Thor

As was the case with Iron Man and The Fantastic Four, I didn’t know much about Thor until this movie. When I saw “Iron Man 2”, I stuck around for the end credit scene for the first time. When I saw that hammer, I felt a sense of excitement but I didn’t know exactly what it meant. I have been a big fan of director Kenneth Branagh ever since “The Road to El Dorado” but I was very impressed by “Hamlet” and “Much Ado About Nothing”, in which he both stared in and directed. When I found out that he was directing “Thor”, I was even more excited for this film. I wanted to see what he would bring to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Even though I liked “Thor”, I like “Iron Man” and “The Incredible Hulk” more. The cast of “Thor” was good and I found nothing wrong with Branagh’s work but the story wasn't as fun as those for the aforementioned comic book films. This was a movie for the fans of the comic book and not for new fans like me. I never have developed a taste for this part of the MCU but the Thor films are still decent. Out of all the films in Phase One of the MCU however, this movie relates the most to "The Avengers".

One little problem that the script had was that we got a lot of exposition concerning Asgard but not so much concerning Jane, her companions and the town in New Mexico. It was therefore difficult to connect with and root for those from Earth. This also creates story problems when the Destroyer is damaging the town. Due to the fact that we haven’t had much time to relate to the humans in this movie, the climax of “Thor” lacks the emotional power that other superhero movies have. I did like the moment however when Thor puts Mjolnir on top of Loki. The action in the film was fun, such as Thor spinning Mjolnir, but not as much fun as other Marvel movies. However, the romantic relationship in this film was well developed. I like the moments that allow Thor and Jane to fall in love. I like the way that Thor’s apparent death was handled. It was alluded that Thor could only wield the power of Mjolnir if he was worthy. His willingness to sacrifice his life for the humans and attempt diplomacy with Loki proved that he was now worthy to take up Mjolnir and be brought back to life. By that point in the movie, the audience had probably forgotten about this and therefore it was a happy surprise that Thor came back to life. I love Jane's reaction to Thor finally obtaining the Mjolnir. I also like the angle of Thor learning humility. He genuinely starts out as a boy trying to prove himself a man. Loki's subplot is quite dramatic. He becomes a villian because of his mischievous nature and because of his inner turmoil.

I first saw Chris Hemsworth as George Kirk in “Star Trek”. His brief performance in that movie was good and he is perfect as Thor. He had the right mixture of camp and drama, like Christopher Reeve in “Superman”. His upper body is also very impressive. His best moments are when Thor comes to earth and I love the phrase "son of Coul" when he is talking to Agent Coulson. I am glad that Natalie Portman is in another major film franchise beside the Star Wars prequel trilogy. An Oscar winner later in her career, she plays Jane quite well. As mentioned, the relationship between Thor and Jane is good and that is because of the decent chemistry between Portman and Hemsworth. Anthony Hopkins is always good and Idris Elba was likewise noteworthy. This film was my introduction to Elba and that is probably the case with most of the world. Kat Dennings was effective as the main source of humor and it was great to see Stellan Skarsgard also in "Thor". Because of "The Mask", I wonder what it would have been like if Jim Carrey played Loki. Stan Lee’s cameo was perfect. The theater audience I saw the movie with applauded his appearance and this is due to the use of "I Can Help" in that sequence. This is my favorite cameo of Stan Lee’s ever. One of the writers of this movie is Don Payne who worked on "The Simpsons" and the humor of "Thor" does work probably thanks to him. Finally, the resume of stunt coordinator Vic Armstrong is extrememly impressive. He has worked on "Return of the Jedi", "Superman" and "Indiana Jones". He brings a sense of power to the stunts that is needed for "Thor".

Kenneth Branagh’s Shakespearean experience was applied to this Marvel film and it worked okay. As a fan of the comic book since his childhood, Branagh did fine but the script had a few minor problems. It appears that the focus was more on character. While that is important, the story deserved a tad more attention. I tend to favor superhero origin stories and this movie is about a character being changed for the better. I still liked this movie because of those involved in its production. Some movies like “Iron Man” and J. J. Abrams’ “Star Trek” were written to entertain both die hard and new fans. “Thor” seemed to appeal less to new fans like me. I always have a nice time watching “Thor” but I would have to say that the only lasting impact that this movie will have on me is that it introduced me to two members of The Avengers. The character of Thor in my opinion is more entertaining in the subsequent crossover films but he needed his own introductory film. Hawkeye was introduced well because he sort of roots for Thor. There is also a reference to Dr. Bruce Banner and I liked that. The sequel to this movie was just as good but not better.

3.5 Stars out of 5