Marvel Catch-Up: Thor 4; I Am Groot; She-Hulk

Here's some quick takes on recent Marvel Cinematic Universe content:

Thor: Love and Thunder co-written and directed by Taika Waititi

Thor (Christ Hemsworth) realizes there's a certain emptiness in his life...he has no one to love.  Star-Lord (Chris Pratt) gives Thor some advise as Thor leaves the Guardians of the Galaxy to set out on his own. A new threat arises, Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale), a disgruntled believer whose personal god failed to have any sympathy for Gorr or his daughter who died on the way to get help from that god. Gorr winds up with the Necrosword which he uses to kill his god. Then he travels through the Shadow Realm from world to world, killing their local gods. When he comes to Earth, he kidnaps the children of New Asgard, hoping to draw Thor into the Shadow Realm for a death match. Thor enlists Valkyrie (Tessa Thompson), Korg (voiced by Taika Waititi), and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) who is now wielding a restored Mjolnir and going by the moniker "The Mighty Thor." Jane has stage 4 cancer. Being in the Thor-state keeps her healthy and active. In the long term, it's letting the cancer get worse. Thor is concerned for her even though they broke up a while back. They team up for the children, with a stop to recruit other gods like Zeus (Russell Crowe). 

The story is okay and the visuals are amazing but the overall film has a lot of flaws. Half the time Korg is funny, half the time I find him annoying, which is too high a percentage for a main character. Korg does a lot of narrating during the film, violating the "show don't tell" rule by telling as the filmmakers are showing. More annoying (but happily minor characters) are the shrieking goats Thor is given when he haphazardly saves a planet. The shrieks are clearly meant to be funny but the joke wears quickly. Also annoying (but a minor point) is Russell Crowe's accent--is he trying for a Greek accent? Is he drawing on the skills he used in Robin Hood? Crowe seems to be just taking the paycheck. Hemsworth and Portman still only have minimal chemistry together. It's a lot easier to see why they broke up than why they would get back together. Portman gives the best performance in the film, vacillating between the cancer-striken Jane and the fun-loving Mighty Thor. Bale also does a good job but his character is underwritten. And there's the dopey pseudo-feminism of calling Valkyrie "King" of New Asgard and Jane turning into Thor just by wielding the hammer (why didn't that happen when Captain America held the hammer? Or Hela?).

Not recommended--we're back in Thor: The Dark World territory.

I Am Groot co-written and directed by Kristen Lepore

Channeling the magic of Pixar shorts, this series of five short animated episodes shows various adventures had by Baby Groot (voiced by Vin Deisel). They are charming little vignettes, like Groot learning to walk or Groot discover a tiny civilization in a footprint. He also fights a gelatinous clone of himself, mostly through a dance-off. These episodes pack a lot of fun in two minutes (the end credits for each one is longer than the content) and the whole series can be "binged" in less than fifteen minutes.

Highly recommended for some fun.

She-Hulk: Attorney-at-Law created for television by Jessica Gao

Jennifer Walters (Tatiana Maslany) is out for a ride with her cousin Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) when they are run off the road by a space ship. In the accident, they both receive injuries and she gets some of his blood in her wound. She then gets the Hulk powers. Bruce takes her to a secluded tropical location where he works with her to control the powers and see their extent. She returns to her regular life as a lawyer in Los Angeles, though her life is no longer regular at all. She's hired by a top-level law firm that wants to open a super-human law division with She-Hulk as the main attorney. Jennifer would rather just be Jennifer, but the pay and prestige are too tempting. She also tries to maintain a regular life, working on her dating/social life and dealing with her family who are a lot more blue collar than she is.

The show is mis-titled. It should be called "The Comic Mis-Adventures of She-Hulk." Jennifer has a hard time dealing with how other people (her family, her colleagues, random people on the street and on the internet) deal with her. Some people are only interested in her She-Hulk persona but Jennifer still has full control of her intellect and actions. She's the same person, just in a large, muscled, green body. The show runs through a few legal situations (e.g., she represents Emil Blonsky (Tim Roth) who is being paroled from his crimes as The Abomination) but a lot of the episodes are more like standard sitcom fodder. She goes to a wedding; she sets up a dating profile and has to go through a string of losers; she needs to find a tailor who can make clothes for both of her body types. The episodes are also mostly inconsequential and played for laughs. She breaks the fourth wall regularly (which the character did in the comic), again for comic effect. She gets into silly situations but by the end of every episode, her situation resets. The show is also stuffed with cameos of other characters, like Hulk, Abomination, Wong (Benedict Wong), and Daredevil (Charlie Cox). Her main villain, Titania (Jameela Jamil), has super-strength but mostly causes annoyance as an "influencer," using public opinion, the internet, and cheap marketing to cause Jennifer problems. 

Mildly recommended--the show is very entertaining but also very slight.

Book Review: Thor & Loki: Double Trouble by M. Tamaki and Gurihiru

Thor & Loki: Double Trouble written by Mariko Tamaki and art by Gurihiru

Thor brags about how great he is while Loki tricks him into raiding Odin's treasury of magical objects. Thor retrieves a Lur, which is a magic horn. When Loki blows the horn, it summons the sister of the Midgard Serpent. The giant snake starts to lay waste to Asgard, with Thor and Loki (okay, mostly Thor) fighting the monster. More mayhem and adventures follow from this action-packed beginning.

The plot is a bit episodic, running from one situation to the next. As with other Thor and Loki stories, the joy is in their interactions, verbal and physical. The story is fun and moves along at a good pace. The art by Gurihiru (who worked quite well on Avatar: The Last Airbender) is very good and captures the playful tone. It's light-hearted, kid-friendly storytelling.

Recommended.

Book Review: Essential Thor Vol. 3 by S. Lee et al.

Essential Thor Volume 3 written by Stan Lee and art by Jack Kirby

This extra-thick volume includes issues 137 to 166 of the original Thor comic. These stories were published from 1967 to 1969. The story starts with Thor admiring fellow Asgardian deity Sif, who takes over as his romantic interest now that Jane Forster is out of the picture. The origin story of Thor (which is recounted in this book) has Thor banished to Midgard (that's Earth to us Earthlings) with amnesia by Odin, the main god and Thor's father. Thor shows up as Donald Blake, a medical student with a bum leg. He graduates from medical school, has a successful practice, and learns humility and service for others along the way. Blake takes a vacation in Europe and winds up in a cave where he finds a walking stick that, once struck to the ground, turns Blake into the Mighty Thor.

In these issues, he faces a good variety of opponents and challenges. Loki, Norse god of mischief, is a key background player. He endows the Wrecker with magical power at a time when Thor is deprived of his divine power, so the battle is close, but naturally Thor wins. He also faces Galactus (a world-devouring giant), the Ringmaster (a criminal mastermind who runs a carnival as a front), Kang the Conqueror (a time traveling villain), and the Super-Skrull (a Skrull who has all four powers from the Fantastic Four), among other villains. He also faces the loss of his powers because he's not obedient enough to Odin; the kidnapping of his girlfriend more than once; and a short stint in jail(!). Through his persistence and courage, he manages to win out every time.

The stories are interesting but have a particular style. Sif is a goddess and warrior who does a lot of fighting, but she's also an object of affection for Balder the Brave (another Asgardian hero). The situation is not so much a love triangle as an unrequited love on Balder's side. Sif is probably too self-assured and aggressive for stereotypical modern-day conservatives and too protected and submissive for stereotypical modern-day liberals. A lot of the dialog is pseudo-Shakespearean, with nods to the King James translation of the Bible thrown in. The style is fun but it gets a bit thick at times. Reading it once a month rather than back to back might make it easier. The outfits look a little weird. I understand they are supposed to be otherworldly but the minor characters look a bit blocky and awkward. Sif and Balder have caps that look dorky by modern standards. The action sequences are fun and have a good variety. Thor doesn't always win by brute force; sometimes he uses his wits too.

A set of thirty comics is bound to have better and lesser stories but overall I found these enjoyable if quaint.

Slightly recommended.

Movie Review: Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

Thor: Ragnarok (2017) directed by Taika Waititi

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is desparate enough to prevent Ragnarok (the Asgardian apocalypse) that he'll do just about anything. He fights fire demons, threatens to behead his brother, and tries to save his father Odin from shuffling off his apparently mortal coil. His evil, imprisoned sister Hela (Cate Blanchett), goddess of death, is released and causes pandemonium on the planet Asgard. Thor gets tossed off the Bifrost (the bridge between Earth and Asgard) and falls to a dump of a planet where unloved things go to be exploited. He's reunited with more than the Hulk as he schemes his return to Asgard and save the day. Because that's what heroes do.

This movie is a classic case of throwing in everything but the kitchen sink. The story ranges all over Asgard and a bit of the universe. The movie is dripping with CGI spectacle. Jokes are ubiquitous and aimed at practically everyone. Visual references and gags aren't limited to the Marvel Cinematic Universe--everything from Willy Wonka to Lord of the Rings gets a nod, homage, or rip-off. The frivolity is only occasionally tempered by dramatic moments, though many of those can't keep a straight face for very long. The tone is very frivolous, almost to a fault. The actors do a great job and keep the movie from becoming too cartoonish. This is not great storytelling but entertainment for entertainment's sake.

Recommended, though it is very light-weight and visually overblown. This movie is possibly the exact opposite of the dreary and self-important DC superhero movies coming out in the past few years.

Movie Review: Thor The Dark World (2013)

Thor The Dark World (2013) directed by Alan Taylor

An ancient enemy of Asgard threatens to attack again--the Dark Elves. They ruled the universe long ago when darkness was supreme and they want to turn out the lights for the rest of the universe now. Odin's father had beaten them 5000 years ago when the nine worlds aligned and their power was at its height. Now another alignment is coming and the elves are back to their old tricks. Thor is ready to fight along with his usual compatriots but when as things go from bad to worst, he has to rely on his scheming evil brother Loki.

The plot is very generic and surprises are mostly not surprising. The Dark Elves are not very interesting as villains because they lack any character or menace to them (in spite of the fact they want to destroy the universe!). They look like "baddies of the week" from Star Trek or Doctor Who (which may be a subliminal thing for me since their leader is played in heavy prosthetics by Ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston--I recognized his voice about half way through). Loki is easily the best thing about the film. His schemes are interesting and Tom Hiddleston plays him with panache. The other actors are good but the script doesn't give them much to work with. Chris O'Dowd from The IT Crowd has a fun cameo and there are other laugh out loud lines, but not as much as in the first Thor movie. The chemistry between romantic leads Thor and Jane Foster is weak (though she does look cute in Asgardian armor!). The ending promises some interesting possibilities in the next movie, so I'm not giving up hope, but I can't recommend this film unless you're a Marvel completionist.