MovieChat Forums > Thor (2011) Discussion > Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman

posted 11 years ago by Expellliarmus
63 replies | jump to latest

If there was a way to edit 98% of her dialogue out of the movie, I would be so grateful. That whole zoom in of "OH. MY. GOD." and the giggle thing she did when he pulled her close before they took off... literally some of the worst acting I've ever seen.

Also, this is just a side note, and i want to stress that I really like this movie, but I find it hard to believe the "love story" because mostly it shows them looking at each other and smiling, and also once they looked at the stars together. Oh wait, also they cooked breakfast that one time.

If you've ever watched the Red Letter Media reviews of Star Wars (particularly in the second one), they discuss this in detail in reference to anakin and padme (yay natalie again!). Basically put two pretty people together, make them smile at each other, and we're just supposed to believe that they are in love.

Enough love for him to pine for her while he's back in asgard, and her to keep diligently searching for him after he left. I'm not trying to be a jerk here, but even the relationships in other super hero movies, such as the one between Pepper Potts and Tony Stark shows some tension, and takes time to build up. Just much more realistic?

I really liked this movie, but that was a frustrating and sort of moot point. She could have been left out of the movie entirely (I have no idea if she was in the comics or not) and Thor's protection over the earth would have still made sense because of his friendship with erik selvig. Even Darcy who people find obnoxious was kind of a funny throw a character, but I found her more tolerable than Jane who did nothing but whine about her scientific research.

sorry for all this, just needed to hear if anybody else felt this way?! I might just still be mad at the Star Wars Prequels....

tell him about the twinkie.

[–] Suriname86 9 years ago

They literally could've omitted her character and it would've been the same film, without getting bogged down in a tired romance. Portman is a pretty woman but completely lacks sexual charisma. So much so that two brothers had more chemistry with each other than with the love interest.

[–] weejockxxx 9 years ago

The trouble with the romance is this; in the comics Jane and Thor had a thing but that was when she was a nurse and he was in his alter-ego of Dr. Donald Blake. Without that thread the romance made no sense. It was in mortal guise that Thor fell for jane, as a God he would have gone for Sif from the first. I like Jane in the comics but in the film she just came across as an irritation, much like she did in Star wars.

Oh gravity, thou art a heartless bitch!

[–] croat-hr 9 years ago

I also use to think she is an awful actress, when I saw Star wars. But seeing her in Black Swan and V for Vendetta, I realized not only she can act, but she is really really great. Sure if you give her stupid dialogue and untalented director, she can't do much with it.

[–] CardinalsBaseball 9 years ago

That whole zoom in of "OH. MY. GOD." and the giggle thing she did when he pulled her close before they took off... literally some of the worst acting I've ever seen.

I realize this is an old post, but I still felt compelled to respond. I hate the "Oh..My..God" line as well. However, you don't seem to understand how films are made. Your criticisms should be pointed toward the director. They have nothing to do with Portman's abilities.

[–] justanicknamed 9 years ago

I had no problem with the line at all.

They are being ironic with the over use of "OMG" - and this time it is actually about a "god".

And, they are showing just how wet Jane got from the realization that this guy she was already moist over really IS Thor. She goes from being a scientist to being a giddy school girl in just a few seconds.

[–] G_Runciter 9 years ago

it's not her acting, it's the character.

[–] november_angel 8 years ago

I just watched this today, and the first thing I did was come here to rant about the *beep* acting Natalie did. But you did it first, and I'm happy I was not the only one, judging by the others comments.

Natalie is the definition of blasée.

I keep thinking they could explain much more about Asgard vs. Jotunheim, about Odin and his sons, about why Loki did what he did (he said he didn't want to be king, and that Thor was not prepared to be one at that time, and that last one was true), have more time to show how Thor changed from a spoiled brat to a man that deserves to be a king, we could have answers to all of that, IF NATALIE WAS NOT IN THE FILM AT ALL!
It could be the same, if not better, if there wasn't Jane 'Blasée' Foster in the movie.

My old and cranky grandpa could act better than her.

[–] mickmaxy 8 years ago

I think we should start a Natalie, Destroyer of Movies club.

[–] efriedman-67286 8 years ago

Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth have absolutely zero chemistry and it's so obvious on screen. It seemed to me that when they were supposed to get intimately close they looked at each other as if they knew what a joke their pairing was. It was also badly written. I don't think it's Natalie's fault. Anyone who has seen Black Swan knows what a good actress she is. Chris Hemsworth is good too. This was just such a spectacularly bad casting choice that they couldn't overcome it.

[–] justanicknamed 8 years ago

Yeah, for sure we didn't see Natalie/Jane get distracted around Thor. We didn't see her, a well respected scientist, get giddy when he grabbed her.