict about sitting down and writing every day I can normally produce around 15,000 words a week. The key is to keep pressing on and not to get sucked into re-reading what you’ve done – it’ll get changed on a later draft anyway. Once you’ve completed the book, even if you think it’s bad, you have something entire to work with and show other people. That’s when the editing process can begin and you start guiding the manuscript towards the best it can possibly be.

Do you think the bonkbuster is back?

It’s coming (ahem). The glory days were in the eighties and nineties – every girl remembers flicking through Jackie and Jilly at school and giggling over the naughty bits – but since then the genre seems to have gone off the boil. My mission is to bring it back! The vintage classics were magnificent, and today I think it’s about borrowing what was so great about those and combining it with a modern twist. Our present-day obsession with celebrity lends itself perfectly: bonkbusters should have sizzling secrets at their core so it’s all about peeling back the headlines and seeing what lies beneath. Recently I heard they’re remaking Dallas, which flags a return to these amazing multi-character sagas, and Shirley Conran’s superb bonkbuster, the definitive and fabulous Lace, is making a comeback this summer. It feels as if people are ready to embrace the genre again, and for me that isn’t a moment too soon.


What do you think of celebrities now? 



We’re obsessed, and that says more about us than it does them. On the one hand, we worship celebrities. Money and fame are seen as the quick passage to happiness, and anyone who’s achieved that gets a golden ticket to a higher plain – it’s a religion, and a fact of human nature to want what someone else has got. On the other, it’s about bringing these icons down, which is a miserable admission but true. We want to celebrate one day and criticise the next. Who’s had a breakdown? Who’s going through a divorce? Who’s had all that cosmetic surgery but still can’t get a man? Perhaps we like to gossip because it distracts us from our lives; perhaps it makes us feel better about ourselves. I’m all for celebrity when it’s earned, yet these days it’s the reality TV thing that spawns a host of wannabes who seem to be confused about what they want and can’t handle fame when it comes. Riches can reward anyone, but recognition for having achieved something is what we should be striving for.


Who is your favourite, and least favourite, celebrity?

Men I have a crush on are: Leonardo DiCaprio (he haunted my teenage years: that Romeo & Juliet pool scene), James Franco, Ryan Gosling, Chris Hemsworth and I’ve got a thing for Rafa Nadal. I’m also fascinated by untouchable megastars like Tom Cruise. Jack Nicholson is the boss; Robert De Niro close second. Actresses I love are Emma Stone, Amanda Seyfried, and Meryl Streep has bags of class. Also Chloë Sevigny is awesome. I guess my least favourite celeb would be any footballer who can’t keep it in his pants, and rides on the fact he earns an obscene amount of money yet still hasn’t learned to treat women properly.

What’s next for you?

I’m hard at work on my third novel, which is a glamorous, sexy revenge thriller set in the music industry. Watch this space!

You can buy Temptation Island here

The Avengers Assemble – Movie Review

Posted on by

It’s become almost traditional, if not formulaic, to kick off each summer blockbuster season with a superhero movie.

Over the years we have seen Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and even the Hulk take centre stage in their own films, so on paper at least, the coming together of these iconic super hero superstars in Avengers Assemble sounds like every comic book fanboy’s wet dream.

But does more necessarily mean more? Or have Marvel – who admittedly have done a terrific job so far in bringing their comic book pages to life – bitten off more than they can chew?

Well in one word, the answer is no. Like the childhood Christmas present that gets played with lovingly to near destruction once your get your eager hands on it, to see Marvel’s movie at long last is incredible, but at the same time is both brilliant in its script and in its execution. As such, just like that Christmas present, it keeps on giving and in the process provides ample reasons for fans of the comic books and films to rejoice.

A film nearly seven years in the making, fans have slowly, patiently, seen the formation of this film through the little clips that occurred at the end of the credits of each previous movie.

First you had Iron Man (played by Robert Downey Jnr) being approached by Nick Fury (Samuel L Jackson), then the story of Captain America (Chris Evans) and how he ends up taken in by SHIELD. There’s even Thor’s film, (the main role played by Chris Hemsworth) which in many ways sets up the plot for this movie and even clever references made in the last Hulk film. Each provided subtle clues towards where the plot arcs were going to lead.

After such a wait, no way was Marvel and director Joss Whedon going to disappoint fans. A superb opening set-piece puts the storyline and reasons for these characters coming together firmly in place. ‘The Tesseract’ (last seen in Thor and Captain America) is a cube of immense power that both sides are trying to unlock. However, it has opened a door to another world, which Loki (played truly impressively by Tom Hiddleston) comes through with his original intention of ‘ruling us all’. But worse than that, he’s brought a whole bunch of bad boys with him. Who else are going to put a stop to his plan other than the Avengers?

Indeed, as each of these superheroes could take on enemies of immense power, it has to be a near-on war to cause them to come together and Mr Whedon has no intention of holding back his vision of what a superhero movie should consist of.

Thankfully, Marvel did not go about this movie without getting the right funding in place, so nothing is watered down and all of the super powers, transformations and adversaries (of which there are hundreds) are embellished with as much attention to detail as if they were in their own movie. The end result is pretty much what you would expect from the comic book on screen and it has to be said some scenes are jaw-dropping. Avengers will probably set the standard for future superhero movies to come.

None of the special effects would work in isolation unless there were proper characterisations. Joss Whedon and the screen writers should be applauded for continuing to build upon each individual’s complexities; Tony Stark is still as brash and arrogant as he has ever been, Captain America still has the heart of someone who would sacrifice himself for others, but just follows orders. Only Mark Ruffalo’s interpretation of the David Banner / Hulk is different to his predecessors in that he is more edgy and unpredictable. I do have to say I preferred Ed Norton’s version, however Ruffalo does an excellent job nonetheless. New characters that open up in this movie are Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) which are both portrayed as brooding counterparts which hopefully further movies might build upon.

3D or 2D?

Watching this film in 3D provides just an average experience, which is a shame as they could really have done more to open up the experience and give it that extra wow factor. As it is, besides a few set pieces, I found it made little difference. 3D is a medium I feel should be pushed more, especially when it can really create some stand out moments for the audience when utilised well.

My Verdict

A great kick start to the summer blockbuster season and a fantastic movie in its own right. Cant wait to see what next is in store. Oh yes, that will be Spider-Man less than 8 weeks away. Don’t you just love summer?

9/10

 

The Avengers (2012) trailer

Posted on by

There hasn’t been a movie so massive in anticipation and scale since The Dark Knight back in 2008. Now Marvel has completed on introducing our main characters; Captain America, Iron Man and Thor, it’s time for the inevitable team-up that has been teasing us with each end-credits scene. On October 11th, we finally get an official teaser trailer of The Avengers.

The trailer shows us that Tom Hiddleston’s Loki will be the film’s main antagonist, but his motives are unclear (world domination or simply causing chaos?). We also get a glimpse of Captain America’s and Thor’s new costume change (not to mention Thor’s hair extension). Each giving witty comebacks, such as Steve Rogers saying;

Steve Rogers: Big man in a suit of armour. Take that away, what are you?
Tony Stark: Er a genius, billionaire playboy and philanthropist.

This is all to be expected from writer/director Joss Whedon, whose previous works are Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly (we’ll just ignore he wrote Alien Resurrection).

From the look of this teaser, it really does show Loki to be more an intimidating villain than he was in Thor. Then we also get to see Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye in action and can’t not have shots of Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow doing what she knows best. Although we see both Captain America and Thor battling it out in a forest?

It gives a sigh of relief that Joss Whedon does know what he’s doing and does seem to deliver the spectacle but also great characterisation. Though he’s got some strong competition against Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros./DC Comics with The Dark Knight Rises. All will be revealed when the film is released on 4th May, 2012.

Official website; http://marvel.com/movies/movie/152/marvels_the_avengers?fullscreen=1

The Avengers teaser trailer on Apple iTunes; http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/marvel/avengers/

Thor {Film Review}

Posted on by

Thor was going to be the most difficult to adapt out of all the Marvel heroes. Yes it is based on Norse mythology, but this is straight from the Marvel creation by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1962. This could’ve come off as being unintentionally hilarious but luckily a sophisticated filmmaker came on-board and made it all (somehow) work!

The story is about Thor (Chris Hemsworth) who’s the son of Odin (Anthony Hopkins), who simply defies his father’s orders by breaking a truce between the Asgardians and the Frost Giants. Through his arrogance and war-mongering, Odin takes Thor’s godly powers away and exiles him to Earth. He lands in New Mexico, where scientist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), accompanied by mentor Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) and assistant Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings), encounters with Thor (through an unnatural storm). Through-out Thor’s banishment, he is humiliated the way they treat him and doesn’t believe he is the god of thunder. Meanwhile, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) plots a scheme to keep Thor banished and take over the throne of Asgard. Thor tries to retrieve his hammer, Mjolnir, but with no success (Odin cast a spell only the worthy can wield it).

Chris Hemsworth as the titular hero really does stand his two feet. You may recognise him as Kirk’s father, George Kirk, in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek. He makes the character strong, charismatic and out-right likable from the very start. Back in the 80s, muscle-bound men were usually cast as mighty heroes (although as Movie Bob has mentioned in his review of The Expendables, action movies got better with professional actors learning how to fight than just cast someone who looks good in a tank-top) but Hemsworth really does buff up for the role and dons the costume well. Anthony Hopkins redeems himself from being in some poor choice of films (The Wolfman and The Rite), retaining his authoritative presence and stature. His Odin is more a shouting leader but not nearly as annoyingly obnoxious than Leonidis in 300. Tom Hiddleston as Loki is superb, a villain who’s sympathetic and quite complex. The reveal makes you understand his frustration, and causes interesting family drama. Natalie Portman is sweet and affecting as Jane Foster, although he character isn’t anymore than being Thor’s love interest but you believe she’d be falling off her heels with a charming person as Thor. The biggest controversy is Idris Elba as Heimdall, simply because the character he plays is originally caucasian but Elba is a very talented actor (see The Wire for proof) and even a short role in this film, he makes a huge presence. Unfortunately not everyone has been given a great deal of screen-time, a common case in films based on comic books (only Christopher Nolan’s Batman films; Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, were able to give everyone an equal amount). Renne Russo, who hasn’t been in anything for the past six years, stars as Thor’s mother, Frigga (yes, it’s a bit silly) but she barely gets any screen-time that you’re wondering if it has been left on the cutting room floor.

The design of Asgard really impressed me, creating this fantasy world that its only limit can be from someone’s imagination. The world is magical and full of wonder, I absolutely love any type of mythology and Kenneth Branagh has done a wonderful job on creating Asgard on an epic scale (as it should be!). The costumes could’ve brought down the whole film, as looking at people in costumes of any kind could make people sniggering but it all works! Thor’s costume mostly resembles both the classic and modern design of Thor in the comics. You can see why Branagh was hired to the project, bringing that theatrical sophistication into the story and look itself. The story is very basic, but doesn’t fall short on spectacle, humour and light-hearted fun! The only complaint I’d make is Thor’s banishment is quite brief, and doesn’t feel he’s learnt a whole great deal or, if he did, it certainly didn’t show it. Again, something I’d like to see if they release an extended cut of the film (only time will tell).

Overall; a great start of the blockbuster season of 2011, both Marvel and Branagh should be applauded on adapting Thor well on-screen. Both Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston will become instant stars, and will looking forward to see them both in The Avengers. Next up, The First Avenger: Captain America!

4 out of 5 stars!

Copyright © 2011 A New Dawn in BC (http://newdawninbc.wordpress.com/)