{"id":689,"date":"2021-08-04T00:47:56","date_gmt":"2021-08-04T04:47:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.therem.net\/blog\/?p=689"},"modified":"2021-08-05T21:23:58","modified_gmt":"2021-08-06T01:23:58","slug":"thor-ten-years-later","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.therem.net\/blog\/thor-ten-years-later\/","title":{"rendered":"Thor, Ten Years Later"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

After watching the first season of Loki on Disney+<\/a> (highly recommended!), I realized I barely remembered the events of the first Thor movie<\/a> in which Loki was introduced. Plot points from the film are mentioned several times in the show, so I decided to rewatch it, and just for kicks write a full-on recap \u2013 an activity that is particularly fun when the film being recapped isn\u2019t great art. Spoiler: Thor is not great art, and there be some snark below, but nothing too mean. I\u2019ve added some summary thoughts as well at the end. Click here<\/a> to skip to them if you\u2019re interested in more of a review than a blow-by-blow account of what happens in the movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Recap<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Night. An isolated van idles in the New Mexico desert. Three white folks \u2013 two women and one man \u2013 look skyward expectantly while one fiddles with instruments. First words (from Jane): \u201cWait for it.\u201d There it is: a weird bluish glow in the sky. She yells, \u201cGo!\u201d and the other woman floors it. Jane hangs out the passenger side window with a video camera, then also grabs the wheel to point them into the tornado-like cloud that has appeared, as one obviously would do while driving a vehicle containing expensive scientific equipment and two other people, one of whom is complaining, \u201cI am not dying for six college credits!\u201d They plunge into the dust storm, where they promptly hit a person who has appeared out of nowhere. Jane jumps out of the van, leans over the prostrate body and says, \u201cDo me a favor and don’t be dead!\u201d Then she wonders, \u201cWhere did he come from?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cue voiceover by legend of stage and screen Anthony Hopkins as dark bluish CGI of \u201cTonsberg, Norway \u2013 965 AD\u201d materializes before us\u2026 Once, humans believed in other worlds populated by gods and other beings to be feared. Frost giants threatened to bring a new ice age to Earth! Odin and Asgardian grunts beamed down to help out the humans. Big battle. Odin lost an eye. The frost giants were driven back to their world and \u201cthe source of their power\u201d was taken back to Asgard. The blue past fades and we see that Odin is telling this story to young Thor and Loki while walking down a hallway. Thor is enthusiastic about the thought of killing the last remaining frost giants. Odin tut tuts and says, \u201cA wise king never seeks out war, but he must always be ready for it.\u201d The children both say they are ready, and Odin says mysteriously, \u201cOnly one of you can ascend to the throne, but both of you were born to be kings.\u201d I’m sure that won’t cause any unhealthy sibling rivalry or anything…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fast forward an indeterminate amount of time to an adult Thor walking triumphantly through a cheering crowd in an overly CGI-ed throne room toward Odin, who is sitting on a dais. Shots of Sif, Frigga, and Odin all looking some version of exasperated or subtly disappointed as Thor fist pumps and cheers himself on. Odin begins to speak, mentioning Mjolnir\u2019s provenance \u2013 forged from the heart of a dying star \u2013 and proclaiming Thor to be\u2026 what? We don\u2019t know because he never finishes his sentence. He has sensed frost giants sneaking in downstairs. Rut roh!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cut to below, where three shadowy intruders try to grab the glowing \u201csource of power\u201d from earlier but are incinerated by a metallic guardian Odin lets out of its enclosure with a pounding of his staff. He, Thor and Loki go down to the vault to see what’s what. Plenty of ice and dead people, but the Casket is still there. Thor is pissed and wants to invade Jotunheim in response to the attempted theft. Odin says the thieves are already dead, he has a truce with Laufey, and BT-dubs, Thor ain’t king yet. Loki watches this exchange wordlessly, though his eyebrows get quite a workout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Loki<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Back in the festival chamber, Thor is table flipping mad. Loki comes up behind him quietly (his sneaky feet entering the frame considerably before the rest of him), and Thor says it’s not a good time to hang out. \u201cThis was to be my day of triumph!\u201d Loki speaks his first adult words: \u201cIt\u2019ll come, in time.\u201d The rest of the warband approach: Fandral, Hogun, Volstagg, Sif. Loki says, for the record, he agrees with Thor about what ought to be done, but Odin has said no. Suddenly, Thor brightens: he’s decided to defy his dad and go to Jotunheim anyway. After some minimal arm-twisting, his friends agree to go with him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They ride on horseback across the Rainbow Bridge. Fancy CGI that is, again, a bit off putting in its perfection: Asgardian landscape shots of buildings halfway between H.R. Giger and giant church organs, sparkling waters, and a sky that can’t seem to decide if it’s day or night. Heimdall awaits them, looking statuesque. (Literally. He\u2019s huge, motionless, and played by Idris Elba.) He is not happy about the frost giants getting past him earlier. He wants to know how it happened and is not in a mood to talk to Loki. Thor brashly steps forward and asks if they may pass. Heimdall allows it. They enter the sphere, and he puts his sword into a… lock? sheath? slot? to activate the Bifrost, which shoots out from a sort of tower attached to the sphere. He cautions them that he won’t let them return if that would mean Asgard being endangered. Thor says he doesn’t plan to die today and Heimdall says, \u201cNone do.\u201d Buzzkill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Heimdall<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bifrost travel is kind of like Star Trek warp travel, but with more rainbows. They shoot out on the other end far above a planet\u2019s surface and land like meteorites. Good thing they’re practically invulnerable. Jotunheim: cold, dark, and full of unstable, crumbly columns. Hogun: \u201cWe shouldn\u2019t be here.\u201d I\u2019m with you, guy. The place seems abandoned at first, and Thor thinks that means the frost giants are cowards. Then Laufey growls hello from a dark corner. Or is it a throne? Everything looks the same in this place. In answer to Thor\u2019s question about who planned the theft earlier, all he\u2019ll say is that Asgard is full of traitors. He also doesn\u2019t think much of Odin \u2013 he calls him a murderer and a thief. Thor is getting steamy, but Loki sidles up to him and points out that a lot of giants have crawled out of the icework. A fight doesn\u2019t seem wise. Laufey is grumpy, but he also doesn\u2019t want a fight \u2013 he knows where it might lead\u2026 he takes a second to brood on the past, then says they should leave while he\u2019s feeling philosophical. Thor is still seething, but Loki accepts the \u201cgracious offer,\u201d and they start to walk out. Then a frost giant warrior pokes Thor in his fragile masculinity by rumbling, \u201cRun back home, little princess.\u201d \u201cDamn,\u201d Loki says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lots of fisticuffs and hammerings ensue. We also see Loki\u2019s ability to project an image of himself as a decoy. There\u2019s a weird moment when he stabs a frost giant, who grabs his arm \u2013 and rather than being cold-burned as Volstagg\u2019s was, his arm just turns blue. The stabbee gives him a Significant Look, and Loki finishes him off. His arm returns to normal color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thor is totally in a killing groove and doesn’t seem to care when Fandral is injured and Loki says they must go. Uh oh, a giant beast has been loosed. Thor calls down lightning that collapses the palace and then the entire landscape?? The ground disappears just behind his retreating friends\u2019 feet. WTF? The beast can run upside down under the ice. Thor whips up some momentum with Mjolnir and flies like a rocket through the critter\u2019s neck, killing it. But there\u2019s a big crowd of frost giants behind them now, pinning them against the cliff edge. They call for Heimdall to bring them back, but instead, heya! Dad\u2019s here! Odin asks Laufey to back off, but Laufey refuses. He says Thor will get what he came for: war and death. Before further battle can happen, Odin summons the Bifrost, and the Asgardians are sucked up into space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back at Heimdall-heim, Odin is seething with anger at Thor. He speaks some very ouchy words while stripping Thor of his magical Asgardian armor: \u201cYou are unworthy of these realms! You’re unworthy of your title! You are unworthy of the loved ones you have betrayed!\u201d He snatches Mjolnir and blasts Thor into the Bifrost, saying, \u201cI cast you out!\u201d Then he throws the hammer into the light as well, saying, \u201cWhosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.\u201d A magical incantation? Loki watches all of this, saying nothing but clearly glued to the drama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thirty minutes in, we are finally back to where the movie began: Thor landing in the New Mexico desert. Both Darcy and Jane look a bit horny for this guy who just fell to earth, but that doesn’t stop Darcy from tasing him unconscious when he starts yelling. They load him into the van to take him to the hospital. In the background as they drive away, we see another Bifrost landing happening in the distance, cargo unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thor gets belligerent at the hospital, but some drugs subdue him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A guy driving a pickup truck finds the second crater, which contains the hammer, stuck in a rock like Excalibur. He can’t budge it. \u201cHuh!\u201d he muses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jane and Erik talk technobabble while Darcy plays dumb. \u201cEinstein-Rosen bridge\u201d = wormhole. They realize Thor himself was what came out of the wormhole and go back to the hospital to get more information. He has just escaped. They go to look for him in the van\u2026 and hit him again, this time by backing into him. Jane says to his unconscious body, \u201cI swear I’m not doing this on purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Thor<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, back at the crater, various dopey dudes are having a party, barbecuing meat and trying to pull the hammer out of its rock with feats of strength. Stan Lee makes his cameo driving a truck and attempting to yank the weapon loose with chains. The entire bed of the pickup rips off the vehicle and he asks cluelessly, \u201cDid it work?\u201d Then the feds arrive. Phil Coulson!! He radios back to HQ saying he found \u201cit\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thor is awake and shirtless at Jane’s place. The camera lingers on his hairless and extremely muscly torso. Darcy: \u201cYou know, for a crazy homeless person, he’s pretty cut.\u201d An in-joke comics reference: Jane lends Thor some clothes that used to belong to a previous boyfriend, Donald Blake, MD<\/a>. \u201cGood with patients, bad with relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back in Asgard, the warriors tend their wounds and wonder how they were rescued. Loki says he told \u201cthe guard\u201d (is this supposed to be Heimdall?) to tell Odin where they had gone after they went through the Bifrost. He says they’re all alive because of it, and he didn’t know Odin would banish Thor. Sif says Loki has to ask Odin to reverse his decision. \u201cAnd then what?\u201d he inquires. They all know what Thor is like, and he’s not king material. He leaves, and they wonder if he was the one who let the frost giants into Asgard. Fandral doesn’t think so, even though, \u201cLoki has always been one for mischief.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cut to Loki in the vault, approaching the frost giants\u2019 Casket. He lifts it, and from far behind him, Odin shouts, \u201cStop!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAm I cursed?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat am I?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou’re my son.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Loki turns around, temporarily blue-skinned, with red eyes. The color drains as he asks, \u201cWhat more than that?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He walks towards Odin, saying, \u201cThe Casket wasn’t the only thing you took from Jotunheim that day, was it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo. In the aftermath of the battle, I went into the temple, and I found a baby. Small, for a giant\u2019s offspring. Abandoned, suffering, left to die. Laufey’s son.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A flashback visual shows the blue crying baby turning pink as Odin holds him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLaufey\u2019s son.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy? You were knee deep in Jotun blood. Why would you take me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou were an innocent child.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo. You took me for a purpose. What was it? Tell me!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI thought we could unite our kingdoms one day. Bring about an alliance, bring about permanent peace. Through you. But those plans no longer matter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, I am no more than another stolen relic, locked up here until you might have use of me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy do you twist my words?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou could have told me what I was from the beginning. Why didn’t you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou are my son. I wanted only to protect you from the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat, because I’m the monster who parents tell their children about at night?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo, no\u2026\u201d Odin starts to fall backward. His voice has grown faint.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know, it all makes sense now, why you favored Thor all these years. Because no matter how much you claim to love me, you could never have a frost giant sitting on the throne of Asgard!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Odin has completely collapsed on the stairs and is unresponsive. Loki leans over him and touches his hand, slowly realizing what has happened. \u201cGuards!\u201d he shouts with alarm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gushing note: this is a phenomenally acted scene! Hopkins is stern and gruff, but with an undertone of sadness and guilt. Hiddleston plays emotional notes up and down the scale and makes you really feel for Loki in this moment. Very Shakespearian and out of place in the middle of this movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back with Thor et al, we return to sitcom territory. They\u2019re in a diner, marveling at Thor’s appetite. He likes coffee and smashes his mug on the floor, demanding another. Darcy and Jane are embarrassed. A flannel-clad local walks in and excitedly tells other patrons about the \u201csatellite crash\u201d at the crater. Thor recognizes Mjolnir’s description and heads out, cluelessly causing traffic disturbances by walking in the middle of the road. He says he’ll answer all of Jane’s questions if she’ll drive him to the crater. Erik pulls her aside and tells her the guy\u2019s delusional — he’s talking about myths as if they’re real! Jane tells Thor she can’t help him and almost trips over herself as she walks away while staring at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Almost immediately, Jane’s lab equipment and notes are confiscated by Phil Coulson. She is pissed, but he insists, \u201cWe’re the good guys.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trio sit morosely on the roof of the lab. Darcy complains about her iPod being taken. Erik says he knew an expert in gamma radiation who was nabbed by S.H.I.E.L.D. and wasn’t heard from again. (Banner?) He says he can email someone\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sad<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The warriors four go to the throne room of Asgard, urgently wanting to speak with Odin. But now Loki is in the chair. He says Odin has fallen into \u201cthe Odinsleep,\u201d and he is now king. They kneel reluctantly. Some more reluctantly than others (*cough cough*, Sif). Sif asks that Loki undo Thor\u2019s banishment, but he says his first act as king cannot be to reverse Odin\u2019s last. Also, that the kingdom needs \u201ccontinuity\u201d when they are on the brink of war with Jotunheim. They withdraw, unhappily. Sif is looking daggers!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More silly hijinks on earth. Thor tries to buy a horse in a pet store. Jane gives him a ride in her van. Goo goo eyes almost lead to a road accident, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Loki and Frigga sit on either side of Odin, who is lying in a bed surrounded by a golden barrier of light. She says he put off the sleep for so long, she doesn’t know when he’ll come out of it. But she says not to give up hope for him, or for Thor. \u201cWhat hope is there for Thor?\u201d Loki asks. She says everything Odin does has a purpose. Loki\u2019s facial expression is ambiguous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thor and Jane get to the crater, which is now swarming with feds and covered with portable white tunnels \u00e0 la \u201cE.T.\u201d. Thor says he can retrieve all her stolen equipment once he’s got Mjolnir. He easily infiltrates the perimeter and summons a thunderstorm with his presence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coulson: \u201cI need eyes up high, with a gun.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A mysterious someone responds, but grabs a bow and arrows, not a gun. It’s Clint Barton (a.k.a. Hawkeye) making his MCU debut! Barton asks if he should slow Thor down or wait for him to beat up more of Coulson\u2019s guys. Coulson says to sit tight for a bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some very muddy fighting occurs. Thor defeats everyone and finally gets to Mjolnir, looking triumphant. But\u2026 he can’t lift it! Oh no! He\u2019s not worthy! He is dejected and doesn\u2019t resist as Coulson\u2019s guys take him into custody. Far away, Heimdall sees it all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jane, Darcy, and Erik banter about the possibility of Thor\u2019s hammer being the same as the one in the kid\u2019s book of myths Erik pulled off a shelf. For some reason Erik, who is actually Scandinavian, is less willing to believe in Viking myths than the Americans are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coulson tries to get Thor to talk. He thinks he’s a mercenary because of his military skills. Someone calls Coulson away and suddenly\u2026 Loki is there. He tells Thor a lot of lies in a short time, including: that Odin is dead, that there’s a truce with Jotunheim that is conditional on Thor\u2019s continued exile, and that Frigga has forbidden his return. It’s goodbye, forever. Thor takes it surprisingly well. He\u2019s sad, but thanks Loki for coming to tell him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On his way out, Loki pops by Mjolnir to see if he can lift it. Denied!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Erik goes to the crater to rescue Thor, claiming Thor is Donald Blake, who he says is a brilliant physicist who was distraught when all his research was seized. Coulson, who has already seen that the provided ID is false, asks how \u201cDonald\u201d got through all the security. Erik: \u201cSteroids! He’s a bit of a fitness nut.\u201d LOL! For some reason, Coulson lets them leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thor and Erik have a heart to heart at a bar. Thor says he had it all backwards. Erik says, \u201cIt’s not a bad thing finding out that you don’t have all the answers. You start asking the right questions.\u201d ALERT! ALERT! MOVIE THESIS SPOKEN ALOUD! Erik says he’ll buy Thor one more drink, then Thor should leave town. But it\u2019s going to be a while: the \u201cboilermakers\u201d are enormous!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Very<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Loki beams down to Jotunheim. Laufey tells his flunkies to kill him but becomes more friendly when Loki reveals that it was him who let the frost giants into the palace \u2013 as a \u201cbit of fun\u201d to ruin Thor’s big day and delay his \u201cidiotic rule\u201d. He offers Laufey a deal: he’ll let him and a few others into the palace so they can kill Odin as he sleeps. After it’s done, he’ll give them the Casket, and Jotunheim will be returned to its \u2013 he glances left and right at the dismal decor \u2013 \u201cglory\u201d. Yes, you can hear the air quotes. Laufey says it’s a deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Loki returns to Asgard, Heimdall mentions that he couldn’t see or hear Loki while he was in Jotunheim.  How odd… Loki double-checks that Heimdall is now loyal to him as the current king, then orders him not to let anyone else through the Bifrost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thor carries a drunken Erik back to Jane’s van. After some awkwardness (she puts a dirty bowl in the cupboard nervously, then admits she never has guests), they go to the roof of the lab and sit next to a fire pit. He explains the Nine Realms and Yggdrasil, and the scene fades to black. No sexy times though \u2013 she\u2019s just falling asleep in her lounger. Some time later, he tucks a blanket around her and thanks her. For what, exactly? I think this is what passes for development of their relationship in this movie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The warriors four are in a room together. Fandral is pacing with agitation and is irked that Volstagg is stuffing himself with meat and ale. He slaps a half-gnawed leg of beast out of his hand. Volstagg leaps up, shouting, \u201cDo not mistake my appetite for apathy!\u201d Hogun and Sif are in agreement: they must find Thor, even though it’s treason. Then they realize they should say no more, because Heimdall might be listening. Two seconds later, there’s a knock at the door: they’ve been summoned by the big H.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heimdall loudly asks if they intend to defy the orders of their king, Loki, and betray their every oath as warriors. They admit the answer is yes. \u201cGood!\u201d he exclaims, and walks away, leaving the Bifrost sword in its mechanism. Apparently, he considers it not breaking his oath if they do the activating instead of him. Loki sees the Bifrost light up from over in the palace, and he\u2019s super pissed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The warriors land in the desert 15 miles from the crater. Coulson\u2019s crew detect the surge of energy and head out to investigate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Domestic scene with Erik taking Alka Seltzer and Thor serving eggs. OK, that happened.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Loki goes down to the vault and releases the Destroyer, telling it, \u201cEnsure my brother does not return. Destroy everything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The warriors walk through the middle of town, causing confusion with their outlandish garb. \u201cIs there a renaissance fair in town?\u201d one agent asks. The four quickly locate Thor (how, exactly?), and there is a happy reunion. It is quickly revealed that Loki lied to Thor about Odin being dead. But\u2026 Thor is still banished regardless? I’m not sure what their plan is here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, back on Asgard, Loki confronts Heimdall and tells him he’s out of a job. Heimdall is freed from his loyalty oath and prepares to fight Loki, but Loki opens the Casket and encases Heimdall in ice. (He briefly turns blue again while he’s doing it.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new portal opens on earth and something\u2026 bigger than before plummets to the ground. Coulson and crew are nearby. One of them asks, \u201cIs that one of Stark\u2019s?\u201d as they behold the Destroyer. \u201cI don’t know. He never tells me anything,\u201d Coulson says wearily. Attempts to talk down the giant killer machine with a megaphone don’t go too well. It blasts what appears to be a combo laser\/flamethrower beam from its face. Yikes! Run, guys! It slowly stomps in the direction of town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fighty fighty. People running away. Lots of flames and explosions as the Destroyer blasts buildings, cars, gas stations, and people with its death beam. It\u2019s kind of thrilling watching it lay waste to the place! Sif gets the upper hand briefly, but the Destroyer twists its head around in an Exorcist move and zaps her off. The thing seems unstoppable. Thor convinces his friends to retreat, saying he has a plan. Then he walks toward the Destroyer and talks to it as if it is Loki. He apologizes for whatever he did that made his brother so mad and says the people in the town are innocent. Loki can just kill him and end it. We see Loki sitting on the throne in Asgard \u2013 he can hear it all. The Destroyer powers down its Inferno-Face and instead backslaps Thor into next week. He flies far down the street and actually looks damaged for once. Jane rushes to him and weeps as he seemingly dies. The Destroyer turns around and starts walking away. Back on Asgard, a single tear falls from Odin\u2019s eye, and we hear flashback voiceover about Mjolnir, worthiness, etc. At the crater, the hammer breaks free of its rock and flies high into the sky before hurtling toward Thor. Erik hustles Jane out of the way as the hammer lands in a suddenly not dead Thor\u2019s hand. There is lightning, special effects of his armor reconstituting out of thin air, his friends looking amazed and happy, etc. Then there’s a big storm-assisted battle with the Destroyer, which ends with it in smithereens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Well, that ended suddenly. Coulson agrees to give Jane’s equipment back and seems to be assuming she’ll be working for S.H.I.E.L.D. henceforth. Thor asks Jane if she wants to see \u201cthe Bifrost site\u201d and she says flirtingly, \u201cSure!\u201d It\u2019s almost as if he\u2019s asked her to come check out his record collection. \u201cWait, I need to debrief you\u2026\u201d Coulson protests weakly as Thor blasts off into the sky with Jane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back on Asgard, Loki welcomes the frost giants. Heimdall silently screams inside his ice prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the Bifrost landing zone, Thor calls for Heimdall and gets no reply. His repeated calls seem to give Heimdall super strength; he suddenly breaks free of the ice and kills the two frost giants left to guard the bridge. He enters the Bifrost chamber and activates it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mushy scene of Thor saying he has to go back to Asgard to deal with some stuff\u2026 but he’ll be back for Jane afterward. They have an overly emphatic kiss that is devoid of sexual energy, and off he goes with his warrior buddies. Byeeee!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGet him to the healing room,\u201d Thor commands when they find Heimdall collapsed in the chamber. He\u2019s off to deal with Loki.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Frigga gets one good sword cut in as frost giants invade Odin\u2019s chamber, but then she’s overcome. Laufey gloats a bit as he prepares to kill Odin, but then is blasted from behind by Loki, who calls himself \u201cthe son of Odin\u201d. Laufey and friends are dead, lickety split. Frigga says Loki saved them, and he seems eager to accept credit. But then Thor arrives and breaks the news that Loki tried to kill him. Frigga is shocked. Loki claims that the Destroyer must have been following Odin\u2019s last command, and Thor says he always was a talented liar. Loki blasts him out of the way with his spear, saying, \u201cExcuse me! I have to destroy Jotunheim.\u201d What?! We\u2019ve officially entered \u201cnothing this guy does makes sense\u201d territory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He rides to the Bifrost chamber and activates it — leaving it on, pointed at Jotunheim. Earlier Heimdall mentioned that it was so powerful it could wreak hella destruction if it wasn\u2019t used briefly. Now it\u2019s on full blast, exploding whole buildings and sections of Jotunheim\u2019s surface. Thor arrives and wants to know, \u201cWhat up, bro?\u201d Loki says he wants to be the one who saved Odin and destroyed \u201cthat race of monsters\u201d to show that he is the worthy son. Thor: \u201cYou can’t kill an entire race!\u201d \u201cWhy not? And what is this newfound love for the frost giants? You could have killed them all with your bare hands.\u201d \u201cI\u2019ve changed.\u201d \u201cSo have I.\u201d Loki slashes Thor with his spear. \u201cNow fight me!\u201d Thor doesn’t want to, but Loki goads him into it by saying he’ll maybe pay Jane a visit later. (Ick.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fighty fighty until they blast through the wall of the Bifrost chamber onto the bridge. Loki casts an illusion of himself hanging off the edge pleading for help. Thor falls for it and gets a blast to the chest. He collapses as Loki casts multiple illusions of himself to better gloat\/laugh. The moment ends suddenly when Thor brings down some lightning and Loki is stunned. Thor puts Mjolnir on his chest like a giant paperweight and tries to go back to the chamber. It’s pulsing with so much force and energy that he can’t get close. Loki says there’s nothing he can do \u2013 he can’t stop it now! (How can he talk with that hammer compressing his lungs? The physical properties of Mjolnir are vexing.) But Thor has an idea: he summons his weapon and starts hammering the Rainbow Bridge. Loki is appalled. He says Thor will never see Jane again if he destroys it. Thor continues hammering as Odin awakens back in the palace. Loki rushes at Thor and leaps on him with his spear. There is a huge explosion as the combination of their concussive blows shatters the bridge and the Bifrost chamber falls off the edge of the world. Odin seemingly\u2026 teleports? \u2026 and prevents Thor and Loki from falling as well. Loki tells Odin he almost did it! For him! Odin says, \u201cNo.\u201d That\u2019s the last straw\u2026 Loki lets go of the spear he\u2019s been dangling from and falls into the void of space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Dangling<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Obligatory denouement. The portal closes on Earth. Asgardians feast, but Thor is gloomy. Sif and Frigga discuss his mental state: he\u2019s sad about Loki and misses Jane. (Or, as Sif calls her, \u201cthe mortal\u201d.) Thor tells his dad he knows he has a lot to learn now, and he hopes he’ll make Odin proud of him someday. Odin says indulgently that he already has. Then Thor visits Heimdall, who is standing statuesquely near the end of the broken bridge, staring off into space. \u201cCan you see her?\u201d \u201cYes. She searches for you.\u201d Thor smiles a melancholy little smile. The end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weird end credits music: \u201cWalk\u201d by Foo Fighters. It doesn\u2019t really fit, tonally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Post credits scene: Erik in a subterranean corridor is met by Nick Fury, who wants his help with a mysterious blue cube that contains possibly unlimited power. Suddenly Loki appears in a mirror, looking a bit worse for wear. Bruised? Scorched? Moldy? Maybe all of the above? But he\u2019s definitely not dead! And he seems to be mind-controlling Erik, who repeats his words: \u201cWell, I guess that\u2019s worth a look.\u201d Duh duh DUH! Stay tuned for The Avengers<\/a>, coming next year!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Summary Thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

(This section contains spoilers for later movies and TV shows.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I first saw this movie, I didn’t think much of it. It just seemed silly. Some of that was clearly intentional, and I did enjoy the lighthearted boisterous energy that Chris Hemsworth brought to the role of Thor, particularly in the scenes based on Earth. Rewatching it now, I still find it to be a mess, tonally and visually discordant between its Asgardian and Earthly sections in ways that don’t work very well overall. And the plotting is just plain lazy. But I am surprised at how enduring some of the characters, themes, and settings ended up being over time, in ways that did not need to be \u201cfixed\u201d to support later movies and TV shows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First off, the concept of the Nine Realms and the sparkly Rainbow Bridge\/Bifrost is a soft introduction of the neon-lit space weirdness of later films like Guardians of the Galaxy<\/a>. And though the world-hopping in Thor does not technically involve a multiverse (these are all planets existing in the same timeline), the very different worlds and peoples depicted have some of the \u201canything can happen\u201d flavor of the events just starting to unfold in the MCU’s phase 4<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And speaking of the multiverse\u2026 having just watched the Loki show on Disney+ (which officially unleashed it), I really appreciate how this movie introduces Loki\u2019s slippery character: his actions and his affect are so divergent at different points that it almost seems like he\u2019s playing alternate universe versions of himself in this movie! The Loki of Norse myth is known for his trickery, of course, and it\u2019s hard to tell if the lack of character coherence is due to the source material, bad writing, or Hiddleston\u2019s uncertainty about how to play him in this first outing. He does some pretty evil things, but he\u2019s also sympathetic at several points, and it\u2019s hard not to agree with his assessment of Thor early on: his brother is a big dumb lug and doesn\u2019t have a clue! And he displays genuine emotional turmoil when he discovers that he is a frost giant by blood and that Odin has been lying to him. Daddy issues! It seems like he wants to die at the end, but\u2026 lo and behold, he\u2019s back in that end credits scene. The pattern is set of someone who\u2019s all over the place, someone you want to trust, but can\u2019t, and someone who keeps dying without it sticking, like a cat with nine lives. A character with a lot of dramatic angles to play and a lot of potential to drive plots, even (especially?) multiversal ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thor’s own daddy issues and struggles with responsibility get a big splashy debut in this film, and even though he seems to have reached a turning point by the end, his skill deficits in the areas of thinking ahead and controlling his urges continue to crop up, as do his ambiguous feelings around being a warrior vs. a ruler. In the MCU to date, these have not been resolved, but Hemsworth has both deepened the character and made him more funny (Thor: Ragnarok<\/a> was a highlight in this regard), so it doesn\u2019t feel like he\u2019s stuck in time. I\u2019m always pleased to see him when he shows up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something that really doesn\u2019t work for me in Thor is the romance. There is no \u201cthere\u201d there, to the point that it\u2019s almost insulting to viewers. And though Jane is supposedly a talented scientist, she doesn\u2019t have much career-related purpose in this movie beyond the first few minutes in which her wormhole obsession leads the title character to meet cute with her van. Then she\u2019s super focused on him for the rest of the movie. She doesn’t get much more to do in Thor: The Dark World<\/a>, either. It sounds like Marvel has plans, finally, to make something of Jane Foster as a character (in the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder<\/a>), but it took over 10 years! Was it a lack of prioritization or lack of availability or interest on Natalie Portman\u2019s part? I don\u2019t know, but\u2026 meh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Other random comments:<\/p>\n\n\n\n