'Thor' - Movie Review

Marvel Studios has been steadily building its on screen super-hero universe over the past few years. It started with "Iron Man" and will ultimately culminate in the release of the super-hero team film "Avengers" next year. In the meantime Marvel has released the film for their latest super-hero who will be part of that team: "Thor." Filled with more outright fantasy elements when Marvel's other films have been more grounded in pseudo science this is a bit of a departure for the studio. However that doesn't stop it from being a top notch adventure with an impressive cast.

As presented in "Thor" the universe is comprised of various inhabited realms, of which Earth is only one of nine. The mightiest of these realms is Asgard. Some time ago Odin (played by Anthony Hopkins) led Asgard to victory over the Frost Giants from the realm of Jotunheim. Ever since then a shaky truce has existed between the two realms. However that matters little to Odin's eldest son Thor (portrayed by Chris Hemsworth) who is a vain and battle hungry warrior. Going against the instructions of his father Thor travels to Jotunheim with his brother Loki (played by Tom Hiddleston) and a small group of warriors. There he instigates a conflict that threatens to plunge Asgard once more into war. In his rage Odin strips Thor of his power and banishes him to the realm of Earth, placing a spell on Thor's mystical hammer that it may only be wielded by one who is worthy. On Earth the former thunder god is literally run into by an astro-physicist named Jane Foster (portrayed by Natalie Portman) who is investigating bizarre weather phenomenon in New Mexico. Now Thor must try to recover his hammer Mjolner from the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who are studying it and return to Asgard before the Frost Giants overrun his home.

Marvel took some massive risks with "Thor" from the basic premise to the cast to the director. Firstly this is an all out fantasy character who lives in a mythical world and comes to Earth by way of a rainbow bridge (seriously.) One would not expect this to be believably set up to be happening in the same cinematic world as the science based "Iron Man" films, but amazingly it works. There are a few key touches that lend credence to everything fitting together. The character of Jane giving scientific names for some of the fantastic elements goes a long way on this issue. Also the linking character of Agent Caulson (played by Clark Gregg) from the "Iron Man" films is a big help too. Not only does he serve as a practical link between the films it helps ground the fantasy elements to see a character so well established seeing and accepting them.

The biggest thing that "Thor" has going for it is the cast, starting with Chris Hemsworth in the titular role. He was a bit of a risk for Marvel because of his work being fairly unknown to American audiences. However he owns this role much in the same way that Robert Downey Jr. owns the role of Tony Stark in "Iron Man." Hemsworth obviously looks the part of a Nordic god, but he also brings a great deal of charm to the role as well. He has a natural charisma to go with his intimidating physique which makes him extremely credible as a hero and leader. Hemsworth also has a sincerity that is vital to selling the character to audiences. The supporting cast is also impressive across the board, in fact there is not a weak performance to be found in the entire film and the smaller roles of note are too numerous to list here. Some particular highlights however are Hiddleston who brings a very layered performance to Loki, who is a character that very easily could have been one dimensional. There's also Idris Elba as Heimdall, the keeper of the Bifrost (otherwise known as the rainbow bridge,) who is insanely intimidating yet captures an impressive amount of nuance in very little screen time.

Kenneth Branagh is the director of "Thor" and at first that seems a very odd choice. Branagh not known as a director of action, or special effects or really any of the things one would tend to think of when imagining a big summer super-hero blockbuster. He is best known for his work acting and directing film versions of Shakespeare plays. And it is that skill that he brings to bare. The events in Asgard are ramped up and play out like a Shakespearian drama, with the ins and outs of the royal family mirroring works such as "King Lear." In the hands of a director who doesn't know how to make this kind of drama relatable it all could have been very painful to watch. Instead it is the strongest material of the film, with the assured hand of Branagh guiding high stakes performances out of his actors in the Asgardian roles. The Earth-bound material is a little dull in comparison, but the film is well balanced and knows to cut back to Asgard just before things start to get boring. While this is Branagh's first hand at action and large scale special effects the results are solid.

"Thor" does have a few stumbling points that hold it back slightly. The biggest one is the relationship between Thor and Jane. Thankfully Portman and Hemsworth have a nice easy going rapport so it's not that the notion of romance between the two isn't believable. However the film hinges too much on this relationship and it's difficult to buy as being so impactful on Thor personally. Thor's feelings for Jane became shorthand for his growing sense of humility and kinship with people; however it just feels like too much too fast when too many other things are going on. It's also worth mentioning the 3D aspect of this film is aggressively mediocre. There's nothing wrong, ugly or distracting about the 3D. However the film was so obviously not shot with 3D (the film was post-converted to 3D) in mind, and for the vast majority of the film it's not even noticeable. It works a little bit better in Asgard than on Earth but overall it does virtually nothing to enhance the film. If you have the option to see it in 2D that's your better bet. The 3D doesn't ruin the movie but it's not worth the extra money and discomfort of the glasses.

While "Thor" doesn't quite reach the bar set by "Iron Man" (though to be fair neither did that film's own sequel) it's still an enjoyable super hero movie. Marvel continues to prove that they have not only the ambition to pull of their on-screen super hero universe but the casting smarts as well. Hemsworth is a more than worthy addition to the super hero pantheon that Marvel has been building and while the film itself has some issues it is nothing if not fun and well executed. Be sure to stick around after the credits for the bonus scene that teases aspects of both the upcoming "Captain America" and "Avengers" movies.

Final Score: 4 out of 5