In Anticipation of Thor: Please Let the Movie RAWK!!!!

Since Spider-Man and The X-Men movies got the ball rolling, the super hero movies for Marvel have been big budget and met with varying success. But it seems that over the last decade the superhero movie has gained legitimacy in the main stream consciousness. Look at the most recent popularity of Iron Man and the massive boost to Robert Downey's career.

Now Thor is slated for a 2011 release, and I am awaiting it with a mixture of child-like giddiness that I have not felt since the 1988 release of Batman and trepidation not unlike that brought on by the Star Wars prequels. Thor is my absolute favorite superhero, hands down bar none. I have followed his comics since I was a kid in the 70s'. From stories of civil unrest in NYC to the gawds awful Secret Wars, his battles with Set of the Egyptians, to the ill fated Lord of Asgard story line, till now and the ruinous story lines that Marvel has spun in the wake of its crappy Civil War arcs.

Why would I stay with it? Because Thor and his allies have remained true to their lineage, as it were. Thor has always been the honorable, sometimes failing, leader of men and gods. The stalwart unfailing strength of the character in the face of insurmountable odds, and his constant striving to straddle the mortal world that he loves and protects to the immortal one where his duty lies as a prince of Asgard has been a constant and compelling story. Loki's machinations and the epic battles don’t hurt. I can go on about the various artists from the Immortal Jack Kirby and on to the writers like Straczynski but this is more about my anticipation of the movie.

The film stars Chris Hemsworth as Thor, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, his mortal love interest, Anthony Hopkins as Odin , and Tom Hiddleston as Loki. The plot is as follows, according to comingsoon.net:

Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment present the epic adventure, "Thor," which spans the Marvel Universe from present day Earth to the realm of Asgard. At the center of the story is the mighty Thor (Chris Hemsworth), a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth by his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and is forced to live among humans. A beautiful, young scientist, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), has a profound effect on Thor, as she ultimately becomes his first love. It's while here on Earth that Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth.

I like the synopsis; I think it touches on the original idea of Thor's banishment from Asgard for his sin of arrogance. The idea sounds epic enough to give the god a challenge, something sorely lacking in the Superman re-launch. The fact that Kenneth Branagh is directing fills with me hope, as I have loved his Shakespeare interpretations. My concerns come from the main actor, Chris Hemsworth, what little I have seen of him does not tell me how he would handle such a powerful role. Now a comic book character doesn't seem to be a challenging role, but this is an icon of epic proportions. He needs to be arrogant as the young Thor was, but still make him the leader he needs to be, the hero that he should be; to project majesty and command yet to set aside that arrogance. I think to do it right will take awesome direction, writing, and acting, so everyone has to hit on all cylinders. This film will have to walk the fine line between bombastic and epic without coming off campy. I can't wait to see the first trailers just for a taste of what is to come.

The first picture of Thor has hit the net, and the costume is faithful to the comic and Hemsworth looks good, but the outfit looks rubbery. I hope, like with Iron Man, that this is the "working" costume and there will be enhancements with CGI. If not, I hope it looks a little less cheesy in motion than in a still shot.

Thanks to Mangus for catching this for me. So I am optimistically hopeful, but mindful of past disappointments. I will be there for the midnight showing in breathless anticipation. I will return here to offer my thoughts, feelings, and hopefully, joyous elation over an awesome movie.