Movies / Comics To Film News

Thor: A Love Letter to the Supporting Ladies of Comic Book Flicks

By Troy-Jeffrey Allen
May 9, 2011 - 14:32

Portman doesn't dial it in, which makes Thor that much better.

After watching Thor, it's pretty evident that director Kenneth Branagh (Hamlet, Frankenstein) classed up the Marvel property (with respect to Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, who were class acts unto themselves). However, once we looked away from all the classically-trained showboating, Action A Go Go couldn't help but recognize the style and grace of one Ms. Natalie Portman.

NatiePo (we're trying it out) has served the action genre well over the course of her career.  From her breakthrough role in Leon: The Professional to V for Vendetta, Portman has effectively weaved in and out of the genre for years.

With Thor, Portman does what very few actresses do in a sizable superhero, effects bonanza...she doesn't look bored.
    
My dear reader, how many times has this happen to you? It's summertime, you've got a list of, at least, ten big budget potential blockbusters you want to see. You've secretly watched all the trailers thrice. Your favorite directors are on board, and that super hot chick from Maxim is the female lead.

You're in. This is going to be awesome!

You go see the movie and everything is great but that chick in Maxim is sleepwalking through the whole damn thing. Her lines make a loud metal "clunk" with each delivery, she seems to be doing her whole damsel in distress bit in-between yawns, and she's not at all making you believe that the hero has a chance at layin' it down during end credits.

Oh, Halle, you're so hot...and yet it'll never be because we don't share the same interest: superhero movies.

Does this sound familiar? Well, for anybody who has seen Hally Berry in X-Men, Malin Ackerman in Watchmen, Kirsten Dunst in Spider-Man, or ScarJoh in The Spirit (although, we cant blame her), it probably does.

A good supporting female lead is more important to an action film than some actresses may think.

Y'see, we know that these films are usually made for guys, to inform our pride and exhibit an ideal of manliness that we can never aspire to, but it also sets a romantic standard for the female viewer as well. That is to say, if a guy isn't willing to do the equivalent of gunning down European terrorist and running bare-footed through several flights of burning building --- well, he ain't man enough and he ain't worth your time, Is he?

It's a time-tested formula that stretches not just beyond the action genre but to fairy tales fantasies. After all, Prince Charming was kind of the original action hero.

Same concept, just with 'splosions.

It's okay, Natalie. The Professional and Heat more than make up for the Star Wars prequels.

In Thor, Natalie Portman does the "meet cute" thing so effectively that it almost makes you forget that hooking up with a Norse God is probably more deadly than adorable.

Maybe it's the fact that she earned her action movie wings at such a young age (Heat, The Professional) or maybe it's the fact that after surviving George Lucas' wooden Star Wars dialogue anything seems more interesting. Or maybe --- just maybe --- she gets it (*gasp*).

Quite possibly, the Black Swan herself recognizes what way too many actresses seem too stuck up to even consider: That a good Penelope Pitstop makes a difference between a hero with a purpose and just another guy with a gun...er, hammer.

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12