Growing up as an awkward and less than socially adroit child years ago, I always found comfort exercising my mind and imagination rather than muscles. Let's face it, if you saw me on the football field, you'd immediately suggest that I stuck to my doodles and silly cinematic aspirations (that's probably why I was always offensive tackle; does anyone besides me think that it's the most useless position one can play?).
Luckily, there were two other kinds of spectacle featuring giant men pounding the shit out of each other that stoked my imaginative fires: superhero comic books, and texts chronicling ancient mythology. You don't have to be a genius to draw comparisons between the two, what with the melodramatic dialogue, beings with amazing and godly gifts, and character/story archetypes that could very well be thematically interchangeable. You don't think Superman's creators used Hercules as part of their inspiration?
But one character in particular who made the two worlds converge was Thor, the Norse god of thunder. Adapted into the pencil-and-ink world of superheroes by Marvel Comics' Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby in 1962, Thor was never exactly in the top tier of recognizable caped crusaders, and one would be hard pressed into believing that the character could be feasibly adapted into any other medium, especially film. But history has shown it takes an unexpected player to make the impossible possible, and that's what director Kenneth Branagh (yes, that Kenneth Branagh) has done with the highly enjoyable god-o-rama Thor.
Unbeknownst to many a human, the Earth is but one of nine realms within the Cosmos, the most influential and revered being that of Asgard. Ruled for eons by the wise Allfather Odin (Anthony Hopkins), Asgard has been part of a shaky truce with the bleak realm of Jotunheim, a frozen world inhabited by the fearsome Frost Giants led by King Laufey (Colm Feore). But while peace has been maintained, Odin's failing health and old age has brought about the ascendance of the throne for his eldest son, the brash but fearless Thor (Chris Hemsworth).
Unfortunately, Thor's coronation is interrupted by Frost Giant intruders intent on stealing an ancient relic. Though the arrogant and headstrong Thor insists on traveling to Jotunheim to teach the Giants a lesson, Odin forbids it, wishing to keep the peace and keep the Nine Realms free from bloody war. Nonetheless, Thor decides to go anyway, and along with his younger brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), warrior friends Hogun (Tadanobu Asano), Volstagg (Ray Stevenson), Fandral (Joshua Dallas), and Sif (Jaime Alexander), he goes to the Frost Giants' world to avenge Asgard. Outnumbered, Thor and his friends are eventually saved by Odin, but Thor's disobedience forces a betrayed Odin to strip his son of his powers and banish him to Midgard (better known as Earth) to teach him a lesson in humility.
Crashlanding in the New Mexico desert, a powerless Thor encounters a group of scientists-- Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard), and Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings)-- who despite being befuddled by recent strange atmospheric phenomenon, believe this brutish stranger to be a delusional transient rather than the Norse god of ancient myth that he claims to be. Still, Jane becomes fascinated with him, and agrees (in exchange for information regarding where he came from) to help him locate something that he believes can bring him home: Mjolnir, Thor's mighty hammer, which has also landed in the desert and is now guarded by shady government agency SHIELD and spook Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg). All the while, back in Asgard, Loki's intentions and character are not all that they seem, and soon his hunger for power not only threatens that of Asgard, but all of the universe itself.
The fourth self-financed film by Marvel Studios (following both Iron Man films and The Incredible Hulk), Thor would clearly be a tricky sell, and not just ANY filmmaker could pull this potential epic off without a hitch. Thus, many were surprised when British actor/director Ken Branagh was tapped to bring the Thunder God to cinematic life. Better known for his grand Shakespearean adaptations like Henry V and Hamlet rather than big-budget summer blockbusters, Branagh clearly had his work cut out for him.
But surprisingly (and fortunately), Branagh managed to pull it off, balancing both the VFX bombast with nuanced character development. And it's not too difficult to see him trickle in that Elizabethan melodrama in: the themes of familial discord, betrayal, and revenge presented here could belong in any work by the Bard. Being an origin story, however, Thor stumbles a bit with its broad exposition and sometimes shaky screenplay, and once again follows the unfortunate superhero movie trend of stuffing way too many characters into a two-hour time frame.
But what saves Thor from delving into Fantastic Four-style mediocrity is the immensely talented cast. And the primary masterstroke is that of now-guaranteed-for-superstardom leading man Chris Hemsworth. An Aussie soap star best known to Stateside moviegoers as the doomed George Kirk in 2009's superb Star Trek reboot, Hemsworth is a revelation as the exiled god-cum-superhero. He perfectly captures the pompous, vainglorious arrogance one would imagine such a character to possess, and when the big blond buffoon lands in New Mexico, the fish-out-of-water scenario becomes a comic goldmine (whether it's waltzing into a pet store and demanding a horse, or demanding a new mug of coffee after casually smashing the first one to the floor).
Hemsworth also manages to carry the emotional heft of the character on his broad shoulders, especially when acting opposite a terrific Anthony Hopkins as the god-of-all-gods Odin, and fellow newcomer Tom Hiddleston as Thor's scheming and jealous brother Loki. Any scenes involving the three are surprisingly raw and powerful for a superhero film, and the performances deny any chance for the seriousness to become cartoonishly silly.
As the scientist who becomes professionally and then personally intrigued with the Norse tourist, Natalie Portman (in her hundredth film role in the last four or five months) possesses decent chemistry with Hemsworth, but can't really do much with her thinly written role. After all, after witnessing her recent Oscar-winning role as a batshit crazy ballerina, can you really picture her as an astrophysicist? Faring better is Stellan Skarsgard as Jane's mentor and co-worker, and Kat Dennings provides plenty of snarky wit. On the celestial side of things, standouts include Ray Stevenson as Gimli-esque glutton-warrior Volstagg, and Idris Elba is all kinds of towering awesome as Heimdall, guardian of the realm-connecting Rainbow Bridge.
The technical credits are absolutely outstanding across the board. The production design by Bo Welch is opulence of the highest order, with the halls of Asgard realized as a gleaming, heavenly world of golden architecture reminiscent of the grandest of grand period films, but with a fantastical comic book twist. The same could be said for the candy-colored costume design, which in any other film would feel absolutely ridiculous, but here it's a perfect fit. The action and visual effects are also top-notch (the best being Thor's unauthorized invasion of Jotunheim), and Branagh's first foray into an SFX-heavy actioner is an overall success.
And luckily, Thor dodged the same mistakes Iron Man 2 made by not being a two-hour teaser for 2012's superhero all-star extravaganza The Avengers (of which Thor will be a part of). It manages to be a satisfactory standalone film while still peppering in enough Easter eggs to keep the fanboys and fangirls happy, be it the involvement of SHIELD (represented by Clark Gregg, reprising his secret agent role from the Iron Man films), a brief (but somewhat pointless) cameo from Jeremy Renner as future Avenger and master archer Hawkeye, and the requisite post-credits scene teasing the next film on Marvel's slate.
Even though the by-the-numbers screenplay bogs down some of the proceedings and some characterizations go out the window, Thor nevertheless succeeds as a highly entertaining popcorn film that benefits from Branagh's direction, a stellar cast headed by a star-making turn from Hemsworth, fabulous special effects and art direction, and a good ol'-fashioned sense of escapist fun. Bring on Captain America.
Letter Grade: "B"
