The Norse God has arrived....

Rating: 7/10 (12 May 2011)

The Norse God's arrival on Earth was imminent from the appearance of his hammer, Mjolnir at the end of 'IronMan 2' and director Kenneth Branagh presents The God of Thunder upon our humble planet while making it entertaining with fantastic scenes of the realm of Asgard and quirky moments of Thor adapting to life on Earth. But those who know of the arrogant, powerful and reckless son of Odin, the expectations of thunderous action would be greater than the might of the hammer as depicted in the movie.
On the day of Thor's crowning as King, some frost giants mysteriously break into the secret chambers of Odin and upon such discovery, Thor ventures into their realm of Jotunheim to respond to their threat. Along with his friends, Thor wages a reckless war with the Jotuns, with Mjolnir swinging wildly at any adversary and Thor flying brutally through a monster's mouth; but it is Odin's wisdom that saves them at a crucial juncture. Annoyed with Thor's rash behaviour and to teach him a lesson, Odin sends him to Earth without his powers and it is on this humble planet, that Thor, in his powerless state, learns to respect life and calms down as an almighty. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who crashes into the fallen Thor in the middle of a stormy desert, cools his temperament and serves as Earth's cheesy interest for him. His foster brother, Loki, meanwhile, plans to usurp the throne of Asgard while Odin is lost in his sleep and unleash the frost giants upon the beautiful realm. It's up to the mighty Thor to re-gain his powers and return to Asgard to re-establish order and destroy its threats.
Undeniably, Thor is an exciting adventure. From the spectacularly depicted realm of Asgard, to the brutal battle with the frost giants and through the funny moments of Thor's introduction to our planet, there is entertainment galore and with Chris Hemsworth's cheeky Norse-like persona, Thor is all the more enjoyable. However, there is one major element that disappoints. This is a movie about Thor - The God of Thunder. The almighty one who has fallen from Asgard into the correctional facility that is Earth. His nemesis include frost giants and the destroyer that is sent to Earth by the evil works of Loki but apart from their brief confrontations, there is a certain dearth of the mind- blowing action that we would expect. The Mjolnir is hardly put into use after the initial battle and thunder is never used upon Thor's commanding. While the anticipation for the climax grew, the realization that there wasn't any action to be enjoyed, was the film's most disappointing aspect. It just did not end on a high that would be worthy of a thunder God.
Instead, Branagh's approach seemed to center around portraying Thor as the reckless hero who couldn't control his mighty powers with a short fuse. Hemsworth enacts that aspect brilliantly with a boyish charm. Branagh also takes the liberty to throw in some cheesy romance between Thor and Jane which just doesn't suit the Norse character. Natalie Portman blushes her way through awkward moments and the excitable ones. Hemsworth too, seems lost in those romantic escapades since even he cannot relate to the Thunder God indulging in the cheesiness. Anthony Hopkins, in his brief role as Odin blends rather well and so does Tom Hiddleston as Loki, the insecure and mischievous foster brother of Thor.
It does seem impossible to overlook the inspiration for the battle sequence with the frost giants ('The Lord of The Rings'), the depiction of spectacular Asgard (Rivendell) and Odin's palace (Minas Tirith) but the result however, is simply astounding.
Thor could've been a bigger, more thunderous epic but from a director with a Shakespearean background; this works. For what it's worth, Thor entertains in a wholesome manner with all the gorgeous effects, action and a superhero's helpless struggle being on Earth. Thundering into the summer box-office, Thor sets things up for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s 'Avengers Initiative' that is due next year and as the disclaimer in all superhero movies goes, "wait till the end of credits."

8.199 on a scale of 1-10.