THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. IS STYLISH & NEARLY FLAWLESS ★★★★ out of ★★★★★

THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E.
★★★★ out of ★★★★★

Official Synopsis:  In the early 1960s, CIA agent Napoleon Solo and KGB operative Illya Kuryakin participate in a joint mission against a mysterious criminal organization, which is working to proliferate nuclear weapons.

Director: Guy Ritchie
Writers: Guy Ritchie (screenplay), Lionel Wigram (screenplay)
Stars: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander

THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. film adaptation of the 1960's television spy series is pretty much a filmmaking class on how to properly do films based on old television series.  Director Guy Ritchie brings exciting stylized visuals and action sequences on a modern wide-screen scale.  Set in the early years of the Cold War (the early 1960s) the plot is a wry convolution of spy vs spy vs spy as the mysterious and deadly Soviet spy Illya Kuryakin (Armie Hammer) is paired up with unflappable American rival Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) to stop a nuclear bomb from getting in the wrong hands.  The film sweeps in and out of tense action sequences, beautiful locations, explosions, and more plot-twisting and plot-turning than your average summer movie.  The film also delivers legitimately funny moments throughout which lends an air of fun to the proceedings without ever diving into jokes and gags.

Cavill's suave, dry Solo is charming and brilliant.  Hammer's Kuryakin is equally brilliant but has protective stoic walls in place as high and as girded as the Berlin Wall itself.  Their chemistry onscreen as partners and rivals perfectly translates the chemistry of the characters (and actors) from the television series without doing impressions.  The smartest thing to do in an adaptation like this is to give a modern flair to the storytelling but stay true to the characters, even if you add some new bits to their backgrounds, which they do in this "origin" story.   What Ritchie gets so right is that the point of adapting a beloved old television series (or even a comic book like THE FANTASTIC FOUR) is not to go meta on it or give it a new "twist" or try to darken it up or lighten it up.  There is a reason why characters stay in the public consciousness and that is because the public likes them and is interested in them.  When adapting them into a film, then the audience should expect the characters to at least "feel" right.   In THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E., Ritchie has distilled the essence of the show's tone and what makes these characters connect with the audience.

As far as I'm concerned this was about as flawless of a television series adaptation as I've ever seen. THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. is my favorite movie of the summer hands down!  Cannot wait to go see it again.

*Not that it really matters in the scheme of things, but I did not notice a single instance of swearing or even coarse language throughout the entire movie.  For those parents who are concerned about that sort of thing, this is a pretty clean movie for a spy movie with a little implied sex and some well-done torture and kill moments.

#manfromuncle

NEBRASKA Film Review

NEBRASKA

Before discussing this film, I wanted to say a few comments about the last week or so in embarking on my Movie-Pocalypse.

It's an interesting thing about the usual disconnect between the Hollywood elites and the general public that often amounts to a lot of grousing around the time of the Academy Awards. I know that in the last 20 years or so, most years I find I have either seen only 1 or 2 Best Picture nominees and even some years where I have seen literally non...e of them. And as my friends and family know, I see a lot of movies. I love movies. But quite often what garners the attention of the Academy somehow runs contrary to my own tastes and/or interests.

This year is an exception.

This year is one in which I am interested in seeing every single one of the Best Picture nominees. As a result of that, it has been intentional to frontload this first run with MoviePass with screenings of the Nominees I had not already seen.

In the past week or so I've seen JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT, HER, I FRANKENSTEIN, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY, THE BOOK THIEF, AMERICAN HUSTLE, DALLAS BUYERS CLUB, and tonight NEBRASKA. Four of these are Best Picture nominees. JACK RYAN, THE BOOK THIEF, AUGUST, and FRANKENSTEIN are not. However, BOOK THIEF and AUGUST both are up for Academy Awards in other categories.

Here's what's interesting, when going to see the four Best Picture nominess (plus AUGUST) my wife and I were literally the only people in the theater. The ONLY people. And yet, by contrast the I FRANKENSTEIN screening was a sell-out.

There is something seriously wrong when these amazing movies starring some of the greatest actors of this generation giving performances that are on levels rarely ever achieved on film. These are sublime movies that are as good as every other great classic award winners of the past. And there we sit in empty theaters while we fight for a seat to see one of the stupidest and lousiest turds ever to grace a movie screen.

This world is seriously topsy-turvy.

On to NEBRASKA though. An excellent movie. I went into it completely cold. I had no idea what it was about at all. I only knew it had Bruce Dern in it and something about the black and white simplicity of the movie poster generated a desire in me to see it.

The movie is very simply about an elderly man (Bruce Dern) teetering on the brink of dementia obsessed with redeeming one of those bogus "You've Won $1 Million Dollars" letters. He sets off on a road trip with his youngest son (Will Forte) to drive to Lincoln, Nebraska to "redeem" that letter.

Along the way, the movie turns into a peek inside all of our lives and our families and examines the choices that we make (and don't make) and how they impact us in the present. Everyone who has ever gone and hung out with distant relatives they only see every decade or so is going to be uncomfortable sympathetic with Forte's character, Dan.

Speaking of Forte, both he and Bob Odenkirk who plays his older brother, are unexpectedly exceptional in this film. Whoever thought to cast against type for these two was inspired. In fact, the casting for this movie was brilliant all the way through.

This movie, while deeply affecting is also quite simple on the surface. I also laughed out loud a number of times. There is great humor in here but all of it is real and occurs organically from the characters and the moments. The beautiful black and white cinematography and the minimalist score enhance the reality of every moment making it all the more effective.

Simply wonderful.

★★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★

GREEN LANTERN: A Film Review

GREEN LANTERN

Release Date: June 17, 2011

Director: Martin Campbell

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Mark Strong, Peter Sarsgaard

Website: http://greenlanternmovie.warnerbros.com/

It's very different coming into a GREEN LANTERN movie than, say, THOR or GREEN HORNET--both comic-related movies this year that I've enjoyed. GREEN HORNET is one I went into with such low expectations and limited knowledge of that I had no preconceptions. As a result, I was able to watch it strictly on its own merits and as such, it worked and had me laughing from start to finish. THOR was quite different. There's a comic mythology at work there and visual design from Jack Kirby that hits me deep within and I was pleasantly pleased by the way that film unfolded as it's own story but also as just another set-up chapter in the Marvel Movie-verse rolling towards the big AVENGERS movie next year.

Now we have GREEN LANTERN. The Green Lantern as a concept has been a part of the comic book pantheon of heroes since 1940 when the original version (Alan Scott) found his magic ring, dressed up like a Douglas Fairbanks Jr. swashbuckler, and devoted himself to combating evil wherever he found it. He spoke his solemn oath as he charged his power ring on the magic lantern:

...and I shall shed my light over dark evil.

For the dark things cannot stand the light,

The light of the Green Lantern!

That version of the Green Lantern lasted until 1951 and then he just...disappeared.

Eight years later, in 1959, DC Comics dug the concept out of mothballs and reimagined the "magic" ring with science-fiction instead and came up with the idea of fearless test-pilot Hal Jordan (thinly modeled on Chuck Yeager) being chosen by a dying alien to receive a fantastic ring powered by his will, limited only by the color yellow (originally because of an "impurity" in the ring but later explained that yellow is the power spectrum of "fear"). The idea was unique to the super-hero genre in that "Green Lantern" was not unique, he was one of 3600 other alien "Green Lanterns", a universal police force that patrols the billions of worlds and combat the greatest of evils throughout all creation.

Which brings us to the film adaptation.

Overall, it is a film that glimpses greatness but always seems to be afraid to achieve it. It's almost like the film itself is metaphorically represented in the opening Earth-bound sequence in which brash pilot Hal Jordan nearly pulls off an impossible feat but chokes at the last minute and bails out of his plane, leaving the plane spiraling down into an expensive explosion.

Now, I'm not saying the movie is an explosive wreck. What I am saying is that I almost think the director choked at some point.

The film crams almost too much into this one film and as a result, the film never feels fully complete. But it's still a fun ride from beginning to end. Any real disappointment is just that it felt like it could have been more. The individual sequences are good, and some are great. It was the weaving them together into a single story that got iffy at times.

In terms of structure, the story begins with a lengthy narration, with visual effects, from Tomar Re detailing the history of the Green Lantern Corps and what Parallax is. Then it jumps to Earth so we can set up a few aspects of who Hal Jordan is. Hal is directionless, reckless, a bit foolhardy, but also an amazing pilot. We learn he is haunted by seeing his father die in front of him in a horrible fiery explosion. We learn he has a bit of a rough sibling relationship with his brother but a close relationship with his nephew. And we learn he has a lifelong complicated relationship with Carol Ferris, the daughter of his employer, Carl Ferris of Ferris Aircraft.

In the comics, Carol is not a pilot but an executive at Ferris Aircraft. In the film, they merge Carol with the more current character of "Cowgirl" who is one of Hal's fellow pilots. This way, Hal (Highball) and Carol (Saphire) can get some action sequencing in while also demonstrating that they know way too much about each other to be "just" co-workers.

I really was a bit shocked when Blake Lively first came on the scene as Carol because it seemed like she was extraordinarily stiff and bland. I will say that as the movie went on, it seemed like she loosened up and I came to like her more by the end. In fact, the sequence that sort of spoofs the sequence from the SUPERMAN movie where Superman comes to visit Lois on the balcony was hilarious and received a huge reaction from the audience. It hit all the right notes.

The sequence where Hal meets Abin Sur, the alien, and receives the ring was outstanding and had resonance. The first time he uses the ring and conjures up that huge fist to take out the three guys beating him up. That was great. The trip to Oa was an amazing visual treat that pulled me right in. I wanted more on Oa. Sinestro, Kilowog, Tomar Re, and the Guardians were all fantastically visualized. Mark Strong's Sinestro commanded the screen whenever he was on it.

However, it seemed to me as if the director, Martin Campbell, was almost afraid to dwell too long on Oa. Branagh really let us take in and relax within the hallowed halls of Asgard. I wanted to lose myself in Oa too, but Campbell wouldn't allow that. In fact, he burned through Hal's "training" by Kilowog in just a couple of minutes and then let Hal get his ass handed to him by Sinestro -- one in a long line of humbling moments for Hal that help prod him through his character arc of maturation, responsibility, and self-less heroism. I am sure the same criticism that some had of THOR as to how quickly his transformation from selfish-boy to self-less hero occurred will also be painted on to the criticisms of this film. It's a legitimate criticism, but not a heavily-weighted one because this is a super-hero film and the transformation is going to happen. It's a conceit of the genre. You either accept it or not. I accept it as a means to an end. That end being Hal fully in charge of his powers and coming up with a plan to accomplish the impossible.

Which is exactly what he does.

Criticize it all you want, but everything was set in place very well by the director to make sure that there were very few plot holes. You may not like how he filled them in, but the holes are few if any.

My feelings about Oa and the other Green Lanterns is that they really should have gone with an almost entirely Earth-based story (with just a glimpse of the bigger picture at the end as a tease for a second film) or downplayed Earth altogether and made this movie more about Hal and his extended training and inculcation into the Green Lantern Corps. Instead, we have a movie unsure about which way to go with all of that and it makes it all seem a bit uneven in terms of storytelling.

The parallel origin arc was excellent. The way Campbell cut back and forth between Hector Hammond's descent into villainy and Hal Jordan's ascent into super-heroism was perfect. In fact, Hector was such a sad character that the audience feels no malice toward him. The setup for him and Peter Sarsgsard's performance won everyone's empathy and made him a very sympathetic villain. Sinestro's arc was also excellent as the audience sees a stern, but basically good soldier, not corrupted BY fear but by the power to CONTROL fear. He also goes from outright distaste and disgust in reaction to Hal to a grudging respect teetering on the brink of outright jealousy.

Ultimately, the bottom line for me really has to do with how I felt about Hal once he was up and fully going with his ring and costume. I have absolutely no complaints there. The costume was amazing. It's heart-stopping for me to see it so perfectly visualized and look so real and believable. I couldn't take my eyes off of it, soaking in how the power just seemed to be pulsing through it at all times. The costume itself reflected Hal's emotions, which makes sense in the mythology of the Green Lantern Corps where the different colors are reflections of emotional states.

I loved the way his imagination used the ring to construct things. His first constructive use after his training on Oa had the audience I was with whooping and laughing through the whole sequence. The manner in which he confronted and defeated the Parallax entity was brilliantly simplistic and consistent with the reckless heroism he had demonstrated earlier. And the appearance of the other Green Lanterns who are a bit dumbstruck by this lowly "human" pulling off what none of them could was uplifting and satisfying.

The greatest moment for Hal, as a character, and the audience, in terms of cheering for the hero has to do with the moment in which Hal finally digs down deep inside and with that will that only he has, pours out his oath from the deepest parts of his soul building in intensity before blasting Parallax with a force the corrupted Guardian has never felt before:

In brightest day,

In blackest night.

No evil shall escape my sight.

Let those who worship evil's might.

Beware my power

GREEN LANTERN'S LIGHT!

Like I said, the film has its flaws but I could do a lot worse in terms of my first live-action GREEN LANTERN movie. I thoroughly enjoyed myself from start to finish. Ryan Reynolds totally sold me on his version of Hal Jordan. He was identifiable, flawed, but intrinsically good. And it takes this story to draw that out of him and make him realize the potential within him he has squandered all these years. The audience I was with (a capacity crowd) was rambunctiously into it and launched into spontaneous applause at the end. My teenaged son couldn't wait to get his hands on a light-up Green Lantern ring of his own after seeing it. My wife and daughter went into the movie with no idea what it was about and came out totally digging it. This is a movie that can be enjoyed more than once and I will surely be seeing it again in the theaters. 

As a friend of mine put it after she came out of a midnight showing:  "That was wonderfully Silver Age."

And I totally agree!

I saw it in 3D and can confess that the difference in the 3D for this movie and, say, THOR, is exponential. The 3D effects in GREEN LANTERN are the best I've ever seen them. 

*Note for fans of the GREEN LANTERN comics* Yes, you will want to stay past the first round of credits at the end to get to a payoff scene that you will have been waiting to see...and it is worth it. Also, as the great pounding GREEN LANTERN score plays over that first credits sequence, you will notice the space effects giving us just the barest visual hint about the other color lantern corps. It's subtle, but an obvious homage for the comics fans.

THOR Roundtable Discussion with a bunch of Nerds

Ever wanted to be a fly on the wall as a bunch of comic book nerds talk about a movie like THOR?

Well, here's your chance with the Roundtable Discussion at AICN Comics.

I chime in a few times as "Prof. Challenger", but the truth is I have nothing but love for this movie very hard and didn't have much to micro-analyze about it.  But the rest of my group have plenty of nerdy goodness to share with the world.

THE BEAVER Film Review

THE BEAVER
Director:  Jodie Foster
Starring:  Mel Gibson, Jodie Foster, Anton Yelchin, Jennifer Lawrence
Official Synopsis:  An emotional story about a man on a journey to re-discover his family and re-start his life. Plagued by his own demons, Walter Black was once a successful toy executive and family man who now suffers from depression. No matter what he tries, Walter can't seem to get himself back on track...until a beaver hand puppet enters his life.  http://www.thebeaver-movie.com/

THOR Film Review

THOR
Release Date: May 6, 2011
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Rene Russo, Stellan Skarsgard, Jaimie Alexander, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Josh Dallas, Tadanobu Asano, Idris Elba, Clark Gregg, Colm Feore
Website: http://thor.marvel.com


Official Synopsis: The epic adventure "Thor" spans the Marvel Universe from present day Earth to the realm of Asgard. 

At the center of the story is The Mighty Thor, a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans as punishment. Once here, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth. 


This is a movie with a lot to prove.  At least it had a lot to prove to me.  This was the make-it or break-it film for Marvel to prove that the first spectacular IRON MAN film and the fun, and more than decent, INCREDIBLE HULK were not just flukes after the less than spectacular IRON MAN 2 that seemed burdened down by the shoehorning of elements pointing to THE AVENGERS film (scheduled blockbuster for next summer).

THOR is a worthy follow-up and continuation of the new Marvel movie mythology and demonstrates how to integrate those AVENGERS set-up elements without feeling overly tacked on (though there is one notable exception there that I will mention below with a *spoiler*).

But let me digress from the film itself for just a moment.  Let me say that I make a bit of a game out of trying to get into advance screenings for films.  I have gotten pretty experienced at this game and so I knew going in to the summer that THOR was going to be difficult to get in to.  I threw my name into no less than 5 different contests to try and win a pass to a screening.  As of Monday, May 2, since I had not heard anything I figured this time it was a bust.  But I was thrilled to wake up on Tuesday morning to an email notification that I had won passes to THOR for Tuesday night.  Talk about pushing it to the last minute. And, of course, it would have to be at the Regal Metropolitan 14 which is all the way on the south end of Austin (and I'm working way north of Austin).  The nightmare traffic of glorious Austin, Texas, of course, meant I came very close to not getting in.  But I did.  As did this fat, bearded guy in a Hawaiian shirt, sunglasses, and wearing a royal, kingly crown on his head.  He showed up without a pass and I overheard that he didn't have a pass, but I did have a second un-used pass so I offered it up to the guy.  He seemed very grateful.

He also said he spent last night in the drunk tank.

He also said Gov. Rick Perry had been in there with him.

I think he might be crazy.

Only in Austin.

What made my day was the elderly couple who showed up in line right behind me.  Wonderful people.  They said they had not been out to a movie in years but that the wife had heard a radio contest for the 8th caller and she called in and they had passes to see this THOR movie.  They were all dressed up and thrilled to be there.  They said they watched a lady on TV review the movie and she said the movie was one that was "perfect for 13 year-old boys".  And the husband smirked and said then it's just about at his level.  I also listened to them carry on about the Metropolitan.  They didn't even know that theater existed until they won their passes and were amazed to discover there were 14 screens.  Very cute and the look they gave each other when they were handed the 3D glasses was priceless.

The film started promptly at 7:30 and begins with "Astrophysicist" Jane Foster and her cohorts storm-chasing an atmospheric disturbance that ends up with her running into a big blond guy in the middle of the desert.  She wants to know who he is and where he came from.  That's when the movie gets started with Anthony Hopkins' narration as the camera takes us to Asgard to learn who Thor is and how he came to be...there in the way of Jane Foster's car.

Kenneth Branagh's vision and direction is the key to the success of this film and Tom Hiddleston's performance as Loki is the glue that keeps it from lapsing into silliness.  Hiddleston's Loki was far and away the most nuanced and interesting of the characters.  Charismatically dangerous and commands the screen everytime he's on, which is not easy with such a physically overwhelming presence like Chris Hemsworth's mighty and bombastic Thor sharing so many scenes with him.  A great performance in every aspect.

The way Branagh takes the viewer into the other-worldly Asgardian realm is breathtaking.  In fact, I can't use the word breathtaking enough to satisfy myself.  Truly as close to a metaphoric vision of Heaven as I have ever seen on film.  Asgard takes its design cues from Kirby's designs and then runs with them in a way that would surely make the "King" proud.  If it weren't a conflict of interest, I'd start the petition right now for Branagh to adapt the NEW GODS to film right now as a follow-up.  The scope and breadth of vision, the Kirby-esque armor clothing the characters, the form taken for Bifrost (the rainbow bridge), and especially the thought that went into explaining how the "Nine Realms" form the branches of Yggdrasil, the Worlds Tree, was so well-thought out that I'm almost speechless.  Never in my wildest dreams did I expect such a faithful translation of Marvel Comics' version of the Asgardian mythology.

Thor's hammer, the magical "Mjolnir", is especially (and necessarily) perfect.

This is not a stupid movie.  It is a smart one and deftly put together.  The framing of every scene manipulates the drama and moves the story.  Branagh's recurring use of mirrors and reflections is put to good use in a number of instances.  Structurally, the character arc of Thor in this movie is a condensation of what took years in the comics.  Thor as messianic figure experiences a path of redemption that fully works within the film and fully involves Thor's mates "The Warriors Three" and Sif.

And what a joy it is for a comics fan to see Hogun, Fandral, and Volstagg on the movie screen perfectly visualized and inhabited by their respective actors.  I could basically go scene by scene in this movie and pointing out the thrill of seeing something on screen that 20 years ago (heck, even 10) I would have bet good money would never, ever be brought to life on the movie screen.  And that's one of the smartest things about this film.  The way that they interwove so many aspects of what makes Thor a character that has endured for over 40 years now.  It's not just Thor himself, but his world, his loves, his family, and his friends.

The conflict between he and Loki is so well-done.  Thor cannot help but love his brother and believe he sees the good in him.  Likewise, Odin is blinded by his love and devotion to his son that he cannot bring himself to believe he is anything other than a good and honorable son.  What we see play out on screen is a masterful trinity of conflict.  To Loki, Odin appears to favor Thor.  However, the viewer sees it quite differently.  For a reason that unfolds through the story, Odin actually favors Loki with a tenderness and understanding that he does not direct toward Thor.  In fact, Odin is torn by conflicting feelings of pride and disappointment directed at Thor that culminates in righteous and justifiable rage at one point.

There's lots of action, battles, flying, storm-controlling, a bit of romance, humor that hit everytime.  Branagh has a gift for timing and his actors all served him well in that respect.  There are so many heroic characters who are willing to sacrifice themselves for love, friendship, and Asgard.  Even Loki, full of malice and duplicitousness, demonstrates heroic aspects.  Truly it becomes understandable why the ancient Norsemen worshipped them as gods...although there seems to be a paradox in the ages of the characters synching up with the timeframe in which the Norse would have worshipped them.  For example, seems a bit odd to have Thor repeatedly referred to as "just a boy" by Odin and the leader of the Frost Giants, when he would have to be thousands of years old.  But we're not supposed to be thinking about that during the movie, right?

One of the things about both Marvel and DC Comics and their respective universes is that they have these recurring supernatural/cosmic plot devices that can be used to stimulate story ideas.  At DC we have things such as "The Spear of Destiny" and "The Helmet of Fate".  At Marvel we have things like "The Serpent Crown", "The Infinity Gauntlet", "The Cosmic Cube", and "The Casket of Ancient Winters."  Two of them make an appearance in this movie and both made this fan's heart leap a bit.  As the current comic books seem to be leaving this longtime reader behind, the movies based on the comics are filling that loss and restoring that sense of wonder and thrill that I felt when I was a kid discovering these stories for the first time.  Marvel basically exists as film to me now with occasional comic books to supplement, rather than the other way around.  When the movie was over, I wanted more.  And that, of course, is what every filmmaker wants to hear.  On the drive home, I was thinking about what I might like to see in THOR 2 and even THOR 3.  If I were running Marvel Studios?  I would make THOR 2 about Thor and Hercules getting into a tussle, just like those great old Silver Age comics.  Can you just imagine Anthony Hopkins' "Odin" sharing screentime with Brian Blessed as "Jupiter"?  Maybe even a plot involving Pluto and Hela romancing and plotting against each other's pantheon.  Then followup with THOR 3 and go all out with Ragnarok.  It could make for a classic mythological trilogy and they can use the AVENGERS films to do the super-hero thing with the Thor character while they're exploring the mythology in the THOR films.  The imagination is running.

Before I wrap, let me mention those couple of things that might be construed as ...

*SPOILERS*
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Thor's helmet and Hawkeye.  Thor's helmet only appears on him for 1 scene in the beginning.  This makes no logical sense within the structure of the film because all the other Asgardians who wear helmets, including Loki, wear them most of the time if not all of the time.  In fact, Thor never even looks like knows or cares where his helmet is.  From a longtime comic book fan's perspective, not wearing the helmet would be akin to...oh Green Lantern without his mask or Superman without a cape.  While I appreciated the boldness with which Branagh just embraced the cape and design of the Thor outfit, the appearance of the helmet looked a bit forced into the picture just to avoid people complaining.  What is so bothersome about it is...THE HELMET LOOKED GREAT ON HIM!

The other spoiler is the appearance of Clint Barton, otherwise known as "Hawkeye".  In THE AVENGERS, Hawkeye is a super-hero archer.  In THOR, he doesn't appear as "Hawkeye" but as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Barton who takes aim with his bow and arrow on Thor, in human form, as his target.  The Hawkeye scene is one in which the human Thor breaks into the S.H.I.E.L.D. camp to attempt to recover Mjolnir.  However, this is the one scene in the movie, if you stop for a moment to think about it, that was obviously shoehorned in to tie into THE AVENGERS.  Hawkeye never actually interacts with Thor in anyway and his shots are just him all alone perched above and talking to Agent Coulson on a transmitter.  It works, but was noticeably shoved in after the fact to me.  But the audience cheered when they recognized him.  So, this was either an audience with a working knowledge of the comics....or a bunch of Jeremy Renner fans.

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*End Spoiler*

This was overall a very, very good movie and an exceptionally fun movie.  The pacing is great and things are always moving.  It really never lets up.  Two solid hours of movie fun and I never once looked at my watch.  As opposed to, say, IRON MAN 2 where there were a couple of weak performances, this movie hits all its marks in terms of performances and visuals.

THOR is an excellent way to kick off the summer blockbuster season and set the stage for what is to come.  Just around the corner for Marvel is CAPTAIN AMERICA in July as perfect companion piece for THOR.  And when the two of them meet in THE AVENGERS next year, I expect nothing short of greatness.