A Bridge Onwards or A Piece of Cinematic Genius?

Rating: 8/10 (4 July 2011)

The question above reminds me of many other questions; To be strong or to be weak? To have £10 or to have £5? The answer is always going to be the first one. Of course this is multiple choice and so is whether or not you should go and see Thor, especially in 2011's comic-book movie summer...
The film opens with an exciting, albeit short set piece on Earth introducing us to Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) an Astro Physicist out in the middle of know where waiting for a storm. The tension builds up, as even I in the audience became sceptical on anything happening... Until BOOM!! Thor (Chris Hemsworth) arrives with only one question on everyone's mind "where did he come from?" Firstly this is a fantastic introduction, it denies the audience any over complexities with the narrative by setting it up so well. As expected it goes on to explain the origins of Thor with a noisy, special effects filled prologue that essentially isn't needed. It seemed almost a duplicate to a Lord of the Rings style battle scene, without a Peter Jackson stab at making it jump of the screen. That's not to say Kenneth Branagh doesn't do a good job. He makes the years of comic book mythology so comprehensive in order to set up the movie and 3D or not he makes Asgard jump of the screen with its beauty.
Hemsworth really makes a believable Thor, his flamboyant antics only help to symbolise this better. Although Thor's written too narrowly for my taste, his arrogance is conveyed too simply and his romance with Jane Foster is far too spur-of-the-moment stuff. The acting from both Portman and Hemsworth however, allowed me to ignore this and the movie just became more and more intriguing. Tension builds as Loki (Tom Hiddleston) moves further towards the films antagonist. I really got the feeling of a medieval "who shall be king" battle going on in modern day New Mexico which is a lot of compelling fun to watch. Odin (Antony Hopkins) gives the film stability and understanding as his sons rivalry grows. Expect great effects, great acting and a great story, but don't expect a piece of cinematic genius.
Thor was always going to be the risk in the Avengers lead up movies. It does what it has to in order for the Avengers to be born in 2012 and it does no more, no less. There will be plenty of teases tying it into this ever growing Marvel universe (incidentally stay after the credits if you want to see more of that) and for fans this will be a blast. But fan or not this is a great film just don't expect anything more than a prequel to the Avengers.