Taking one of the seven basic plots, but making it apply to comic books, the real world, and beyond...

Rating: 9/10 (31 January 2012)

I feel that the sequel to this movie is almost destined to flop, if a deal can't be agreed that sees Kenneth Branagh return to direct.
... Initially I thought handing him the job was a mistake, but after judging on the merits of the entire film, I'm confident that I totally understand the choice... Both he and one of his stars (Anthony Hopkins) know how to sell bombastic speeches and make them inspirational rather than hyperbolic. Some people don't understand the intrinsic link between Shakespeare and comic-books (numerous academics have stated that if Shakespeare were alive today, then in their opinion he would be writing serials/soap operas... )
If they don't get someone in charge who knows how to grace age-old themes with a light touch, then Thor 2 could well sink like a stone...
This is an epic in the truest sense of the word, just with CGI to fill in the story pockets that exist around the basic accomplishment of goals... If the technology had existed to create awe-inspiring sights using machinery, then it's not unreasonable to think that the storytellers of their time would have used them... Good old fashioned grand conflict never changes, though, and Branagh seems to have an instinctive understanding of this principle.