Not a Thor loser

Rating: 7/10 (7 May 2011)

Thor is exactly what a comic-book movie ought to be – it's packed with action and great effects, it's true to its source material, it gives us characters we actually care about, and it's a tense melodrama with connections to Shakespeare. The entire cast is engaging – and some very nice to look at, depending on your persuasion – and all in all it's a well-told glorious spectacle.
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is an Asgardian prince, son of King Odin (check your Norse mythology). Hot-headed, impetuous, prone to violence, and quite full of himself, he is nonetheless next in line for the throne. Just before his coronation is complete, however, intruders from Jotunheimm infiltrate Asgard; although they're quickly dispatched, Thor demands revenge, and against his father's explicit orders, he and his friends (including his brother, Loki) travel to Jotunheim to seek answers – and kick butt, if necessary and possible. Odin finds out and saves them, but he strips Thor of his powers – including his great hammer, Mjolnir, and banishes him to Earth to teach him a lesson in humility.
This banishment serves to open the door for treachery in Asgard, allowing the Frost Giants of Jotunheim to wage war against the Asgardians. Meanwhile, some of that trouble is spilled toward Earth, where Thor has fallen under the romantic spell of Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). Suffice to say that bad things come at the populace of a small town in New Mexico, with only a now-mortal Thor able to help them.
But this movie is about more than just bad guys plotting to take over the universe; it's about father-son relationships and the rivalry between a favored son and "the other brother." There's a lot of Henry V and King Lear afoot, and this is due in no small part to the movie's director, the great Kenneth Branagh. Branagh is not the first person you'd think of to direct a movie based on a comic book, but he manages here to not only keep the expected characterizations and plot fresh but also to instill a sense of classicism and wonderment.
The CGI is pretty well utilized (although some of the early scenes in Jotunheim made me realize they WERE computer generated, which is almost the opposite of what you'd want), and what's more it doesn't seem to distract from the plot. In some movies, effects serve as noise to prevent the audience from discovering that the story doesn't make much sense. Branagh isn't subtle in his use of technology, but this isn't a movie that really should be subtle. Thor himself certainly isn't.
Hemsworth, a newcomer to the States from Australia, is solid in the title role, much better than, say, Sam Worthington would have been. Hemsworth is sturdy and ripped, so he fits Thor's physical description, but he can also do a little bit of the acting as well. Portman, you may recall, is now an Oscar winner, and she's a delight here in a role similar to Liv Tyler's and Jennifer Connelly's in the two recent Hulk films; the smart femme fatale. In fact, her character reminded me quite a bit of Jodie Foster's character in Contact – a determined, resolved, super-smart researcher determined to find out what in Sam Hill is going on around here.
Anthony Hopkins plays Odin as you'd expect Anthony Hopkins to play a king: regally, with a weary toughness. Idris Elba, Kat Denning, Stellan Skarsgard, Tom Hiddleston, Ray Stevenson, and a couple of uncredited cameos are also well cast.
You can expect to see more of Thor and his stories – his Thories? – in the coming years. This movie is a product of Marvel Studios, and upcoming releases will focus on other Marvel Comics' characters, such as Captain America and The Avengers. Plus there are to be reboots of Spider-Man and (maybe) The Hulk. And they'll all tie together, along with Iron Man.
So Thor is every bit as entertaining as I thought it'd be. It's classy without being out of reach for the rest of us; it's not some highfalutin Royal Theater production, but neither is it a simple slam-bang cacophony of senseless violence.