Thor Review

You are driving through the desert in New Mexico when suddenly an unexplainable occurance happens in the sky. A tornado like shape touches the ground as you are about to drive right through it. All of a sudden a man appears out of nowhere in front of you and you only glaze him with the side of your car. Seems like a bit of wrong place, wrong time right? Well what if that man tells you that he is from another world and then his world comes down from the sky and starts wreaking havoc. Does it sound like something out of science fiction novel? No, it is the plot for Marvel’s newest comic book adapted film “Thor ”.

Austrailan actor Chris Hemsworth plays Thor, aka the God of Thunder, who is about to be crowned king in his home realm of Asgard. Their greatest enemy called the frost giants, which inhabit a neighboring realm called Jotunheim, have breached the boundaries of thier worlds and attempt to retrieve the source of their power. The source is called the Casket of Ancient Winters, which was taken from them during a time of war from the then Asgard King Odin (Anthony Hopkins) who is also Thor’s father. While unsuccessful in their attempt, Thor decides to attack them on their homefront. The attack is unsuccessful as Odin steps in to prevent the giants from killing Thor and his companions. It is here that Thor exhibits his full arrogance and utter disregard for anybody but himself. Odin then strips him of all his powers and takes away his source, a hammer called Mjoinir. He then is cast out of Asgard and sent to earth, where he meets Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) her assistant Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings), and mentor Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard). The only way that Thor can become who he was born to be is to prove to his father that he is worthy to be the king.

The main key to the success of this film is the direction from British director and also actor Kenneth Branagh. Branagh is very much new to directing a big budget summer blockbuster or for that matter a comic book film. Up until now his directing resume includes a four version of Hamlet and an adaptation of Frankenstein , both of which he also starred in. The flavor that Branagh brings to the picture is that key term that is very evident on past comic book films like the 1978 Superman film and the recent two Batman films. The term in this instance is called “verisimilitude” The meaning refers to the quality of realism, in other words how real is what is happening either on screen or on paper. In terms of Thor , the question is how realistic that story and characters are being protrayed. The answer is that everything in the film is grounded in realism. The characters are each taken out of the comic book and transformed into three dimensional people who you can relate to and sympathize with. And Branagh gives everything a bit of a Shakespeare touch that really ignites the film. On everything from the dialogue to the scenery. The spoken dialogue on Asgard is very pseudo Shakespearan. The best example of three dimensional characters is watching how the relationship between Thor and Odin evolves throughout the picture. From being a king announcing his heir to the throne, to a king angry at his son and stripping him of everything, and finally a father and son who understand each other and have a meeting of the minds. This is why the film does not take itself seriously. Otherwise if it did it would have been just another comic book showcase of action that goes nowhere.

That is one of the key elements that makes this movie a huge success. Of course when all is said and done the movie itself is a sure winner. This new addition to the Marvel cinematic universe pretty much exceeded my expectations. In the long run it turned out way better than I was expecting it to. The film is loads of fun and is simply two hours of edge of your seat exciting entertainment. Chris Hemsworth is one of Hollywood’s best new stars. He does with this role what Christopher Reeve did with Superman, make it his own and believeable. The rest of the supporting cast, Portman, Hopkins, Skarsgard, are all greatly cast in their roles as well. My only problem with it was the 3D aspect of it. I saw it in the IMAX 3D format. I personally think that this movie could have done without the 3D mostly because there really was nothing 3D about it. I mean the 3D does not ruin the movie by any means at all. I just don’t think that it was necessary. But you can make the call on the 3D thing, do you think it was worth the 3D or not, you can send me your thoughts. But other than that, Thor , is one of this years biggest surprises if not one of this summer’s surprises. As mentioned before it is loads of fun and it has a great sense of humor. It is probably one of the best comic book adaptations that I have seen since The Dark Knight . But also the main key to success is that it does not take itself seriously. The main purpose of the story is to be entertaining not to be a huge showcase. Thor pulls it off that way it should.

Adam Miller

Movies Correspondent and Associate Producer, The RPM Show

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