The Guard
Avenger
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So let's talk about the script for THOR. I'm not a huge fan of Thor, though I do like the basic concept. The latest script for THOR is indeed set in the past, with Asgard and Midgard as the two major settings.
The story for THOR is more or less an origin, and after introducing the Norse creation myth in a LORD OF THE RINGS style opening, features Thor, the heir to the throne of Asgard, as a somewhat arrogant, prideful young man who wants little more than power and prestige. In a nutshell, after he honors Asgard by bringing gnomes and Asgardians together, and has Mjolnir created for him, young Thor falls prey to the call of power, loses control, and is stripped of his godhood and banished from Asgard due to some machinations of his brother Loki. Now a mortal slave of Midgard, Thor has to gain the respect of his new people and fight his way, in the form of a "great quest", back to claim the hammer that was once his, to regain his power and his godhood. Along the way, he learns what real suffering and sacrifice is, and becomes a man worthy of the power of a god, and the protector of Midgard. So, in the end, he turns into the Thor we all know and love. His character development is handled well enough, given his arc, but I can't say that anyone else's is.
Loki is, sadly, as the clear villain, boring as hell, and thank goodness he's got his powers, because his character just seems to be evil for the sake of it for the most part. Loki's supposed to be conflicted over being part Aesir and part Jotun, and much is made of this, but he's never ACTUALLY conflicted, and there's never a valid reason given for why he turns against his people, other than that he wants to be king, and that at one point, he finds out that he was lied to about his heritage. He is very much the "trickster" in THOR, as his machinations are simple, but no less deceptive or damaging.
Odin...is just sort of there. He feels a lot like King Triton from THE LITTLE MERMAID for some reason. Not much to him, really. There are a number of other supporting characters featured in the script, among them Thor's future wife Sif, The Warriors Three, Balder, a young viking named Eiiric, and various other relatively uninteresting people that Thor meets in his travels, most of whom we could really care less about. I think the presence of all these people is supposed to up the stakes, but mostly it just forces Thor to learn to care about other people, and their plights. That's the strength of their inclusion, more than the character's themselves.
There's a lot to like here. The story is very faithful to the basics of the Thor mythology, and Thor, even without his powers, ends up being a likeable and dynamic character, the kind you want to root for. Overall, the script is crowded and a bit random, but fairly well written, and it has the potential to be very entertaining.
I'm of two minds about this approach. On the one hand, the fantasy elements are fantastic. Asgard would be amazing if realized properly. The creatures and Frost Giants and Gods and various monsters would be amazing. The fantasy elements add a lot to what would otherwise be a relatively straightforward hero quest, that, other than the fact that it includes Thor, we've seen before. The dialogue is fairly "stock", save for a few absolutely fantastic bits and pieces. On the other hand, the nature of Thor as a god on modern day Earth has a lot of potential as well. I don't know. What do most people want to see?
The story for THOR is more or less an origin, and after introducing the Norse creation myth in a LORD OF THE RINGS style opening, features Thor, the heir to the throne of Asgard, as a somewhat arrogant, prideful young man who wants little more than power and prestige. In a nutshell, after he honors Asgard by bringing gnomes and Asgardians together, and has Mjolnir created for him, young Thor falls prey to the call of power, loses control, and is stripped of his godhood and banished from Asgard due to some machinations of his brother Loki. Now a mortal slave of Midgard, Thor has to gain the respect of his new people and fight his way, in the form of a "great quest", back to claim the hammer that was once his, to regain his power and his godhood. Along the way, he learns what real suffering and sacrifice is, and becomes a man worthy of the power of a god, and the protector of Midgard. So, in the end, he turns into the Thor we all know and love. His character development is handled well enough, given his arc, but I can't say that anyone else's is.
Loki is, sadly, as the clear villain, boring as hell, and thank goodness he's got his powers, because his character just seems to be evil for the sake of it for the most part. Loki's supposed to be conflicted over being part Aesir and part Jotun, and much is made of this, but he's never ACTUALLY conflicted, and there's never a valid reason given for why he turns against his people, other than that he wants to be king, and that at one point, he finds out that he was lied to about his heritage. He is very much the "trickster" in THOR, as his machinations are simple, but no less deceptive or damaging.
Odin...is just sort of there. He feels a lot like King Triton from THE LITTLE MERMAID for some reason. Not much to him, really. There are a number of other supporting characters featured in the script, among them Thor's future wife Sif, The Warriors Three, Balder, a young viking named Eiiric, and various other relatively uninteresting people that Thor meets in his travels, most of whom we could really care less about. I think the presence of all these people is supposed to up the stakes, but mostly it just forces Thor to learn to care about other people, and their plights. That's the strength of their inclusion, more than the character's themselves.
There's a lot to like here. The story is very faithful to the basics of the Thor mythology, and Thor, even without his powers, ends up being a likeable and dynamic character, the kind you want to root for. Overall, the script is crowded and a bit random, but fairly well written, and it has the potential to be very entertaining.
I'm of two minds about this approach. On the one hand, the fantasy elements are fantastic. Asgard would be amazing if realized properly. The creatures and Frost Giants and Gods and various monsters would be amazing. The fantasy elements add a lot to what would otherwise be a relatively straightforward hero quest, that, other than the fact that it includes Thor, we've seen before. The dialogue is fairly "stock", save for a few absolutely fantastic bits and pieces. On the other hand, the nature of Thor as a god on modern day Earth has a lot of potential as well. I don't know. What do most people want to see?
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