Thor - Review

Alright! The summer movie season has officially began! First up to bat is the Norse God of Thunder himself... THOR! This particular version of Thor is based on the Marvel comic character and is set in the Marvel Studios movie universe, which also features Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, and others... all of which are counting down to the team-up movie, The Avengers, due for release in 2012. Before the team comes together, though, we have plenty of individual movies to enjoy. The two Iron Man movies both delivered and The Incredible Hulk was a blast, and Thor... well let's take a look at it, shall we?

Thor, of course, has its roots in Norse mythology. Only now, its re-imagined for the Marvel Universe. Thor is the powerful God of Thunder from the distant land of Asgard. The son of the aging King Odin, Thor is prepared to be crowned the new King once his father steps down from the throne. Thor's arrogance and recklessness, however, get the best of him. After Asgard is infiltrated but not harmed by a small band of Frost Giants (Asgard's neighboring world and former enemy), Thor heads to the Frost Giant world to confront them. Due to his violent impulses, Thor attacks the Frost Giants and endangers the alliance between the two groups. As a punishment, Odin casts Thor out of Asgard, strips him of his powers, and exiles him to Earth. Meanwhile, Thor's mischievous brother Loki takes control of Asgard will dubious intentions. Now, Thor must learn humility and find a way to regain his power and return to Asgard.

Let me get this out of way first. I've always enjoyed comic books and superheroes. Thor, however, was never one I really cared for. I've never had anything against Thor comics, I just never really got into them. Because of this, I can't really comment on how faithful the movie is to the comics. I can, however, say this... Thor is a hell of a lot of fun and a great way to start the summer movie season.

I have to say this, Thor surprised me a bit by actually breaking away from some of the recent comic book movie trends. Unlike the dark subject matter of the Batman series, the adult-themed subplots of Iron Man, or the graphic violence of Watchmen or Kick-Ass, Thor actually approaches its plot with wider audiences in mind. Now don't get me wrong, I love seeing comic book movies going in darker and more dramatic directions, but too much of that can be a little overwhelming. The fact that Thor was a more lighthearted and fun-themed comic book adaptation was actually quite refreshing. It has a fun fantasy-themed story, imaginative worlds created via colorful settings and art direction, some light humor, and of course some exciting action scene. It's action-packed but not graphic, dramatic but not depressing, and funny but not campy. It's not the best superhero movie ever, but it may be most balanced. I might even go as far to say that it might be one of the best straightforward fun superhero movies ever made.

All of this is brought courtesy of director Kenneth Branagh. A director whose background is primary based Shakespeare and a rather hit-and-miss filmography raised a few eyebrows when he was first announced. Only as soon as the movie begins was it clear how good of a choice he was for this movie. The script's Shakespearean overtones (particularly with the Asgard scenes) were tailor-made for his directorial talents. The scenes on Asgard have a bit of an epic and dramatic feel to them, while the Earth scenes are more like a typical science fiction movie. Probably the biggest surprise was how funny the movie usually was. When Thor arrives on Earth, there are some amusing fish-out-of-water moments as Thor adjusts to life on Earth. The humor never overshadows the plot and made the movie more enjoyable. Overall, Branagh does a commendable job with the movie, balancing it's dramatic and humorous tones, along with providing an exciting superhero flick.

Aside from Branagh, the film's biggest accomplishment has to be the casting of Chris Hemsworth as the mighty Thor. A relatively unknown actor, Hemsworth's performance would either make or break the film. To anyone who had their doubts, let me say this... I know the summer has just started, but I'm going to bet that Hemsworth will be the breakout star of the season. He sells his role efficiently, pulls have the action scenes, and embraces the character with an enjoyable sense of passion.

The second most enjoyable character would probably have to be Tom Hiddleston as Loki, the God of Mischief. Similar to Hemsworth, he approaches his character with a commendable intensity and sells the whole "God of Mischief" vibe efficiently without approaching camp. The rest of the cast is all good, but there's not a whole lot I have to say about them. Natalie Portman made for an enjoyable love interest to Thor and Anthony Hopkins does his usual great job as Odin. There's also Stellan Skarsgård, Kat Dennings, Clark Gregg, Rene Russo, and others... all of whom do a good job. Not much to say other than that it's a well cast movie.

The movie doesn't have any serious flaws to hold it back in any significant way, but there are a few things worth mentioning. The cgi was artistically impressive, but the technical execution isn't always perfect. There were more than a few shots that could have been rendered a little better. None of the cgi was in-your-face awful, but never did I think that I wasn't watching a computer effect. I will say this, most of the action is still awesome nonetheless. Some of the supporting cast doesn't have as much relevance to the plot as they could have, namely some of Thor's Asgardian friends. The characters are enjoyable but generally underutilized and could have been something more. Thor isn't perfect, but none of these flaws hurt my enjoyment of this movie significantly.

So that's Thor... and it's awesome. It's exactly what I look for in a fun summer blockbuster. It's big, it's exciting, and it's funny. It has enough action and humor that is accessible to both kids and adults. It may not be the best ever, but if the rest of the summer has movies as enjoyable as Thor, we'll be in a for a great movie season. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

My Score: 4 out of 5!