Thor

Rating 4/5

My rewatch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe has brought me out of the realm of Earth and taken me to Thor. Though I would consider Thor to be my lease favorite of the origin films, it is still definitely not terrible.

Chris Hemsworth is Thor, the mighty and arrogant God of Thunder, who has just been crowned as King of Asgard, taking over the throne from his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins). During Thor's coronation, three members of the Frost Giants break into the family weapon's vault and fuel Thor's rage. Out of revenge, Thor and his warrior friends go to the home of the Frost Giants and attack, breaking the treaty between the two realms. Due to his lack of judgement, Odin banishes Thor from Asgard. Back on Earth, Jane (Natalie Portman) is a scientist searching for the truth about multiple realms, and will stop at nothing to continue her research. Chasing what she thinks is a storm, she accidentally hits a powerless Thor with her car, and romance and adventure ensues.

Thor features some low points for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it certainly has some hight ones as well. The major one for this film is that we are given Loki. Tom Hiddleston, who shines as the slithery and morally conflicted villain, brings the acting and comedic/dramatic timing that the Marvel viewers expect. The cinematic universe is notoriously criticized for their "villain problem", which sometimes rings true, but certainly not in any film involving Loki as the primary source of conflict. The greatest villains are ones who are multifaceted. If they're all evil, there's no guesswork in what will happen. We always have a strong sense of what the character will do, but never with Loki. He is constantly pursuing acts of trickery, yet just like Thor, we are always willing to fall for his moments of good, because they are just so convincing. The best scenes in this film are the ones that take place between Thor and Loki, as their drastic differences both in appearance and personality, create a unique dynamic that could only be portrayed by the two perfectly cast actors. They have fantastic chemistry on screen and really save Thor from being much worse than it could have been.

As far as the origin stories go, Thor seems to be a bit separated from the rest of the Marvel Universe. Whether it's because it literally starts in another realm, or if it's because all the human characters in the movie feel expendable, Thor just doesn't seem to reach the high bar expectations of the origin films that Marvel is known to produce. I had a hard time finding myself really being interested in Thor's Asgardian warrior friends, not to say there aren't interesting characters there, but not as many as one would like. The only people who were compelling were of course Thor and Loki, but also Odin, Frigga, and Heimdall. It's not surprising that in Thor's third and most successful installment, many of the other Asgardians are omitted.

I think what I really found fault with in Thor, was the attempts at humor. Thor and Loki bring more than enough comedic timing between the two of them, there really wasn't any need for more. Anything beyond their on screen wit and chemistry, just felt a bit excessive. It certainly made Kat Dennings' character, Darcy, seem quite unnecessary, and rather annoying. She definitely has her moments that made me chuckle, but all in all, her character really only seemed to be there in order to make comments, albeit accurate ones, about Thor's rather exquisite physique.

Overall, it is not a bad movie. Thor definitely contains its' enjoyable moments, and the acting and fight scenes aid the film with their Marvel precision. Plus, watching Thor attempt to fit his enormous frame into a human atmosphere is always amusing. Definitely worth a watch, but not the best Marvel has to offer.