Thor (3D) ***
In a time of Norse folklore, where men were men and roared with pride, comes a larger-than-life and humour-rich take on the Marvel comic adventure Thor that doesn’t forget the personal angle in the midst of all its splendid grandeur. This thumping-good-fun romp has a true hero at its heart to cheer on, opting for a lesser-known star to fully capture the imagination in Home and Away’s Chris Hemsworth, rather than someone established like Downey Jr. in Iron Man.
Cast out of the mythical realm of Asgard by his father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), for waging a war between the gods, Thor (Hemsworth) is sent to Earth to live amongst humans. But scheming brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) wants the throne and all the power, and brews trouble for the exiled warrior. Thor’s time soon comes to defend the human race, becoming our unlikely hero while dealing with his feelings for physicist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman).
Hemsworth fully embodies Thor with all the energy, passion, arrogance and blundering foolery you’d come to expect from a mythical warrior who lands on Earth with a different era’s etiquette. He’s more Superman than Iron Man, without having to go through all the learning processes and adapting to life on Earth in a regular job. Perhaps that’s the appeal of Thor who crash-lands, quickly discovers his feet then gets on with the job of keeping us all safe – in the words of Bonnie Tyler’s epic, we’re holding out for a hero, and he’s dashing and ready for action.
Placed squarely at the centre of this film is the relationship between Thor and Loki. Director Kenneth Branagh and team have thought hard about casting, with Hiddleston as Loki making a striking contrast, both physically and mentally to hammer-wielding Thor, as well as a well-acted adversary. Hiddleston’s cool, calculating nature emphasises the film’s visual dichotomies and opposing but related elements of earth, water and air, bringing the ancient mythology to life.
However, back on Earth, Portman still seems to be in No Strings Attached mode, portraying Jane as a giggly girly type who clearly has something between her ears, but gets shown up by Kat Dennings’ wittily dry Darcy character. Just where’s the Portman fighting spirit we recently witnessed in Your Highness even, when the mean government agents take away all Jane’s hard work? Admittedly, there’s not a whole lot for the Oscar-winning actress to sink her teeth into in such a role, but opting for ‘dizzy female’ portrayal is another thing.
The sets and effects are stunning and help Thor live up to its epic status. However, don’t get too excited by yet another promise of 3D as it adds very little to any of the landscapes – of even the notorious hammer in flight. You may get a little more depth of field at times – where pulling focus in the past used to suffice – such as the beer mugs when Thor goes out drinking with Jane’s colleague, Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård), but it would have been thrilling to see more of the technology at play in the fantasy realm battle scenes, especially with Asgard’s impressive ‘Rainbow Bridge’, Bifrost moments.
You can’t help but feel like Branagh and co have merely created an teaser for the suggested sequel with this film, where all the characters are introduced, but without cooking up too much of a storm. However, Thor 2 would certainly be welcome. And do stay until the end of the credits for news of The Avengers (out 2012), too. There’s definitely more Thor-someness and superhero team playing to come.
3/5 stars
By @FilmGazer
