Hammering Out Justice, Raking in the Money

Rating: 6/10 (14 May 2011)

Thor
This film is mildly recommended.
" If I had a hammer, I'd hammer in the morning / I'd hammer in the evening / All over this land / I'd hammer out danger / I'd hammer out a warning...

Lyrics from The Hammer Song by Pete Seeger & Lee Hays

Yes, the gods are angry again! And no, we mere mortals have not caused that reaction. It is an inside job this time. The gods have cast out Thor, son of Odin and the latest Marvel superhero to reach a movie theater near you. They have sent him crashing to Earth to learn a few lessons along the way. Now one might think that his mission is to hammer out justice to those who dare to cross his path, and although that may be somewhat true, his real mission is to reel in mucho dollars for Paramount Studio ( and indeed he will ). Yes, Thor, the first of the summer blockbusters, has finally arrived! Sit back and enjoy the ride!
Shakespearean actor/ director Kenneth Branagh goes all Shakespeare on us with the film's plot and character development. He takes a tried and true formula as his blueprint: Tragedy + Comedy = Thor, and most of the time he succeeds in his vision. With this comic book tale, he amps up the Norse / Marvel mythology aspects and treats his film with a solid pedigree of opulence and pageantry that is usually not seen in this genre. Branagh still provides plenty of action sequences to please the built-in audience of fanboys everywhere. But he wisely throws in some Henry V, some King Lear, some Hamlet into the mix while juggling the lighter comic element that made the original Ironman such a successful enterprise. However, he does make some missteps along the way.
Banished from Asgard due to his recklessness and arrogance and forced to live with us humans, Thor becomes a fish out of water as he time travels to the 21st century and tries to adapt to our planet's customs. It is here that he meets Jane Foster who will, of course, become his love interest and help him become a better man-god and it is here that the film excels in its charming and comic tone, if not in its originality.
In fact, the film constantly shifts its vision ( and also its strengths and weaknesses ) with varying results jumping to scenes from modern day Earth, the Disneylike inspired Tomorrowland known as Asgard, and Jotunheim, the ice planet of Frost Giants.
The modern day sequences work best due to the strong chemistry between the leads: Chris Hemsworth, in a breakout performance as the God of Thunder, displays a nice comic timing while also displaying a even more defined godlike torso. ( Let's face it, he looks and acts the part to perfection. As gods go, he's an 11! ); Natalie Portman is adorable and completely likable as his astrophysicist girlfriend, but it really doesn't tax her acting prowess. ( Let's face it, she looks and acts this throwaway part to silly perfection. But as astrophysicists go, she's an 5 at best! ). Stellan Skaragard and Kat Dennings as Jane's scientific crew provide able support to the proceedings. Also impressive are the battle sequences on the subzero Jotunheim with the villainous Frost Giants. This portion of the film is quite effective and makes for rousing fantasy entertainment. The visual effects and makeup are first rate and Colm Feore as King Laufey elicits the right menace necessary for all the Dark Forces to converge on our hero and his fateful allies.
But it is on Asgard where I had serious problems was with the film's lack of inventiveness in its production values and familiar comic book storyline. ( This is the Shakespearian "realm".) After all, it is 965 A.D. when our story begins. Yet the illogical futuristic costumes are distracting ( helmets worn as ostentatious headdresses and tacky gladiator armor reminiscent of Hollywood's Cleopatra era ) and the laughable art direction is even worse. The setting is so overwrought with grandiose Art Deco style and Celtic inspired patterns that one wonders if the gods may have time traveled to future centuries and taken too many courses in art history and fashion design for such pretentious surroundings. ( At times, I thought I was at the Crystal Cathedral Ministries or some 1964 World's Fair pavilion with all the excessive gold leaf and gaudy crystal. ) Also caught in this world are Anthony Hopkins as Odin ( his best acting in years ), Tom Hiddleston as Thor's jealous sibling, Loki, and Idris Elba as Heimdall, Odin's loyal servant and gatekeeper to the realm. The actors go about their paces, don't look to ridiculous in all the gaudy trappings, and are able to extract fine performances from the insubstantial material they are given.
Another misstep: the clash of the titans' duel between Thor and a cyborg rip-off. There is an awkward moment, a recycled formulaic similarity of robotic invaders from past films, from the animated Iron Giant to 1951's Gort (from The Day the Earth Stood Still ) to Ironman itself. And while there is nice CGI to enjoy, there is also a nagging sense of déjà in this sequence, a vision completely lacking any imaginative thought of its own.
Still, Thor is a mighty sci-fi fantasy tale of redemption that is sure to be a real crowd- pleasing franchise even though it's a bit inconsequential. The action moves along at a brisk clip, the film thoroughly holds your attention, and it is what it is. As big summer blockbusters go, it will make a godlike ton of money and keep the Hollywood gods and moguls happy, that is, until the next superhero comes along ( which should be in about 2 weeks, I would guess.) GRADE: B-
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