Hit the jump for my in-depth and spoiler free review of the latest movie to be released from Marvel Studios, THOR ! Is it one of the best comic book movies ever or a complete and utter flop? Find out my verdict here...
While I’ve made the upmost effort to ensure there is nothing in this review which qualifies as a spoiler, if you want to know nothing about the movie before it’s released across the world over the next few weeks, you may want to turn away now!
Paramount Pictures and Marvel Entertainment present the epic adventure, "Thor," which spans the Marvel Universe from present day Earth to the realm of Asgard. At the center of the story is the mighty Thor (Chris Hemsworth), a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth by his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and is forced to live among humans. A beautiful, young scientist, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), has a profound effect on Thor, as she ultimately becomes his first love. It’s while here on Earth that Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth.
Still have a bad taste in your mouth after Iron Man 2 ? Criticised for featuring a few too many characters and spending an unnecessary amount of time on setting up The Avengers , some worried that Marvel Studios had lost their touch after the well-received Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk . Well, THOR is a return to form for the still fairly young studio as Kenneth Branagh manages to craft one of the best comic book movies to date. By now, we all pretty much know how THOR goes, and sticking to my spoiler-free promise, I won’t be going into any specific details here. The script is a strong one, and the pace never slows down enough for things to get boring. While you may think you’ve seen it all (and it’s not hard considering all of the trailers, clips and images we’ve been privy to these past few months) I can assure you that there are still plenty of twists and turns in a story which finds the perfect balance of action, drama and comedy. In terms of action, I consider the action scenes in the movie to be some of the best we’ve seen from the genre. The drama is covered thanks to the powerful scenes between characters like Thor, Loki and Odin, and while things take a more comedic turn as soon as we arrive on Earth – just keep an eye out for a scene set in a pet shop – the serious and dramatic side of the movie NEVER suffers because of it. In fact, the introduction of Jane Foster and S.H.I.E.L.D actually results in things staying just as interesting, and to a lesser extent tense, as they are in Asgard. THOR does an impressive job of balancing such differing tones in two very different worlds, and Branagh does a wonderful job throughout.
Despite an impressive, yet brief, turn in 2009’s Star Trek , I still had my doubts about whether Australian actor Chris Hemsworth had the acting chops to successfully bring Thor to life on the big screen. Sure, he’s been saying all the right things and is clearly passionate about the role, but none of that means anything if he can’t back it up with a solid performance. I’m pleased to say that there’s really no one better Marvel could have chosen to portray the God of Thunder. Successfully capturing the characters (initial) arrogance from the moment he first appears on screen, it wouldn’t be unfair to compare Hemsworth to Robert Downey Jr. in terms of how amazingly he manages to translate Thor to a live action setting. He’s far from a one trick pony too, as the actor transforms the initially reckless and cocky warrior into the humble, true hero we all know from the comic books. And for those of you still concerned about the accent, put those fears aside. You’ll find no trace of his native Australian tongue here. It’s Tom Hiddleston as Loki who really steals the show. The British actor exceeds expectations as the half-brother of Thor, and by the time the credits role, there will be no arguments that his portrayal of the classic character makes him one of the best comic book movie villains of all time. As with Chris Hemsworth, his character undergoes something of a transformation as the movie progresses, and although it’s easy to sympathise with him, it’s just as easy to hate him. This balance ensures that he’s more than just a two dimensional villain and will remain relevant and interesting throughout future instalments of THOR and hopefully The Avengers as well.
Anthony Hopkins gives a powerful performance as Odin and lends some real gravitas to proceedings. His scenes are primarily with Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, with these being equally as powerful, and in some instances, touching. I had chills when he banished Thor and was shocked at just how believable he was as the tough as nails King of Asgard. At times fearsome, and others kind, it’s a shame that we don’t see more of Odin, but he serves his purpose and it’s difficult to imagine anyone else doing justice to the character now. There may have been a fair bit of controversy surrounding the casting of Idris Elba as Heimdall, but anyone who doubted that decision will be feeling mighty foolish after seeing the movie. Delivering some killer lines and involved in a handful of pretty badass scenes, his role in THOR may be minor when compared to the main cast members, but his performance is without a doubt one of the most memorable. The Warriors Three are a mixed bunch, but I’m not referring to their personalities. Ray Stevenson as Volstagg was great, and without a doubt, the best of the three. Only given a few opportunities to portray the boisterous (and gluttonous) side of the Asgardian, he makes the most of these scenes and is even more impressive in some fantastic action sequences near the end of the movie. Josh Dallas is equally as likeable as Fandral, and though he has even less in terms of lines, his performance is both a solid and enjoyable one. Regardless, I can’t help but wonder just how much more interesting a character I would have found Fandral had he been portrayed by Zachary Levi as was originally planned. However, it’s Tandanobu Asano as Hogun who is unfortunately incredibly boring and instantly forgettable. He has possibly even less lines than the other two, but they’re just delivered with zero personality. To an extent, this could be blamed on the lack of material, but in a movie with a large cast all competing for screen time and successfully carving out their characters for future instalments, he was the only one who really failed to deliver. Jaimie Alexander does well with Sif in what boils down to another fairly small role, but her impressive portrayal of the warrior Goddess is enough to elevate her above what might have otherwise been a forgettable character.
Recent Oscar winner Natalie Portman doesn’t deliver the same level of performance in THOR , but doesn’t really need to. She’s a fantastic actress and does an admirable job of quickly introducing us to the funny, yet awkward, scientist who soon falls in love with the banished son of Odin. While some criticism has been levelled at the movie for just how quickly the two grow close, I found it completely believable, and this is clearly down to her making Jane Foster a character you can love, while her chemistry with Chris Hemsworth easily beats the similar comic book movie relationships we’ve seen between Bruce Wayne and Rachel Dawes in the Batman franchise or Tony Stark and Pepper Potts in Iron Man . Stellan SkarsgÃ¥rd is not an actor I’m familiar with, but I really enjoyed seeing him as Erik Selvig. His conflicting views with Jane regarding Thor help keep an equal balance to proceedings and before the doubt, and possible dislike, of the man claiming to be a God becomes too boring, we’re treated to some really fun scenes featuring the actor, and I’m excited to see what else Marvel have planned for him after the recent news that he’ll be back in The Avengers next year. And who could possibly forget Kat Dennings as Darcy? I was initially relieved to see that the somewhat annoying character didn’t really have much more screen time than what I’d already seen, but I’m a little shocked to admit that I overall found her rather likeable! While I still think the Darcy and her somewhat silly lines aren’t that necessary to this movie or future instalments, the audience reacted positively to the character, and her grounded view of things may just appeal to the non-comic book readers out there. There’s not all that much to say about Clark Gregg. We already know just how fantastic this guy is as Agent Coulson, and it was great to see him have an even larger role in things with THOR . Oh, and Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton really delivers his few lines with style in what was a fun cameo and a great tease for when we’ll be properly introduced to him in The Avengers .
The visual effects are possibly Marvel Studios’ best yet. This may be hard to believe when you think back to the impressive effects which were used to bring Iron Man and the Hulk to life on the big screen, but just wait until you see Asgard. Not only does it look beautiful, but also entirely believable. We’ve not really seen that much of the Frost Giants, but I am so happy that they’re one of the few things which have been kept under wraps. They, and their home world, looks astonishing and the fight between and Thor, the Warriors Three and Sif is truly an impressive sight to behold. The same applies for The Destroyer (the word, “WOW” pretty much sums up that part of THOR ) and the final confrontation between Thor and Loki back on Asgard we first caught a glimpse of in the second trailer. Compared to other superheroes, Thor is possibly one of the hardest to make look convincing without coming across as completely ridiculous. Luckily, the VFX guys and Branagh really pull it off. Mjolnir convincingly flies through the air, returning to Thor, and the powers involved with the weapon, whether they be summoning thunder or creating tornados, are all just as equally impressive. Seeing Chris Hemsworth flying through the air while wielding the hammer was like seeing the comic books come to life and I applaud the team behind this movie for bringing both him and the other characters involved to the big screen in such an amazing manner. The 3D on the other hand is perhaps a little less easy to compliment. The conversion was by no means a bad one, but in comparison to something like The Green Hornet for example, it did little to enhance the experience. If anything, it actually made some of the darker scenes harder to make out and I often found that it caused parts of the action on screen to be out of focus. They have done an admirable job though and the scenes with the Destroyer benefit from 3D particularly. If you get the chance to see THOR in the format, I see no reason why you shouldn’t, but it’s far from essential in my opinion.
As you can probably tell by now, I thought THOR was a great movie. It’s not without its faults though. At roughly 114 minutes, it’s just a little too short. I’m pleased that Kenneth Branagh handled an ensemble cast so well, especially when compared to Iron Man 2 which did a far inferior job, a few more minutes focusing on characters like The Warriors Three and Sif would have made them stand out a little more than they actually did. That’s not to say it wasn’t enjoyable seeing them brought to life, but an extra few minutes here and there giving them a little more screen time would have been appreciated. That’s what a sequel is for after all! This was primarily an origin story of course, so if it was just a small taste of what’s to come in future movies, then colour me excited! Apart from that, I can’t really find any other major problems. As I’ve pointed out, the 3D isn’t perfect, but it would be unfair to criticise the movie for something you can choose whether or not you want to see! Kenneth Branagh does an outstanding job and the score by Patrick Doyle fits his style perfectly. The director manages to avoid the age old problem of spending too much time on an origin story before things finally start getting interesting (hello Batman Begins ) and instead keeps a constant flow of action with an interesting and revealing storyline. Oh, and for Odin’s sake, stick around for the after-credits scene! I read the description and thought it sounded all a bit underwhelming…big mistake. I don’t think it would be unfair to say it’s their best yet in fact.
The word epic is thrown around a lot, whether it’s used for describing trailer, pictures or even news. However, Kenneth Branagh and this amazing cast of actors have created the first truly epic comic book movie. THOR is now up there alongside The Dark Knight , Spider-Man 2 and Iron Man as a benchmark for how good these adaptations should be. Go see it.
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