Baraka_Guru

When Thor was announced, I had reservations too. I've never been into comic books, but I do like a few of the superhero movies. Most of them aren't really that impressive and come across as cheesy at parts if not as a whole.

I suppose this is what you get when you take something as fantastical by nature as superheroes and try to apply it to a realism via film. If they moved away from live action and started going for the super-high-quality animation such as that found in The Incredibles or maybe going the stylistic route of Sin City and 300, then I think I would enjoy it more.

I think the track record of these superhero films for making the stories believable isn't all that great. I don't know why they go for realism where realism isn't really the expectation. Or is it?

It does work sometimes. The Batman reboot has worked for me. The last Superman movie worked for me. Ironman has worked for me. I can't really explain it. I think it was a balance of storytelling and artistry, fused with believability, that worked. I have little if any stock in other franchises, including X-men and Spiderman. I cant explain why. They haven't really weaved the same web (pardon the pun) as the films I have liked.

In the end, Thor fell short. It was entertaining enough, but I can't take it seriously.

I'm more into fantasy, which has a long and controversial past with regard to quality. It's why I'm glad for its resurgence though such works as the Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and A Game of Thrones. Regardless, believability is a difficult thing to capture on film, no matter how downplayed or nuanced the fantastical elements.

It's an interesting time in filmmaking.

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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot