Rating of
1.5/4
"Thor" by Yojimbo
Yojimbo - wrote on 07/02/13
The son of Odin is banished to Earth after provoking war with a neighbouring realm and finds he must prove himself worthy in order to return to Asgard to prevent his brother from usurping their father and claiming the crown for himself. The Iron Man franchise, together with Avengers Assemble have proven that Marvel comics can provide a platform for some highly entertaining cinema that can appeal to a wide age range. Thor unfortunately is a throwback to the days of the preposterous man-in-tights-grows-as-a-person morality tale. Thor himself is a bit like a rubbish Superman who talks in cod Shakespearian prose like a refugee from 300, with his half-arsed band of merry men in tow to provide some sub-Lord Of The Rings CGI infested action. The scenes in Asgard are painfully pompous and dull, with Antony Hopkins on autopilot standing in as the standard superhero movie rent-a-thesp and the entire cast (with the possible exception of Stellan Skarsgard) are pretty awful, but the clunky, immature dialogue they have to work with absolves them of much of the blame. I can't help the feeling that Branagh tackled this project under some duress because the whole film feels like a half-hearted TV movie. Not one of Marvel Studios better moments by a long chalk.
