Thor (2011) Review

Here's an interesting combination. Comic books, mythology, and Kenneth Branagh, the director of films like Henry V, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Hamlet. Seems a bit unlikely doesn't it?

Before we get into my real review I would like to analyse that "unlikely" reality. Comic books already have been compared with mythology by smarter people than I so I'm not going to try to add anything to that. However the works of William Shakespeare have always seemed to, at least by me, have lot in common with mythology. In his plays there is pathos, comedy, revenge, murder etc. All these things can easily be seen in many issues of Batman as well as in the stories of ancient Greece or Norse religions. Branagh has shown several times that he has the ability to direct films with those themes of ancient mythology. So, when we take the above paragraph into account we see that maybe he was the best choice for the helm.

The basic plot of the film is as follows. Thor (Christopher Hemsworth), son of Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and future king of Asgard, disobeys his father and attacks creatures known as Frost Giants. See, a few thousand years earlier Odin did battle with these creatures for the protection of the human race. The giants were banished from Asgard for eternity. The only way into Asgard is past a character known simply as The Gatekeeper but somehow some of the giants made it past him. Thor and his warriors convince The Gatekeeper to let them travel to destroy the Frost Giants. When Odin learns of Thor's arrogance and rash decision he takes his power and banishes him to live among humans until which time as he is found worthy enough to regain his immortality and powers. Thor is befriended by a young scientist named Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). The hero must learn how to blend in with these humans. All the while his villainous brother Loki becomes the acting king of Asgard.

One of my favorite things about the film was the performance by Hemsworth as the title character. He was a lot of fun to watch and the way he played off the other actors was great. He reminds me a lot of Heath Ledger who, as most people are aware, is one of my favorite actors. The way that he approaches the character is as it should be. Like a fish out of water. A much larger and arrogant Crocodile Dundee. Maybe it's because they are all Australian. Who knows?

The actual film begins with Thor landing on Earth. Then we travel back in time to see how he got there and after about an hour of screen time we return to where we started. I think it should have simply shown all the earlier events on Asgard and then gone to Earth. By then the audience is already enjoying the film.

Before I forget keep an eye out for the Stan Lee cameo. He's driving a truck used to try to remove Thor's hammer from a stone.

★★