Avengers Assemble!

Rating: 6/10 (25 April 2011)

Sometime in 2012, Marvel Studios will release The Avengers, a conglomerate of superhero films all rolled into one, and a film I expect will overthrow The Dark Knight as the highest- grossing superhero movie of all time. How it will fare against Nolan's third and final Batman remains to be seen, but with the Tony Stark character already well established, the time has come to add another crucial piece of the Avengers puzzle with the fantastical universe of Thor, the Nordic god of thunder.
The soon-to-be king of the Asgard realm, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is stripped of all his powers and cast down to Earth, doomed to life as a mere mortal as punishment for disobeying the orders of his king and father Odin (Anthony Hopkins). There he meets sceptical scientist Jane (Natalie Portman), and learns that his power-hungry brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has been conspiring against the ailing Odin back on Asgard, intending to become the king himself.
The very nature of storytelling throughout Thor is well executed. It works many interesting facets of Nordic mythology into the story and, while I can't say I've ever read a Marvel comic in my life, I was impressed by the eccentricity of the plot. Never having been a big fan of director Kenneth Branagh (I feel he has the unwanted ability of drawing pretentiousness from otherwise straightforward subject matter), I admit that even he kept a tight hold on the pace. Okay, maybe he couldn't resist aligning the plot with parts of Shakespeare's Henry V and King Lear, but overall he appears very conscious of what he's directing: a popcorn action vehicle with mass public appeal, mostly devoid of unnecessary literary allusions.
In fact, if I had to criticise one aspect of Branagh's filmmaking, it would be the cinematography. It's hard to miss the constant use of titled camera angles throughout Thor, which I assume were employed to emphasise the 'other-worldliness' of Asgard, but instead just seem lazy and contribute little to the film other than occasionally disorientating the viewer.
Around the time Thor begins his new life on Earth, the film takes on a more comedic direction, with most jokes arising from situations that show the protagonist as a fish out of water (walking across the street with no regard for cars, declaring his love of coffee by throwing his mug against a wall, stuff like that). Unfortunately, most of the jokes fall flat, but this is certainly an area that differs from person to person. Frankly, I thought the best laugh came from a witty and direct reference to the self-centred Stark during the film's biggest set piece.
I don't often review films through comparison, but while we're on the topic of Iron Man, it is a great way of exposing the character flaws of this film. While Thor itself possesses an interesting story, there is little depth to the main character, in comparison to multi-faceted personality of Iron Man's billionaire egotist. Where Iron Man builds towards Tony and Pepper's relationship on the back of over four hours of brewing sexual tension, Thor introduces, deals with and wraps up its romantic subplot all within ninety minutes. Portman doesn't butcher her role by any means, but suffers from a formulaic script lacking any interest in thorough character development.
All in all, this film offers the same sort of action-packed escapism we have come to expect from Hollywood over the Easter holidays. Hey, this time last year we had to sit through Clash of the Titans, and Thor certainly doesn't deserve that sort of shabby treatment. And for any Marvel fanatics out there, make sure to stick around after the credits.
*There's nothing I love more than a bit of feedback, good or bad. So drop me a line on jnatsis@iprimus.com.au and let me know what you thought of my review.*