***1/2
If there’s a fault to Thor it’s that
it feels like two different movies smooshed together into one ying-yang
narrative. One of these films is a standard superhero origin story, which is,
in fact, part of grander tapestry that will be realized next summer in The
Avengers, and the other is a dynamic drama about family and duty and the
fate of a kingdom. One of these is very paint by numbers; the other is given a relevant
gravitas befitting an epic stage tragedy.
It was an unusual choice to select Kenneth
Branagh to direct Thor, who along with Iron Man and Captain America
makes up the core trinity of the Avengers super-team. Branagh, known
predominately for his screen adaptations of Shakespeare plays like Henry V,
Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing, brings these considerable
resources to bear in painting the God of Thunder’s life on Asgard, a mythical
realm where the Norse gods dwell. Thor (played by Chris Hemsworth) believe he
is ready to be king, his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) is not so sure, and his
brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) seems unusually shifty.
But when Thor is banished to Earth for
jumping the gun to start a war with the Frost Giants, the family psychodrama
takes a backseat to the paint-by-numbers superhero origin, and the not-suitable
stuffing of Easter egg references of Marvel movies past and future. Clark Gregg
reprises his role as Agent Coulson from the Iron Man movies, and is the
S.H.I.E.L.D. agent supervising all the other-worldly stuff afoot in the New Mexico desert.
Jeremy Renner appears briefly as Clint Barton, better know to the comic book
mafia as The Avengers’ archer in residence, Hawkeye.
Aside from all the superhero drama, Thor
encounters a lovely human scientist named Jane (Natalie Portman), her sarcastic
sidekick Darcy (Kat Dennings) and their mentor Dr. Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård).
This aspect of the film is probably the most underdeveloped in an already
loaded script that still clocks in at just over two hours. We’re supposed to
believe that in two and a half days Thor falls in love with Jane, discovers the
value of mortal existence, and learns the lessons of humility and
self-sacrifice that his father sent him to Earth to learn. Possible, I guess,
but I don’t feel that the film gives this aspect the proper time to develop
naturally.
Of course, technically the film is an
achievement all its own. Asgard is beautifully realized thanks to master
production designer Bo Welch, a seamless mish-mash of futuristic Cloud City and old
school medievalism; they’ve got both horses and temporal portholes. After all,
Thor reminds us that Asgard is a place where magic and science are the exact
same thing. The effects are outstanding and the worlds that Thor explores
beyond our mortal realm blend very well with the real world we know. The film
is vivid and colourful and jumps off the screen, but it doesn’t overwhelm the
humans in their make-up and costumes.
The cast is very solid. Hemswroth makes a
convincing Thor in both physicality and personality. He has a commanding
presence, but is able to show some humanity, but I’m not sure that the film
tests him as much as it could have. Thor lacks the same kind of personality
crutch as say Tony Stark, or a pessimistic you lose when you win fate like
Peter Parker. Hiddleston does snivelling well, but I have a feeling that the
Loki’s true villain potential has been left to be explored in The Avengers.
Hopkins, meanwhile, finds a descent balance between scenery chewing and the
hyper-reality of playing an old world god.
The DVD includes some simple features, like
the barebones “Road to the Avengers,” which doesn’t tell you anything that you
couldn’t have gotten from a movie spoiler site three months ago. A commentary
by Branagh offers some interesting insight into the filmmaking process and
there are a couple of gems in the deleted scenes, including a warm, brotherly
moment between Loki and Thor that I wish had stayed in the film. It might have
made Loki’s later machinations much more impacting to see the brothers in a
rare friendly moment.
As a film franchise, Thor definitely
has potential. It would have been nice had in this first outing the film hadn’t
been weighed down with all this Avengers preamble, but in this respect
it’s a crutch that Thor shares with Iron Man 2. I will say that I
warmed more to Thor in its second viewing. Perhaps the characters were
more familiar now, or I was able to appreciate it on its own merits. Still, as
superhero movies go, Thor demonstrates above average achievement and
dedication. Hopefully when the eventual sequel rolls around, Thor might be able
to stand on his own.
