Thor
This particular entry in the Marvel Movies Sweepstakes thankfully strives to be less like the awful Captain America movie and more at times like the Iron Man series. Some adjectives that can be used to describe it include corny, cheesy, goofy, occasionally stupid, and also pretty damn entertaining as well, possibly intended to leave a big dumb smile on the faces of some viewers. The hiring of Kenneth Branagh as director is almost a masterstroke in itself, what with his extensive experience directing Shakespeare movies, as this sometimes plays as an extended parody of a Shakespearean story in its own right (particularly King Lear). The casting sees Chris Hemsworth given the role of the God Of Thunder, Thor, with Anthony Hopkins as his father and newcomer Tom Hiddleston as his duplicitous brother Loki, with all the trappings of an old school Greek tragedy on display as Hopkinsâ King suffers immensely from dealing with the arrogance and recklessness of Thor and the jealousy and eventual turn to the dark side from Loki, which leads to him banishing Thor to Earth to live among the mortals before falling into a stress-induced coma during which Loki seizes control of his throne. But the seeming seriousness of this premise is tempered by the silly tone of much of the rest of the movie which plays off like a comic book cartoon infused with a heady dose of slapstick and hard to believe comedy, mostly with Thorâs time on Earth, which includes but is not limited to, Thor being such an arrogant bumbler that he continually suffers mishaps like being hit by a car, Thorâs dialogue which appears way out of touch with modern day sensibilities (when hungry, he yells âI need sustenance!â), Clark Greggâs Agent Coulson from the Iron Man films bringing a wry, deadpan style to his characterâs attitude, Thorâs friends coming from his own planet to retrieve him and walking through the small town looking like rejects from Masters Of The Universe, a ridiculous destroyer robot that looks like something out of Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow, and best of all Natalie Portman making a complete fool of herself as the beautiful astro-physicist who (naturally) âfalls in loveâ with the alpha male Thor and endures a lip lock with him that makes her love scenes with Hayden Christensen in the Star Wars prequels exude warmth and chemistry in comparison. Certainly a crazed collection of elements that more often than not makes the viewer laugh out loud, and if that was Branaghâs intention, then he achieved that beautifully, but the main conflict between Thor and Loki actually has some dramatic weight, even if the plot holes pile on like how are the heroes at the end going to settle the still impending conflict with another race of beings that was initiated during the story, or how the Queen (Rene Russo) allows much of the squabbling to go on without putting her foot down because she spends three quarters of the movie at her husbandâs bedside (are women subservient in this advanced society?). Hemsworth and Hiddleston do both carry the movie commendably, showing screen presence and acting chops with Hemsworth playing Thor as a classic useful idiot while Hiddlestonâs Loki comes off more as misunderstood and bitter rather than pure evil. Overall though, it all adds up to a movie that is sumptuous to look at with much of its production design, and despite the parade of absurdities on display, is never, ever boring, leading this to be classified under the âso bad itâs goodâ subcategory, and certainly a qualified lead in to the Avengers movieâŚ
8/10