Minute Nineteen: From Outskirts to In Town

It’s a special week indeed with not one but two guests joining us as we take the long walk into downtown Utgard – Krissy Lenz and Nathan Blackwell from the Most Excellent 80s Movies Podcast.

In the nineteenth minute of Kenneth Branagh’s 2011 film Thor...

• Hogun the Grim is, well, grim about their situation. Quite honestly, however, this plays much better than how it was originally scripted. It gives us more interaction between the Warriors Three, Lady Sif, and Thor, but at the expense of the darker mood.
• That may speak, however, to the feel that we get from this group feeling very much like a group of college friends heading out to cause some trouble.

The walk through the town of Utgard is full of blue and gray bleakness.

• We know Jotunheim is largely ice, but it’s dark and bleak and makes it hard to see things a bit. For instance, we only just realize that these tall structures which have the vibe of a cave’s stalactites and stalagmites are actually ruins of buildings in what we feel are the outskirts of this Jotun city.
• Speaking of Jotun cities, this is never identified but the comics identify the primary Jotun city which is named Utgard. Laufey’s tower from where he rules is called Utgardhall. Again, it’s never confirmed but we’re going to go with it.
• Speaking of Jotuns, which are of course the frost giants, Jotunheim actually was the home of all giants in Norse mythology, not just frost giants. That seems to be something Marvel decided for its universe.
• Thor, Sif, Loki, Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun, still walking in their same formation, travel through many beautiful shots of crumbling desolation. Again, when the Casket of Ancient Winters left the planet, Jotunheim started falling apart. That’s likely why Utgard looks so rough and unrecognizable from what we saw in Odin’s flashback.

Utgard and Jotunheim are falling apart.

• To that end, why would Laufey make such a terrible deal for himself and his people?
• The minute ends with the group of Asgardians coming closer to Utgardhall at the center of Utgard. (See? We said we were going it it and we are.) At the last moment, we see Jotunheim’s sun shining from behind Utgardhall’s towers. That surprises us because we thought it was night all this time. Turns out, it’s just a cold sun that gives no heat.

It’s a minute through which we journey but likely a much longer walk for our warriors across Jotunheim. Still, so much to discuss. Tune in!

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Film Sundries

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• Script Transcript
• Trailer #1
• Trailer #2
• Poster artwork
• Source Material
• Krissy’s Theatre: The Neighborhood Comedy Theatre, on Facebook and on Instagram
• Nathan’s Company: Squishy Studios, on Facebook, on Twitter, and Instagram