Thor (2011)

Of all of the Marvel properties, Thor is the one that I was most concerned about coming to the big screen. Not only am I less attached the character than the other Avengers, Thor is seemingly difficult to ground in reality. Where Hulk, Iron Man, and Spider-Man are fantastical characters, at least they live in some version of the real world. However, with Thor, there’s no hiding from for how comic-booky it is. The character lives in another realm draped in Norse mythology, and this film takes this stuff head on. All in all, I really enjoyed the film, and came away surprised at how well they were able to ground the character. Even more than that, though, was that Thor made me even more excited for the eventual Avengers film, as despite all of the supernatural elements, they’ve managed to make the Thor character believable in the same universe as these other superheroes.

One problem I’ve always had with Superman, is that he was so powerful, that his villains had to be equally powerful and, to their detriment, over-the-top, to be effective. Thor faces a similar problem. The film handles this well, with the plot acting out like the basic premise of Metroid video games. In the first act, we see Thor in Asgard, warping to other realms, kicking ass and taking names with all of his super-natural bad-assery. From that point, for the majority of the film, he is stripped of those powers and faces challenges like a mortal man. The middle parts of the film, and those that I found the most entertaining, were those that didn’t have supernatural parts at all, and instead were more of a fish-out-of-water tale. Chris Hemsworth, who I only know as the elder Kirk from the Star Trek reboot, bulks up to where he’s almost unrecognizable. In addition to fitting the role physically, he delivers a good performance and lets the script do the work. I am impressed that each of these Marvel heroes is charming in their own right, but in totally different ways. Where Tony Stark is sarcastic and smug, Thor is entitled and out of touch, and Bruce Banner is cautious and nerdy. The humor in the film mostly works, with a few forced lines here and there. And as previously mentioned, that usually works because Thor is completely out of synch, while on Earth. The romantic lead is played by Natalie Portman, a passionate scientist trying to get to the bottom of some strange weather occurrences. She’s fine in the role, but I never stopped seeing her as Portman. I think it’s much more effective when these roles can be filled with lesser known actors.

The standout in this film is from Thor’s brother, Loki, a mischievous, cunning and complicated villain. The role is downplayed by Tom Hiddleston, someone I wasn’t familiar with before. He and Anthony Hopkins, who plays Odin, lend some acting legitimacy to the scenes in Asgard. This, plus Branagh’s direction, helps the scenes play out more like a medieval family drama than a super hero flick. My only gripe with the way the film is shot is that some CG sequences have a free moving camera that feels too artificial and often the in-camera scenes are shot at a diagonal. It may have had a purpose, but I kept noticing it and found it distracting.

Thor is a success. That’s the bottom line. It’s not the best of the Marvel movies, but it’s a promising step for the Avengers and another example of how you don’t have to do much other than take the classic stories and put them on the screen – that audiences can handle a story and real characters, without being fed an artificial action beat every 10 pages. I don’t think that Thor is for everyone, though. While it is as successful as it could’ve been, I don’t see my mother enjoying Thor the way she might’ve enjoyed Iron Man. Its mythological roots will probably make it less accessible for wide audiences, but I still expect most people to enjoy it that are the type to have seeked it out in the first place. If you have an interest in super-hero films, though, Thor is a good one.

And if you see it, stay past the credits.