Thor

Thor

Disclaimer:  I am an unabashed, slightly ashamed, super hero geek.  That being said, I walked into this film wary as the trailers left me less than thrilled.  Also, Thor was always a tricky comic book to pull of successfully.  At its’ best, it was an epic recounting of the Norse myths.  At its’ worse, it was a ridiculous ‘fish out of water’ story of a Norse God trying to fit into everyday earth life and fight super villains.  It all depended on the artist/writing team.  Ironically, the team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, who created the character, gave us some of the cheesiest stories.  It wasn’t until  Walter Simonson took over the reins that Thor became more respectable in the annals of comic book lore.

                Still, this movie is another mile marker on the road leading up to the Avengers movie coming out next summer featuring the characters of Iron Man, The Hulk, Thor, and the upcoming Captain America.  I had to go see it.  I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.  This is not the best of the super hero movies, but definitely a welcome addition to the Marvel movie universe.  Kenneth Branagh was sourced to be the director.   He is an inspired choice because he brings an appropriate level of Shakespearean drama to the Norse myth (factoid: the English uber-thespian Branaugh says one of the reasons he decided to take the directer's role was because he was such a fan of the comic book growing up).  He layers it over an earthbound story that effectively captures the spirit of the comic book.

                Chris Hemsworth plays the title role of Thor, the Norse God of Thunder.  He brings a charm and swagger befitting the Thunder God.  He has an impish grin that makes it impossible to dislike him despite his arrogant ways.  Thor and his brother, the treacherous Loki (played flawlessly by Tom Hiddleston), are heirs to the kingdom of Aesgard, ruled benevolently by the wise All-Father Odin (played to Shakespearean perfection by Anthony Hopkins).  The Kingdom has known peace since the All-Father led the armies of Aesgard against the Frost Giant hordes of Jotunheim to protect the planet Earth.  The epic battle led to a truce between Aesgard and the Frost Giants and cemented the Aesgardians into the minds of humans in the form of the Norse deities. Odin keeps the power of Jotunheim in a casket locked away in his palace to guarantee the truce.

                On the day of Thor’s ascendance to the throne of Aesgard, the Frost Giants break the truce and attempt to steal back the casket.  Thor, in a fit of arrogant bravado, defies the command of his father and goes to the realm of Jotunheim to confront the King of the Frost Giants.  The ensuing battle permanently breaks the truce between the worlds.  Thor shows the full extent of his mighty power in wielding his mighty hammer, Mjonir.  He lays a path of righteous destruction before being saved by Odin. Thor is defiant and unrepentant in the face of his father’s disapproval. Odin strips him of his power and Hammer and banishes him to Earth to teach him humility.  Odin places a mystic spell on the Hammer that Thor may only wield it again once he has proven himself worthy.

                On Earth, Thor encounters a team of scientists lead by Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), the most attractive worm-hole physicist I’ve ever seen.  The rest of the film walks the tight rope of fish-out-of-water comedy versus heroic action drama.  It’s fun for comic book nerds such as myself to see not only all the cameos (how did they work Hawkeye into this story and did you catch Stan Lee?), but all the characters that start to overlap as well.  Tony Stark’s name is mentioned more than once and the existence of The Hulk is hinted at.   Shield Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) from the Iron Man films plays a major role as the government investigates the mysterious appearance of an unmovable Hammer in the New Mexico desert.

The earth bound love story between Thor and Jane Foster runs parallel to the cosmic pageantry of Loki perfidiously vying to wrest the Aesgardian throne from Odin.  While Loki is definitely the bad guy, one sympathizes and feels his torment over his conflicted loyalties and pain. The truth of his birth adds an additional dimension to a one-sided character. The movie captures the magic of a ridiculous comic book character and made me remember why I loved comic books so much.  They’re just fun.

There’s one more movie that needs to come out; Captain America: the First Avenger, then the stage is set for the Avengers movie.  Like I said earlier, this wasn’t the best of the comic book series but it was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it immensely.  Long live Thor, God of Thunder.

                I rate this movie ***1/2 stars.