Epic!

Rating: 8/10 (14 September 2011)

It has taken me way to long to finally getting around to seeing Thor but, let me assure you, it was well worth the wait. Thor is the second most recent addition to the growing Marvel franchise of films that are slowly leading up to The Avengers. It tells the story of (surprise) Thor, the Asgardian god of thunder. Thor lives a lavish life of luxury in Asgard until he is banished to Earth by his father, Odin, played by Anthony Hopkins, for his reckless and immature behavior. While on Earth Thor meets a young scientists named Jane (Natalie Portman) whose has been researching things that, unbeknownst to her, relate to Asgard. With her help, Thor finds his mighty hammer and uses it to defend Earth from his traitorous brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston). It's a film of epic proportions and it matches up with exactly what we would expect from a great Summer popcorn flick.
I figured Thor would end up simply being just another addition to the series and just another reason for me to look forward to The Avengers. But after watching it I realized I was sorely mistaken. Thor more than holds its own against the other Marvel films to come out in recent years. It is an epic scale film with a huge budget and a quality team of filmmakers behind the scenes. Most notably is the gentleman sitting in the directors chair, the highly acclaimed Kenneth Branagh. Mostly acclaimed for his Shakespearian adaptations like Henry V and Much Ado About Nothing, Thor seemed like an odd departure for him. But when you watch the film it becomes evident that Branagh is completely within his element. The ancient speak of the God's fits right in with what Branagh loves, and his passion for beauty and grandeur comes alive, especially when he is backed by a $150,000,000 budget.
The great thing about Thor is that it catches your attention immediately. The film begins in the glorious Asgard, so right off the bat I was blown away by the film's visuals and is immaculate design of the godly realm. It is also about 15 to 20 minutes into the film that Thor and his friends go to the realm of the ice giants and we get our first taste of the incredible action sequences which Thor is not at all in short supply of. The cinematography of these scenes combined with wicked special effects and terrific creature design immediately got my adrenaline pumping and my excitement over this film only continued to grow.
I was worried that when Thor is sent to Earth the film would take a turn for the worst. I thought it would become dull and lifeless, but it actually manages to keep the spirit of Asgard alive. Granted, it does cut back to Asgard many times as the plot continues to unfold there, but there are also some incredible scenes that take place on Earth. A cheesy love interest between Thor and Jane builds during Thor's time on Earth, and that got a little silly, but not enough to detract from the main plot.
Thor was simply awesome. It pulled out all the stops and delivered one heavy punch after another, staying wildly entertaining for two hours and restoring my faith in the quality of superhero movies. Thor is obviously a different breed of superhero and the film emulates some of that with its Old English dialogue and Shakespearian grandeur, but at its core, Thor is an incredible superhero flick that is more fun than any that have come out recently. It is an epic that more superhero films should look to for advice.