Review – Thor
If there was a Nobel Peace Prize for excellence in comic book film making it would have to go to the team at Marvel Studios. I never thought I would live to see the Marvel comic’s universe come to life and cross over on the big screen. With the rights to so many comic book characters in the hands of different movie studios it’s hard to get the continuity of the universe right but Marvel Studios are in the process of putting together the biggest superhero puzzle in history – ‘The Avengers’. In order to get there each hero needs to be set up and it has been done with ‘Iron Man’ and ‘The Incredible Hulk’. ‘Captain America’ is waiting in the wings while ‘Thor’ takes the spotlight in spectacular style. ‘Thor’ tells the story of the arrogant warrior Thor (Chis Hemsworth) who his thrown out of the mythical realm of Asgard by his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins). Thor lands on Earth where he is discovered by the scientist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) who helps him rediscover a way to get back to Asgard before his shady brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) creates chaos across the universe. ‘Thor’ is a great superhero film that has spectacular action, amazing visuals, a top notch cast and superb direction but most of all it’s a perfect piece of fun popcorn cinema only let down by lame 3D conversion.
‘Thor’ delivers big action that is highly entertaining while managing to push the story forward. It mixes fantasy and sci-fi together in spectacular fashion and every action beat is gripping from the ‘Lord of the Rings’ style battle sequences that take place on Asguard to the brutal fist fights that take place on Earth, it’s a wild ride. The visuals and special effects are amazing, especially the creation of the mythical world of Asguard which is a beautiful creation in itself. Kenneth Branagh does a solid job behind the camera getting the mix of action and drama right while nodding to comic book fans with Marvel references left right and centre as well as big set ups for the role of Thor in ‘The Avengers’.
The cast are top notch with Chris Hemsworth stamping his authority as Thor; he gives the character the right amount of arrogance and heart that makes him a likeable hero that is easy to cheer for. Anthony Hopkins brings a regal quality to Odin that works well and Tom Hiddleston makes an intelligent and deadly villain. Natalie Portman does well on love interest duties while Kat Dennings and Stellan Skarsgard are on board for comedic relief with Skarsgard providing links to other characters in the Marvel Universe with help from Clark Gregg who pops up as Shield Agent Coulson who will be familiar from ‘Iron Man 1 & 2’.
The worst part of ‘Thor’ is its attempt at 3D which proves to be more disorientating than entertaining, avoid a 3D screening at all costs as it heavily damages the quality of the film, especially the fast paced action sequences.
‘Thor’ is the lyrics of a mythical themed heavy metal song brought to life that delivers 2011 first solid blockbuster that manages to tick all the boxes while keeping comic book fans happy as the march toward ‘The Avengers’ continues (don’t forget to stick around after the credits for a teaser).
4/5
The Popcorn Junkie
I thought it was gorgeously done. The story is grand and dramatic but it doesn’t fall into pomposity. Nor does the director wink at the audience with parody either, the humour is just the right tone.
I thought it was great. Hemsworth does a very good job, he’s easy to like and feel sympathy for, but Tom Hiddleston almost steals it.
Yes the 3D sucks. Big time.
Finally watched Thor last night. Seeing it did, indeed, make me long for all of Marvel’s other big brands (Spidey, X-Men) to “come home” to the House of Ideas. I’m not a particularly big Thor comic book fan and nor was I an Iron Man … but both films – ignoring IM2 – were pitch perfect.
Ever since I watched Transformers: The Movie (not to be confused with the Michael Bay catastrophe) I have greatly valued movies that give me “a tingle”. I know that sounds all kinds of wrong, but I can’t think of another way to describe it. It’s a physical response to cinematic coolness. I experienced that twice with Thor, which is a pretty high achievement. Haha.
Agreed that the 3D was lame. I wish 3D would crawl off somewhere and die. It’s very rarely done well.