Thanks for checking out our THOR review.
Genre: Superhero Action
Directed by: Kenneth Branagh
Staring: Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston and Natalie Portman
Released: May 6th, 2011
THE GENERAL IDEA
At the center of the story is the mighty Thor (Chris Hemsworth), a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth by his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and is forced to live among humans. A beautiful, young scientist, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), has a profound effect on Thor, as she ultimately becomes his first love. It’s while here on Earth that Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth
THE GOOD
This is one FUN movie.
The tie ins are very subtle. They don’t shove them down your throat, but if you know some background they are all pretty obvious at the same time. This felt very smooth as if they learned something from Iron Man 2, where the movie felt more like it was a prologue to The Avengers instead of an Iron Man movie. This does MORE tie ins, and keeps it smooth.
Hemsworth IS Thor. This guy just owns the role and there is no question that they made the right choice. And Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is deliciously mischievious without being the least bit exaggerated or silly. In fact all of the cast is very fitting. Kat Dennings is the comic relief and very carefully steals moments in the movie. Stan Lee makes his Cameo as usual, and its very brief.
Balance is probably the best way I can describe how well this film works. There is a LOT to try and cram into this movie and they do it all without overwhelming the viewer. They tie it into the other movies - Hawkeye/Clint Barton cameo, Banner is half mentioned, Stark is mentioned. And they are also carefyl to point out how Thor is different from the Comics (How they bring up Donald Blake is awesome) right down to just fitting the PLOT in there too! There is a lot of history that is played out well, the plot plays out well and the setting of Earth and Asgard is played out well too.
Just awesome.
And the action is GREAT. The scene where Thor lets loose alongside the Warriors Three is incredible. Fanrall (Joshua Dallas) is my favourite, and Sif is just beautiful and still an effective warrior in her own right.
And of course, every action hero needs a love interest. But for once they play it right. Its there, don’t get me wrong. But its so secondary to what’s going on that
THE BAD
There is a tiny bit with Agent Coulson and Thor that bugs me. In their previous meeting Coulson is grilling Thor about where he got his training etc (which we saw in the trailers) and the next time they meet Thor says “I am your ally” and Coulson just takes that at face value and drops it. Seemed too quick 180 to me.
One thing that is bad is the really dark establishing scenes at the very beginning of the movie. They are a little “too” dark. Visually, not in content. I attended the 3D version, and that really is going to hit those 3D hating “its darker” people hard. I even had to admit there were parts in that part of the film that 3D served no purpose.
And on that, the 3D really didn’t make or break this movie. It was just another tool to make things look extra cool, but I think the breathtaking visuals would work just fine without it too.
OVERALL
A LOT of fun at the theater and I loved the crap out of this movie. If you are a fan of superhero films, I won’t recommend you go see this… I command you to!
Oh, and stay after the credits. As usual with Marvel films.
I give Thor a 9 out of 10
