Thor Review: God of Thunder Hammers Out Marvel’s Best Yet

There is a new love in my life and his name is Chris Hemsworth. You may have spotted him briefly as the father of Captain Kirk in J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek but it is only now after seeing him portray Thor, the God of Thunder, that his true star potential is realized. In fact, I’m willing to bet that by the end of the decade Mr. Hemsworth will be one of the biggest movie stars in Hollywood. Seriously.

Sorry. I will now try to cool the fire in my pants that I have for Thor himself and focus on Thor as a movie. Thor, for all intents and purposes is a movie that should probably have never existed, and in the event of existing it probably should have been a disaster. When Iron Man came out back in 2008 and Marvel Studios unveiled its master plan to also introduce The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Captain America in individual films before bringing them all together for The Avengers, geeks everywhere rejoiced. Something this ambitious had never been attempted before and if done right it could stand as a remarkable achievement, but it wouldn’t be easy. If you asked any fanboy in the past three years which of these proposed films held the biggest chance of being a turkey, the answer you inevitably got was Thor.

Here we have a character that is largely unknown to the general public. Sure, they might recall images of a muscle-bound guy with a giant hammer, remember that little girl loving him in Adventures in Babysitting, or heard bits of the Nordic legends associated, but overall this blonde god of a superhero is mostly a stranger to the greater pop culture entity. Combine that with the mythical elements of what could essentially be Lord of the Rings in space, and you have a recipe for a potential cheesy film that average moviegoers would shun, if not openly mock.

And yet here I sit mere hours after viewing the finished piece thinking, “That just completely blew the two Iron Man films and The Incredible Hulk out of the water!” How is this possible you might ask? Well, I think the success rests solely on the shoulders of two men. One, of course is Chris Hemsworth, who I think represents the greatest casting coup in recent memory. He is so note perfect for the role with his rugged good lucks, killer smile, and the most startling blue eyes imaginable. But beyond the physical aspects he also perfectly exudes the cockiness of a character destined to be king and the warmth of a man who is ultimately humbled by meeting his true love. It is one of those performances where you can’t imagine any other actor succeeding and whoever thought of him for the role deserves a massive, massive pay raise.

No less important to the success of Thor is director Kenneth Branagh, who took a property once considered unfilmable and made movie magic. Branaugh, mostly known for his adaptations of Shakespeare’s work, was an eyebrow raising choice that made many stand up and take notice with curiosity. How would a man famous for Hamlet pull together an action-fantasy comic book-based film like Thor? As it turns out, he could do it perfectly! Much of Thor takes place in the realm of Asgard (a mythical land complete with golden spires, rainbow bridges, and wars with Frost Giants) where drama in the royal family plays out not unlike a number of the Bard’s great dramas. With two sons, Thor and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) vying to succeed their father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), to the throne, the drama is perfectly attuned to Branagh’s sensibilities as a storyteller and he makes us not only believe in this other world, but care about it as well.

Hiddleston and Hopkins are both fantastic in their roles but frankly, there’s nary a poor performance in the whole film. Natalie Portman as Thor’s human love interest, Jane Foster, is a delight just because she gets to smile and act love-struck for most of the film – a refreshing change from her usual heart-wrenching dramatic work. Stellan Skarsgard and Kat Dennings are wonderful as Jane’s partners in science. Clark Gregg makes a welcome return appearance as SHIELD Agent Coulson. Rene Russo, Colm Feore, and Idris Elba all help populate the realm of Asgard with memorable faces. And I can’t neglect to mention Ray Stevenson, Tadanobu Asano, Josh Dallas, and Jaime Alexander as Thor’s warrior friends who bring an added element of fun to a script that is already witty and full of genuine laughs.

Visually, the film is a success with great special effects combining with fantastical design elements. The sets and costumes in Asgard alone should earn this film more than a couple Oscar nominations. Thor has been converted to 3D (the version I saw) but I can’t stress enough that this isn’t necessary viewing. I actually wish I had seen the 2D version instead. The conversion isn’t awful but it adds nothing to the experience. If anything it takes away some of the visual splendor by making the picture less bright and harder for the viewer to discern details. I’ve said this before but unless the film was shot with 3D cameras: DO NOT BOTHER.

That minor gripe aside, I cannot recommend Thor to you more. It is a fantastic way to kick off the summer movie season with a great cast, a wonderful script, sumptuous special effects, and action scenes that will make you want to run out, twirl a hammer, and fly through the air over a rainbow bridge to fight some evil snowmen.  Sound dorky? You bet it is. But being dorky was never this much fun and I can’t wait to hang out with Thor again. Bring on The Avengers!

Grade: A-

Images courtesy of Zade Rosenthal and IMDbPro.