Thor Review

• 26th Apr 2011

Step up Thor; it’s your turn to have the Marvel limelight shone upon you. Perhaps the riskiest of the Marvel ventures (even far beyond The Incredible Hulk) as we really start to explore beyond our own world, never mind what mutation and science can do for us.  Here magic and science are woven together.

The Norse mythology comes to life as Asgard, almost right from the get go, is shown to us in all of its golden glory. And who better to bring this vision to the screen than Kenneth Branagh, a man very much in touch with the visceral elements of cinema as well as the stage antics of high drama (see his full length Hamlet for a prime example of both working to supreme effect).

Thor, it seems, is a jolly, if egotistical son of Odin (Anthony Hopkins), older brother to Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and heir to the throne of Asgard. His temper gets the better of him when he leads a secret battle against an age old enemy counter to the word of his father, and for his sins he finds himself stripped of his power and banished to the realm of Earth.

From here he is not only stripped of power, but dignity as well as he is continually banged by cars (Natalie Portman not doing much for the reputation of women drivers) and zapped and clobbered by us earthlings before he has a chance to figure out where he is or why he is being punished so. All the while, back home not all is well as Loki ascends to the throne when the king falls into a slumber – leaving a few friends to attempt to bring back their one, true heir.

Sounds all so serious, but Thor has a lot of humour as well, be it Thor’s general disconnection with the Earth world around him, or effortlessly drinking Stellan Skarsgard under the table. Thor also balances the magical and the normal to great effect – anyone worrying about this being a ludicrous romp can settle down safe in the knowledge that it doesn’t run off into camp territories.

The 3D version is converted and, well, I’m not a fan of 3D. It didn’t bother my viewing, but I wouldn’t pay more for it if I can watch it on 2D and be just as satisfied. The effects are pretty standard for today – so good enough. The design aspects of the scenery are truly impressive, as is the score by Branagh regular, Patrick Doyle.

The supporting cast are largely welcome.  Hopkins does his thing without phoning it in this time, Portman seems like a bit of a standard go to girl for our guy type, until they realise over halfway through that Thor’s lady should have a little bit more zest – whereupon she starts to display more predatory like behaviour towards her love interest (I’d be disappointed if Thor did fall for a woman who was just a regular American Hollywood chick to be honest. This is the God of Thunder after all!)

The film is smart for two main reasons – first of all it mocks and laughs at the thunder god when he comes to earth letting us know that they are not taking it seriously, but they then show (through other characters) that he is also a character to reckoned with towards the end.  Instead of people laughing at his full costume, it bravely shows a character being turned on by it.

A couple of cast members get left behind a bit (Rene Russo as Thor’s mother in particular has very little to do or say), Portman’s best friend Darcy (Kat Dennings) is there purely for dumb comic relief (via a string of obvious and dumb comments); Hiddleston veers towards getting a little too theatrical towards the end, but otherwise makes a good dramatic counterpart to Chris Hemsworth’s hero and the man himself thankfully – who this film rests on – is charismatic. Be he hammering away or merely making small talk with his new found companions, Hemsworth is spot on casting and should make a good humoured hero for future instalments.

There are a few Marvel nod’s throughout and the odd cameo ranging from intriguing to pointless. But hang around after the credits for another secret scene. Plus, it won’t be long until Captain America is with us. In the meantime enjoy one of the first decent summer blockbusters of this year.

Steven Hurst