THOR

Last night I went to watch Thor at the local cinema with my children. The film is riding high in the charts in both the U.S. and the U.K. at the moment, and I can see why; it's good entertainment, even if it is nonsense.

There is however a problem in watching a film laced with Norse mythology in the company of intelligent young people, who actually know a fair amount about Norse mythology. Afterwards they tell you all the things that the film got wrong. To name a few; Thor couldn't fly but went around in a chariot pulled by two huge billy goats, there were other sons of Odin apart from Thor and Loki, Odin didn't lose his eye in battle but exchanged it for wisdom drunk from Mimir's well, Heimdall the guardian was not a cool, black dude, and he also had a huge horn, Thor's hammer was much smaller. And so on and so forth.

In particular, his hammer wasn't sent by Odin to Earth (Midtgård) until Thor became worthy of it, but was stolen by the giant Thrym. However, I suppose that if the film hadn't changed that part, then there wouldn't have been an opportunity for Natalie Portman to look winsome as a human research scientist swooning over atmospheric disturbances and Thor's muscled torso. Their unrequited love sets up the possibility of a Thor II. No doubt that will be mythologically incorrect as well.  

Walter Blotscher