A hell of a start to the 2011 summer season

Rating: 8/10 (1 May 2011)

We all know that in 2012 we should be getting the ultimate superhero film, The Avengers, being set up by Marvel Studios. But they have to set it up first, starting with Iron Man in 2008. Now Marvel have to turned to another on of their properties, Thor, and again made another entertaining superhero film.
In 970 A.D. there was epic war between the Asgardians lead by Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and the frost giants, who want to conquer Earth. Years later Odin makes his son, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) his heir but a group of frost giants attempt to steal the Casket of Ancient Winters. Thor's brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), convicts Thor and his companions to go to war against the Frost Giants, against their father's orders. As punishment Thor is banished to Earth with his powers and hammer, Mjolnir taken away from him. On Earth Thor befriends a young scientist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and her companions Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skargard) and Darcy (Kat Dennings). Thor sets out to receive his hammer from SHIELD whilst in Asgard Loki continues his plotting ways to take control.
Thor is Marvel's interpretation of Norse mythology and he is a God, with powers to much. A problem could have been that Thor would have too powerful so would not be in an real danger, but the writers were able to counter at it in two ways. First is Thor does have powerful adversaries, who can match or at least give him a good run for his money. The other idea was that Thor's powers were taken away from him and he become not more then a physically fit man who was fallible. Thor has to earn his powers back and prove himself, that is the core of the story.
Marvel has made bold choices when picking their directors: Jon Favreau was an actor before turning into a family-comedy director and Louis Leterrier was a full on action director. Kenneth Branagh is known for making Shakespeare adaptation and films about classic stories, so it was interesting choice for both the director and the studio. Whether or not you like Branagh's movies there is no denying he has a grand visual style and a perfect fit for bringing all these different worlds to life: the bright fantasy world of Asgard, the dark cold world of Jotunheim and Earth looking like it does in Iron Man. Thor itself is a strange mix of fantasy and science-fiction, trying to combine the two. The special effects were of a high standard and the action was good, with Hemsworth being particularly convincing as a fighter, beating his way through SHIELD. I'm sure if Branagh returns for a sequel his action direction will improve. Branagh ensured that there was a health mix of action, drama, romance and comedy, all the ingredients needed for a fun at the cinema. They are obviously trying to be like Iron Man, having a prologue then showing the set-up and matching its tone.
There is a great cast in the film, I expect Hemsworth will be a big star. He was really convincing as a young warrior who is impulsive and defiant and has to learn to be responsible. Hiddleston is wonderfully weasel like, a power hunger individual who manipulates everyone around him, he is a complex character, the opposite of Thor. Loki lacks strength but is cunning and his character was similar to Commodus in Gladiator and Wormtongue in Lord in the Rings. Portman and Hemsworth have excellent chemistry together and I expect Jane's knowledge will be of use later on in the series. Skargard's character was basically in the film to arch Vikings myths to the characters, but it was done effectively. And Thor is easily Anthony Hopkins' best performance in a film for a long time.
I do have criticise that Thor did rely a little too much on comic relief. Of course a film like this does need a little comedy, but the Dracy character was only in the film so all her lines can be jokes and wisecracks.
For comic book fans there are little references for you, including a cameo by Jeremy Remner as Hawkeye. I would to have like to seen a little news footage showing the events of Iron Man 2, because they were going on at the same time as Thor. And everyone needs to stay behind for the post-credit scene because it will be important for later films.