Movie review: “Thor”
3 1/2 of 4 stars
Director Kenneth Branagh and movie star Chris Hemsworth not only thrown the hammer down in their cinematic adaptation of “Thor,” they also throw down the gauntlet for the pack of superhero movies coming later this summer.
Branagh, whose best known directorial efforts are “Hamlet,” “Henry V” and “Much Ado About Nothing,” proves an inspired choice to usher the Marvel hero based on the Norse god of thunder onto the silver screen. He brings a distinctly Shakespearean quality to story and dialogue, particularly the rivalry between Thor (Hemsworth) and his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), the god of mischief.
The British helmer faces and conquers a daunting task in adapting “Thor”; after all, this mythology-based Marvel character, while my all-time favorite, has much more mysticism, back story and magic to manage than, say, Iron Man. Fortunately, under Branagh’s steady hand, the shimmering realm of Asgard, home of Thor and his fellow gods; the teleportation-enabling Rainbow Bridge with its glowing-eyed, elaborately helmeted guardian Heimdall (Idris Elba); and the formidably frozen realm of Jotunheim, home of the ferocious Frost Giants, are stunning and fun and, yes, geeky without looking hokey.
The movie opens with a flashback to 965 A.D., as Thor’s father King Odin (Anthony Hopkins) wages war against the Frost Giants and their power-hungry King Laufey (Colm Feore) to prevent them from conquering the Nine Realms, starting with Earth. The Asgardian warriors defeat the Frost Giants and seize the Casket of Ancient Winters, their greatest weapon.
Flashing forward to the present day, Thor’s coronation is interrupted when a pair of Frost Giants break in and try to steal the casket. The Destroyer, a fire-spewing automaton, emerges to stop them, but arrogant and angry Thor decides to teach the Frost Giants a lesson. Against his father’s orders, he leads Loki, his childhood pal Sif (Jaimie Alexander) and the Warriors Three Volstagg (Ray Stevenson), Fandral (Joshua Dallas) and Hogun (Tadanobu Asano) to Jotunheim to confront Laufey.
Battle breaks out – giving us a great look at Thor in all his hammer-wielding glory – and Odin has to intervene, threatening the tenuous truce between the two realms.
For his bloodthirsty hubris, Odin rescinds his son’s planned ascension and banishes Thor to Earth. The outraged father also casts down Thor’s mighty Mjolnir, placing an enchantment on the hammer: “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” Anyone else, they won’t even be able to pick it up.
As Thor plunges meteor-like to Earth, his descent into the New Mexican desert captures the attention of comely scientist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who has been studying atmospheric anomalies caused by the Asgardians’ interdimensional travels. Jane, her wisecracking assistant Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) and her skeptical mentor Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) come to Thor’s aid and try to figure out who he is and how he survived his fall.
Mjolnir has landed nearby, creating a massive crater and a sensation among locals who have a high time taking turns trying to lift the magical weapon. The fuss attracts the attention of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg), who soon secures the hammer, seizes Jane’s research and tangles with the still-strong Thor.
Back on Asgard, Odin falls into a deep sleep, leaving Loki in charge and determined to make Thor’s absence permanent, even if he has to cause a bit of death and destruction to Earth to make that happen.
Branagh crams a lot into 2:10 with “Thor,” nicely balancing the fantasy, action, humor and drama. The romance doesn’t get much time to develop, but Hemsworth and Portman have good chemistry. Dennings does a great job delivering the rapid-fire quips, and more screen time for her wouldn’t hurt.
But the real revelation here is Hemsworth, best known for his brief role as the doomed George Kirk in 2009′s “Star Trek.” The Aussie had a handsome face and strong voice going for him in that breakout part, but he has transformed himself for “Thor.” He’s developed a physique of mythical proportions, and he maintains a likability even when Thor is rampaging like an overgrown child. His character has a solid story arc that makes the origin story more than just a setup for the sequel.
Still, “Thor” does smoothly sets up next year’s “The Avengers,” with a brief but satisfying appearance by Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye. It also boasts my favorite Stan Lee cameo so far and a stinger worth sitting through the credits to see.
-BAM
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
Just a smiling visitant here to share the love (:, btw outstanding style and design. “Make the most of your regrets… . To regret deeply is to live afresh.” by Henry David Thoreau.
Fantastic read, I just passed this onto a friend who was doing a little research on that. And he really bought me lunch because I found it for him smile So let me rephrase that: Thanks for lunch!
Hi would you mind letting me know which webhost you’re using? I’ve loaded your blog in 3 different browsers and I must say this blog loads a lot quicker then most. Can you suggest a good web hosting provider at a reasonable price? Kudos, I appreciate it!
Woah! I’m really enjoying the template/theme of this website. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s hard to get that “perfect balance” between superb usability and visual appeal. I must say you’ve done a superb job with this. Also, the blog loads very quick for me on Chrome. Excellent Blog!
I’ve recently started a blog, the information you offer on this web site has helped me greatly. Thanks for all of your time & work. “Everyone is responsible and no one is to blame.” by Will Schutz.
I enjoy what you guys are usually up too. This sort of clever work and exposure! Keep up the great works guys I’ve incorporated you guys to my own blogroll.
I know this if off topic but I’m looking into starting my own weblog and was wondering what all is needed to get setup? I’m assuming having a blog like yours would cost a pretty penny? I’m not very internet smart so I’m not 100% sure. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated. Appreciate it
I’m a student and Amazon offers some nice perks for us. As a student, I got six mo. of free prime. Now it’s $39/year. I’m subscribed to their alerts and occasionally get a nice amazon promotional code in my email. Plus, they are tax free in my state. I just had to provide some basic info about my university and use my .edu email to join them – glad I have one… I buy all my books from them. They are awesome all over
Thanks for the marvelous posting! I actually enjoyed reading it, you can be a great author.I will be sure to bookmark your blog and will often come back later in life. I want to encourage you to continue your great writing, have a nice afternoon!
Hey! I could have sworn I’ve been to this blog before but after browsing through some of the post I realized it’s new to me. Nonetheless, I’m definitely delighted I found it and I’ll be bookmarking and checking back frequently!
My partner and I stumbled over here by a different web page and thought I might as well check things out. I like what I see so i am just following you. Look forward to exploring your web page for a second time.
Hi! I’m at work browsing your blog from my new iphone 4! Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look forward to all your posts! Keep up the superb work!
I tried to submit a comment earlier, however it has not shown up. I assume your spam filter might be broken?
Wonderful blog you have here but I was wondering if you knew of any message boards that cover the same topics talked about in this article? I’d really like to be a part of community where I can get feed-back from other knowledgeable people that share the same interest. If you have any recommendations, please let me know. Appreciate it!
Oh, a wonderful article! I have no clue how you came up with this post..it’d take me weeks. Well worth it though, I’d assume. Have you considered selling banners on your blog?
Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I’ve truly enjoyed surfing around your blog posts. In any case I will be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write again soon!
Hello there! I could have sworn I’ve been to this website before but after checking through some of the post I realized it’s new to me. Nonetheless, I’m definitely happy I found it and I’ll be book-marking and checking back often!
Hey there! Someone in my Facebook group shared this site with us so I came to check it out. I’m definitely loving the information. I’m book-marking and will be tweeting this to my followers!
toaster bordello antenatal sorry diary disproportionate astute