10 Things Parents Should Know About Thor

1. What?s it all about?
It?s the latest in the build-up to next summer?s The Avengers! The mighty warrior Thor (Chris Hemsworth, or ?Kirk?s Dad? as many fans have delighted in pointing out) is banished to Earth from Asgard for reigniting an ancient war, and must protect our world and his from his villainous brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston).

2. Will I like it?
Probably. I liked it, but my wife didn?t. She found it over the top, ridiculous and cheesy. I can?t argue with any of those things, but they just didn?t matter to me. I always thought that when they set out to do one Avengers film at a time, they were going to have the most trouble with Thor, as he?s probably the hardest to make realistic. Not that I?m saying a genius billionaire who builds himself a flying suit of armor is realistic, but a Norse god being forced to live among us is even less so. With that said, I do think they did the best job possible with it while fitting it into The Avengers? on-screen mythology that they?ve built so far, and there?s a couple of clumsy workarounds for the supernatural aspects. In retrospect ? and at the risk of invoking a lot of ire ? I?d almost have preferred if they abandoned the Earth bit altogether and just made a big, unapologetically supernatural Asgardian epic, but that wasn?t going to happen.

Tom Hiddleston as Loki is brilliant, by the way. Completely stole the show for me.

3. Will my kids like it?
Almost certainly. There are a few bits that are probably a bit loud and scary for very young kids. The scenes with the Destroyer are very loud and menacing, there?s a battle scene near the start involving a creature that looks like a bigger and better animated version of the Rancor from Return of the Jedi that might be a bit much for younger kids, depending on their feelings about monsters, but if they were OK for the two Iron Man movies, they should be fine for this. Most of the violence is very fantasy-based, and there are no sexual references. We didn?t bring our son as he?s only two and very impressionable. We have enough trouble with him chasing the cat with a plastic hammer without Thor encouraging him further.

4. How faithful is it to the comics?
It?s hard to say. Obviously there are some changes made to fit in with the Avengers movie mythology, and some of that?s a little ham-fisted. I hate to keep going back to Iron Man, but if you were happy with how that was translated onto the screen, you?ll probably be fine with this. There are a few geeky references to the rest of the Avengers (including an appearance by one of them) and we finally get to see Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson put to better use.

5. When?s the best time for a bathroom break?
You?ll have to be quick, as there are plenty of them, but they don?t last long. Most times that Thor sits down to talk with Natalie Portman?s character, all you?ll miss is a bit of exposition. Not really anything important to the story.

6. How are the special effects?
Excellent. Even the scenes in Asgard and the Frost Giants? world have depth and mass, and are about as believable as you?ll get. I loved the costumes, too. Once again, this is where Loki stood out. I loved his armor. With that said ?

7. What about the 3-D?
Honestly, don?t bother. It?s a conversion, rather than being shot in 3-D and it?s actually a pretty good one, technically speaking. But the 3-D really didn?t add anything to the experience. It didn?t detract from it either, at least no more than usual, but if you have the option ? and we didn?t ? you?d just as well stick with the 2-D version.

8. Do I need to get there in time to see some good trailers?
Well, your mileage may vary due to different release dates around the world, but we got the teasers for Super 8, Transformers 3 and a full trailer for Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Seeing as the full trailers for the first two have been around for a while now, this was a little disappointing. What can I say? I like trailers.

9. Do I need to sit through the credits for a bonus scene at the end?
Yes. Absolutely. I won?t tell you what happens, but the post-credits scene ties into both the upcoming Captain America and The Avengers movies. It?s not so crucial to either ? I assume ? that you?ll be lost if you haven?t seen it, but unless you?re going to miss a train or something, it?s worth sticking around for.

10. Will I want to see it again?
Eh. It?s doubtful you?ll be rushing out to do so. I won?t be bothering to go out to see it, as I think I got as much out of the experience as I could, but if I can get the DVD or Blu-ray cheaply in a few months? time, I?ll probably buy it.

Source: http://www.wired.com/geekdad/2011/05/10-things-parents-should-know-about-thor/

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