I Am Thor

Jon Mikl Thor is a very unusual subject for a documentary and very, very few people even know who he is, so it makes this film a difficult sell. However, I instantly recognized the name and was incredibly thrilled that a movie about him just debuted on Netflix. I recognized him because I am a bad movie film nut...and Thor has appeared in some amazingly bad films. But I must point out that his films are lots of fun to watch and "Rock 'n Roll Nightmare" is a classic for bad film geeks like me...every bit as much fun to watch as "The Room", "Plan 9 From Outer Space" or "The Apple". Plus, while the movies are incredibly bad, I must admit that the music performed by Thor and his band in the films is amazingly good....so good you wonder why the guy never became more popular in the music world. Well, this film is all about Thor and his musical career...and it helps explain what happened to Thor and reveals that despite many setbacks, he's definitely here to stay and only death could possibly stop him!

The narrator for this documentary is Jon Mikl Thor himself and it follows him from his childhood in Vancouver, Canada to the present day. Early in life, Thor gained notoriety for his body building and decided to eventually parlay this fame into a rock and roll career. However, the road was not easy nor fast. In between, he worked as a nude waiter in the 1970s and even created the persona of 'Space Elvis' for a Vegas act! Not surprisingly, there wasn't much future in either of these ventures and he soon came up with the idea of combining his amazing physique with rock and roll along with a lot of showmanship. His act consisted not only of singing with his metal band but dressing up like the Norse god, Thor....as well as bending steel bars and exploding water bottles with his amazingly strong lungs!! One thing you gotta say about Thor is that you certainly got a show when you went to see him....and in the 70s into the 1980s he started to develop a following and success seemed well within his grasp. But the giant auditorium shows, record deals and the like never quite materialized. Lesser folks would have just given up....but not Jon! Instead, he's like the Energizer Bunny...he just keeps going and going and going and the film follows him from his comeback in the early 2000s to today. In some ways, the film is rather comical, as at times Thor and his musical career seem a lot like the fictional band Spinal Tap....but for Thor it's real. Yet, at the same time, the film is also incredibly inspiring. Even when he was performing in venues where his band members practically outnumbered his audience, he kept pushing ahead and delivering an insanely energetic show. Even after nervous breakdowns, a failed marriage and a stroke...Jon Mikl still refuses to give up on his dream and, fortunately, by the end of the film you see this 60-something rock star wannabe finally achieving some measure of success...and the energy and his drive are amazingly infectious. In fact, I noticed as he and his band were performing to crowds of fans of all ages, I couldn't help but smile...as he seemed to love the life and his new-found success singing in Scandinavia...which, when you think about it, is very fitting for a guy named Thor!

As for the documentary, it's very engaging and very well made. There are plenty of interviews and old footage but even more of it consists of following Thor as it tours the world....or at least parts of the US and Europe. My only reservation is that the film does have some adult content, so it's not the best choice to show your kids or mother-in-law.

By the way, I checked the Thor website (thorcentral.net) and his last concert was back in the Spring and no additional dates are listed. In addition, he's up on Facebook and most of his posts are about this documentary. In the page, he seems quite approachable...and this also seemed to be how he was during his concerts you see in the film. So perhaps you might want to drop him a line and wish him well...or buy an album or tell him how much you also enjoyed Rock 'n Roll Nightmare.

I thought I knew a lot about music (and I even spent time in a band myself). So I feel kind of embarrassed that I didn't know about this band until watching this documentary.

It was super late at night and I was thinking of stopping and getting some shut-eye. However, I'm glad I stayed up and watched this through until the end. It turned out to be quite the story of highs, lows, and sheer determination. No matter how bad things got, how questionable the situation, how tattered the band became, or how ridiculous a scenario was that was playing out in front of your eyes -- rest assured somehow and some way Jon Mikl Thor would face things with a positive attitude.

The unabashed honesty in this documentary is fearless. Here's a person who wears his heart on his sleeve and is truly likable. And he's willing to put the good and the bad times out on display for everyone to see. No publicist filter here at all. It's actually really refreshing to see in this age of carefully scripted and curated presentation. It makes you laugh, cry, worry, and cheer. And that folks is entertainment.

Bravo to Thor and all the musicians and loved ones that helped him on his journey here in midgard.

I just watched this on Netflix and I flatly refuse to believe it is a true story. The makers of this movie have pulled an elaborate prank on us and I'm very impressed. The characters are cartoons and the plot is a never ending loop of ridiculous clichés. This is Spinal Tap is a David Attenborough narrated Oscar winner compared to this movie. However, despite or maybe because of it's short comings this movie was an hour and fifteen minutes of laughter if you're into rock and roll and general goofiness check this one out.

At the beginning I was a little worried. The documentary starts off in a suspiciously congratulatory fashion when describing John Mikl's rise to stardom but thankfully it becomes brutally honest and intimate once the first leg of his career is over.

Mikl's fall from super stardom and the problems in his personal life are given enough space to really get a sense of him as a person, and not just as a character, which is a trap some other documentaries have fallen into. His long return into the limelight, a more than a decade long comeback tour of sorts is easily the most entertaining part of the film. If you've ever been on stage or on tour with a band, especially a smaller, rather niche one you can immediately relate. It's a very emotional section, one moment you get a lot of laughs out of the weird band side projects like the punk rock outfit "Thor and the assboys" the next you are worried about Mikl's health after he suffers a stroke. Through all this he's never cynical, never too self-aware that you would think he's just playing a character for the camera and despite some of the more ridiculous outfits and ideas you never make fun of or look down on him. He has a dream, he is who he is and whether he's playing in front of ten people at someone's house party or in front of thousands at a festival he's a born entertainer and an amazing frontman. The last third is still pretty entertaining, full of tour troubles and interesting characters, echoing other recent rock documentaries like Anvil but the middle takes the cake for me.

I came in knowing John Mikl mostly from his 80s B-movie rolls (that I would have loved to hear more of) and not being a fan of his music, I left appreciating this charming man and everything he has brought into the world. At the end I just wanted to give him a hug.

May you live long Thor!

RELEASED IN 2015 and directed by Ryan Wise, "I Am Thor" is documentary on the life of flamboyant body-builder/metal front-man Jon Mikl Thor and his band, Thor, from its beginnings in the 70s-early 80s to more recent years.

I remember seeing albums by Thor (the band) at record stores back in the day and my response was always, "Um... no." I guess I dismissed them because I wasn't sure if I was to take them serious. The guy looked like the superhero Thor come to life, but as a rock god; and I wasn't sure how I was supposed to take it. I finally heard some of their music a few years ago on Youtube, like "Let the Blood Run Red" and "Triumphant," and I found it catchy, raw & passionate in the manner of early Anvil and Twisted Sister. There's also a little Venom, but without the goat-sucking buffoonery (but a LOT of other buffoonery), not to mention the occasional wannabe Norse epic-ness of Manowar (e.g. "Warriors of the Universe"). Meanwhile, their stage antics recalled KISS, Alice Cooper and (again) Twisted Sister. The music's simplistic, but kinetic & fun metal that gets your blood pumping.

I'm just trying to establish how little I knew about Thor, the man or his band, and yet I found this movie entertaining from beginning to end. I can't tell you how many times I busted out laughing. For comparison, "I Am Thor" is superior to 2008's "Anvil: The Story of Anvil" and 2004's "Some Kind of Monster," at least as far as being more compelling and amusing.

The last act is the best, covering the reunited band from their glory days 1983-87, albeit with a new, younger bass player. That was the era when the band had their biggest success in England before abruptly ending when Jon decided to try his hand at acting. A decade later Jon decided to "get the band back together" and that's when his ex-porn-star wife said "Buh bye." In 2009, with his reunited band, Thor landed three concerts at sizeable festivals in Scandinavia, where the band is generally hailed. Say what you will, but Jon & co. know how to put on a show and Jon loves what he does and loves the people, despite the many hassles and unforeseen setbacks. Speaking of which, there's a montage of statements by fans or people who've worked with Jon and they unanimously said he's one of the nicest guys to know and work with. That tells you everything you need to know.

Lastly, remember this: Before there was Manowar, there was Thor.

THE FILM RUNS 82 minutes, never overstaying its welcome.

GRADE: A