Rating of
2.5/4
The Mighty Thor?
Chris Kavan - wrote on 05/08/11
Thor accomplishes what it sets out to do: it combines some impressive CGI with some adrenaline-fueled action and manages to mix in a bit of Norse mythology 101 and sets up yet another hero to add to The Avengers. Yet, for all it's mighty Thor, hammer-swinging action, in the end, it felt like a typical summer popcorn flick with a bigger budget.
First - what they got right: Kenneth Branagh is known for bringing Shakespearean dramas to the big screen, so he seems like a strange choice to direct a big-budge super hero summer film. Yet, he manages to balance out the action with just the right touch of said drama - plus, Anthony Hopkins is on hand to give a certain weight to film, and act as the perfect Deus Ex Machina when things are going south for our heroes.
Second - The films looks great, from the truly god-like realm of Asgard to the bitter, frozen wastes of the frost giant's realm of Jötunheimr and the amazing visual of Bifrost - both the bridge itself and the vortexes it creates - plus the awesome battle scenes - if I was basing this review on looks alone, it would get a 3.5.
Third - For the most part the casting is good - Chris Hemsworth is a great Thor, with the right amount of arrogance and (on earth) confusion to pull of the mighty warrior. Tom HIddleston is just as good as his conniving brother Loki and Anthony Hopkins adds gravitas as Odin. I also like the supporting roles from Stellan Skarsgård and Kat Dennings as the assistants to Natalie Portman's top physicist.
Finally - the connections to other Marvel properties, while brief - mentions of Stark from Iron Man, a throwaway line from Skarsgård that likely reference Hullk, Jeremy Renner's first appearance as Hawkeye, and the end teaser with Nick Fury and a promise of things to come, makes me interested that The Avengers is going to shape up to a fine film.
But despite the all the good things in the film, there are some glaring missteps that caused me to drop this to just another average action film:
My main complaint is the pacing is terrible - Thor falls to Earth and in what a week, month maybe, suddenly falls in love, gains humility and becomes the leader and man he was meant to be... the whole thing felt very rushed - It felt like everything happened way too fast - like three days, even if it probably was a longer period of time. I guess a three-hour movie is out of the question, but the editing could have been better.
While I have a lot of good things about the cast, there are two problems I have with it. First, while I love Natalie Portman to death - I even stood by her throughout the Star Wars prequels, she just isn't right for the main role. I didn't feel any sparks between her and Hemsworth, nor did I find her character particularly interesting. At best, she was there to have someone nice to look at but that's about all I can muster up for her role.
Second on the cast - what was up with the PC Asgard super friends? An Asian, an African-American, a tough-as-nails woman, a swashbuckling pretty boy - I'm all for equal opportunity, but it felt a bit too much like they were trying to cover all the bases and make sure Asgard wasn't just a whitewash. I'm not saying anything was miscast, just that it felt... strange it all.
One thing I'm still trying to figure out is how Thor is going to factor in the the Avengers - heck, according the the movie, I don't even know how he's going to be able to join them, and even if he does, he seems a bit overpowered with his indestructible hammer and lightning power. They'll have to figure out some way to tone him down.
In the end, I liked Thor well enough but nothing I saw convinced me that this wasn't just another popcorn action film. I honestly hope that Captain America and Green Lantern will show me something a little better.
