THORMULA ONE
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| For Odin's sake! Do you even OWN a shirt? |
Women of the world;
rejoice! As today’s Two For Tuesday focuses on two recent films
starring the relatively new Australian actor, Chris Hemsworth. Both
he and his younger brother Liam have been recently setting America
alight with their powerful leading-man performances, quite public
break-ups, but most importantly, their chiselled pectorals and
jawlines. Whilst Liam has starred in some mediocre films such as The
Hunger Games, and as well as being known as Miley Cyrus’ other
half, Chris has shot to higher notoriety. Through his starring roles
in films such as Cabin in the Woods, Snow White and the
Huntsman and The Avengers, the older Hemsworth has become
somewhat of a household name, especially in mine, as my girlfriend
insists on hanging the Chris Hemsworth calendar up in our flat.
But recently, Chris has
appeared in two box-office smashes, Rush, the semi-biopic of
Formula One drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda, and the Marvel
Universe sequel Thor: The Dark World. Both feature
high-adrenaline set pieces, emotional turmoil for our heroes, and
ultimately, hunky Chris being out-acted by a more accomplished actor. But we’ll get to that in a bit.
Released back in
August, Rush follows the paths of two Formula One drivers, the
British playboy James Hunt and the level-headed and meticulous
Austrian, Niki Lauda.
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| It was the blondest of weddings |
Whilst these two
drivers are complete opposites off the track, when they race, they
both strive for victory no matter the risk to their own lives. The
film shows us both racers rise from the lower levels of Formula 3 all
the way to the big leagues of F1 Grand Prix racing as well as their
different methods, lifestyles and approaches to the sport. Whilst
Hunt drinks away his days with a different girl every night, Lauda
spends his time analysing his vehicle, trying to find better ways of
improving his performance. This difference in lifestyles fuels a
rivalry that lasts over many Grand Prix courses and both men must
live with the horrendous consequences of their choices.
Much like Apollo 13,
Frost/Nixon and A Beautiful Mind before it, Ron Howard
has managed to take this true story and utilise the possibilities of
a big screen adaptation to it's full potential. The entire idea
behind Hunt and Lauda's rivalry is that this pissing-contest
took place at speeds of over 150mph. That is simultaneously an incredibly
impressive and stupidly dangerous way to make a living. It's no
wonder that Hunt is always shown numbing the impending danger with
alcohol and Lauda is a nervous wreck that has no time to enjoy his
life when they choose such a life-threatening profession. Consequently,
the film is just a thrill-ride from beginning to end. This is mainly
due to Howard's incredible direction, Anthony Mantle's kinetic and
invasive cinematography as well as the haunting score of Hans
Zimmer's, which is often unfortunately drowned out by the revving of
engines.
Hemsworth offers a
decent performance as the carefree rogue James Hunt, worryingly
almost coming to the point of a caricature, but the native Australian
displays enough gravitas and gives such an earnest portrayal that it is
able to ground him and make him seem three-dimensional.
However, the plaudits
all go to the German actor Daniel Brühl
who portrays Niki “The Rat” Lauda. Brühl will be known to most from Tarantino's WWII epic Inglorious Basterds but
he has most recently been starring opposite Benedict Cumberbatch in
The Fifth Estate, and is hopefully going to be nominated at this
Academy Awards for his performance in Rush. Brühl
physically transforms himself into this highly-strung, fastidious
perfectionist with seemingly effortless ease and is a perfect foil to
the happy-go-lucky Hunt. Their partnership and rivalry really moves
the film along at an appropriately brisk pace, and their showdown
races at the German and Japanese Grands Prix are just mesmerising. (Bet you didn't know that was the plural of 'Grand Prix' did ya?)
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| Even if you hated the film, you have to applaud the casting |
From the racetracks of
Germany and Japan, comes the realms of Nibelheim and Asgard, where
most of Thor: The Dark World takes place. Again, Chris
Hemsworth plays the dashing and lovable rogue character, the titular
God of Thunder and two years have passed since the events of the
first Thor film and the superhero collaboration/cash-cow The
Avengers. The Asgardian prince has been charged with bringing peace
to the Nine Realms, whilst his love interest Jane (Natalie Portman)
has been searching for more scientific clues to the other realms, as
well as Thor's return. However, an ancient evil is awoken, and with
it comes the return of the Dark Elves, who's main goal is to
extinguish all light in the Universe. And Thor can't be having that.
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| Nice mask...That's cool... I wasn't planning on sleeping tonight anyway... |
I was really taken with
the first Thor; it didn't try and be cool and cocky like it's
brother-film Iron Man, or dark and brooding like The Incredible Hulk.
It knew it was camp and it didn't try and hide it. It wore it's
twiddled moustaches and gigantic magical hammers on it's sleeve and I
admired that. Also it had a fantastic dastardly villain in Thor's
mischievous brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) who sometimes provides a
larger impression on the film than the main hero.
Hemsworth seems such
perfect casting for the God of Thunder. With his long-flowing locks,
chiseled features and elegant Aussie-turned-British accent, it's no
wonder that it's not just guys who were queueing up to watch the
worldwide midnight screenings! Tom Hiddleston's Loki seems to also
be attracting his own share of followers recently. His natural
charisma is so intoxicating and you can't but smile every time he
wryly criticises his adoptive brother driving skills and their
inevitable bickering when in the cockpit of an alien spacecraft. His inclusion in this film manages to bring every aspect together and he is such a valuable asset to the film.
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| Don't worry guys, we get some eye-candy too... |
There are few new
characters that didn't star in the previous film, with familiar faces like Darcy (Kat Dennings) and Heimdal (Idris Elba) reprising their roles, however former
Doctor Who Christopher Eccleston stars as the villain, the Dark Elf, Malekith The Accursed (or just Malekith to his pals). Now I'm usually a fan of
Ecclestons, having being blown away by him in both Danny Boyle films
Shallow Grave and 28 Days Later, but I feel like his acting
capabilities are hindered by the extensive make-up he finds himself
under and the fact that he hardly speaks English, preferring the
Elvish language that is dutifully subtitled. Along with the lack of
understanding, there was a certain lack of malice from his character. Yes, he wants to bring the Universe back to pure darkness, but it is
never mentioned why or how he intends to create this mischief. It
just leaves the story without a memorable or imposing villain and
that is a true shame.
However like I
previously mentioned, hardly anything has changed from the first Thor
film. Enough of the gripping tension and visually stunning fight scenes are interspersed with very funny comedic
moments, such as Thor taking a trip of the London Underground, so it keeps an even balance throughout. The film is hardly a game-changer, but an
incredibly fun watch. And even if the Norse mythology bores you, Thor gets his shirt off a few times. I knew that'd win you over.
Rush - 8.5/10
Thor: The Dark World - 8/10
And just to finish on...
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