Thor, directed by Kenneth Branagh (Slueth, Henry V), is a superhero action film which has the distinct pleasure of kicking off the summer season. Based on the Marvel comic Thor is very different from any other comic book adaptation that has been previously released as it takes place on two different dimensions Earth and Osgard, the fantastic realm where Thor derives from. The movie starts out with a bang with some great action and well developed characters, but as it moves toward Earth the pace slows considerably as is tries to inject too much comedy that just doesn’t work. It is sure to entertain the general masses though as it is a decent enough action film to satisfy the junkies and fanboys alike but as for the summer season goes it sets the bar at a very attainable level.
The God of Thunder, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is cast out of Asgard by his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) for his arrogance in trying to start a war with the ice giants. Thor is sent to Earth to a city in New Mexico where he stumbles across a group of scientists, Erik Selvig, Darcy Lewis and Jane Foster (Stellan Skarsgård, Kat Denning and Natalie Portman). Thor begins to fall in love with Foster as she teaches him much-needed lessons as he attempts to adjust to the 21st century Earth culture and convince people, including SHIELD agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) of his true identity. Meanwhile, in Asgard, Thor’s brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) puts into place a plan that will result in him taking over for his ailing father.
I recommend seeing this film in 2D as the 3D conversion again isn’t very good and does nothing for the film but darken it. This definitely took away from the cinematic experience a bit but not as much as Clash of the Titans, which was just awful in every aspect.
I must start by saying that I went into the movie never reading the comics and not really knowing much about the world of Thor at all. I give the movie some props because it definitely is pretty out there as the story is more Shakespearean in dealing with the mythology, and it works very well when it is on Osgard. It definitely focuses on story more then action and other then an awesome fight in the beginning with the ice giants there isn’t another major battle throughout the film until the very end. Unlike Iron Man 2 Thor is it’s own film and doesn’t worry about being a bridge to The Avengers, except for an unnecessary cameo about halfway through. The problem I had with it was when the story was on Earth it just wasn’t as entertaining, watching Thor interact with the regular citizens could of made for some truly funny moments but I think it got just one or two real laughs out of me, as I feel it missed a bunch of opportunities. Even though the story was well developed I think it could have used a bit more action.
The performances were very mixed as Chris Hemsworth did a somewhat decent job as the lead. I mean he’s no Robert Downey Jr. who completely owns Tony Stark and fills that role with a ton of charisma but Hemsworth’s arrogance and likeability which he instills in the character was enough to get the job done. Kat Dennings character is pointless and I ended up being very annoyed with her throughout as she tries to be some comic relief, except most of her jokes fall flat. Natalie coming off her recent Oscar win is solid as usual as the innocent and caring love interest, a part that comes pretty naturally to the talented actress, but the chemistry between her and Hemsworth never developed and the love story comes across as a bit forced. Skarsgård and Hopkins the two crafty veterans are also very good with Hopkins having some really emotional scenes that he pulled off nicely. Another disappointment was all of Thor’s friends as I thought they all were pretty awful, any scene with them just seemed out of place and didn’t add to the story much. I must say I was very surprised with Tom Hiddleston who I had never heard of before. He had a really important role and I thought he did a fantastic job. Two characters I wish had more screen time because they were awesome was Heimdall played by Idris Elba (aka Stringer Bell) and King Laufey played by Colm Feore.
Thor is a decent comic book action film and an acceptable start to the summer. When compared to other origin films it just about falls right in the middle, as it is significantly better than X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but not quite as good as Iron Man.
IMDB: 7.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 78%
Moviewiseguys: 7.0/10