The first sign of spring, as we’ve all heard, is the first sighting of a robin. So what about summer? Well, ever since “Star Wars” rocketed out on Memorial Day weekend in 1977, it has become the first warm-weather release of a blockbuster, except Hollywood keeps moving that date up.
This year’s summer – or at least movies’ biggest boxoffice – season begins for the USA on May 6 with the 3-D thunderous opening of Thor. Taken from the Marvel Comic series and costing the studio a whopping 150 million dollars, you can see it at your local theater for a bit less.
Based loosely on Norse mythology, Thor is the God of Thunder who is exiled to earth from Asgard (think of it roughly as Mt. Olympus) by Odin (think of him as the Scandinavian Zeus). And, as often happens in polytheism, the gods connive and clash with each other, with us poor humans as pawns.
If this strikes you as not particularly newsy (a movie based on a comic seems to come out every few weeks), then chew on this: Thor is receiving some of the best reviews of the year, currently receiving 94% kudos from the often jaded critics. Heavens to Betsy!, as the gods might say.
What’s also clear is that in the universe of genres that make up our movie fare, there’s never been a time when all types were ascending the heights. Instead, one or two genres will shine for a decade or two, and then be replaced by another. In the 1930′s, the gangster film was going great guns; in the 1940’s and 1950′s, it was musicals and biblical epics; and in our present time, it’s animated films and movies either based on comic books (The Dark Knight, Spiderman, Ironman or on their close relative, fantasy-based stories, such as Avatar, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter). If you aren’t seeing animated films and comic book/fantasy ones, then you’re missing some of the most creative and entertaining times to be had at the movies today.
Thor has all the markings of a crossover hit, meaning it will attract and appeal to people who normally don’t favor such films. It has Academy Award winning stars Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins, it’s directed by Kenneth Branagh of Shakespeare renown and, in the title role, is a 27-year old named Chris Hemsworth, who the critics are predicting will be a major star, and whose poster is already adorning many a gay man’s wall. As Thor, he’s an absolute Adonis (If I might be allowed mixed mythologies!).
Other comic book movies coming this summer include Captain America with Chris Evans (The buzz is good), and The Green Lantern with Ryan Reynolds (Hitting the buzzsaw is more likely here).
Really good comic book movies, as Thor surely is, taps into the mythos of our imagination, into our deepest daydreams, where our fantasies are fulfilled, where good triumphs and the villains come to a glorious end – that is, until they’re needed for a sequel!
Thor will be released nationwide on Friday, May 6th in IMAX and 3D. Check your local listings for movie showtimes and locations.
Photo: Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) in THOR
