A step up for the MCU

Rating: 6/10 (5 February 2016)

It would have been easy for the fourth entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to collapse in a heap of silliness: the elaborate costumes; the extravagant playland that is Asgard (which somewhat resembles the Emerald City); the complicated retelling of Norse mythology. You need actors with the weight and seriousness of Anthony Hopkins and Idris Elba just to bring off the headgear. But this film has everything it needs to hold itself up and extra to boot. Rene Russo, for example, doesn't have nearly enough to do as Thor's mother. Director Kenneth Branagh and his small army of screenplay and story writers structure this as a basic hero's journey, mining culture and legend for little tropes that fit nicely. Thor's gang-of-five recall Robin Hood's Merry Men, except that here one is Jamie Alexander as the fiercely capable Lady Sith. Resonances with some of Shakespeare's history plays are interwoven without being too pointed. Unlike with Marvel's previous two entries, here the characters who remind everyone that "The Avengers" is coming aren't distractingly shoehorned in. Mostly, no one forgets to have fun with all this, especially not Chris Hemsworth in the deceptively simple title role. Not only does he look every bit the Man-God he's supposed to be, he hits all the emotional marks the story throws his way with the right mix of humor, arrogance and sincerity, and plays well off the other actors. The film's secret weapon is Tom Hiddleston's Loki, easily Marvel's best villain to date, who connives and deceives with the wit and aplomb you'd expect from a legendary trickster. Hiddleston manages the complicated feat of making Loki both fun to watch and someone to be wary of because of his unpredictability. "Thor" doesn't quite reach "Iron Man"'s heights, but it is a good return to form after two lackluster MCU entries.