Thor is Marvel's best superhero movie yet. It is even better than the first Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk films. It is also the most visually stunning of any Marvel film, with gorgeous fantasy settings, great costumes, and spectacular special effects.

In the same way as Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight worked just as well as a crime drama as a superhero movie, Thor works just as well as a standalone fantasy film. Even if I had not known that I was watching a comic book movie, I would have been just as happy with the story. In fact, I would say that you don't actually need to be familiar with the characters or the comic mythology to enjoy the film.

The story is set half in Asgard, the realm of the gods, and half in our world, Earth. Thor, the son of the king of Asgard, the wise Odin, is a proud and arrogant king-in-waiting. He makes a foolish mistake that brings his world to the brink of war and his father exiles him to our world as punishment, and maybe to teach him how to be a better man. On Earth, Thor makes some new friends and even begins to fall in love with a pretty scientist. Meanwhile, in Asgard, his brother Loki begins to put into motion a plot that may threaten Thor's home.

Two things about the film really stood out to me. The first is the absolutely beautiful settings and solid world-building in the movie. Asgard looks amazing, with settings such as the Rainbow Bridge, a crystal structure with colored lights running through it, spanning a sea that flows into a massive waterfall, cascading down into the open cosmos. Also, great costuming really makes the gods stand out, and adds to the film's epic feel. The second thing was the character of Loki, the film's antagonist. Watching the trailers, I expected a greasy, honorless villain (someone like Wormtongue from the Lord of the Rings). Instead I got the story of a hero, told in reverse. Loki's story mirrors his brother Thor's, but where Thor starts out as an arrogant royal brat and through his time on Earth comes to realize what it means to be a hero, Loki begins the story as a mischievous but honorable man, and over the course of the film turns into a really bad guy. As Thor rises, he falls. And when his final plan is revealed at the end of the film, it totally fits his personality and everything you know about him. In other superhero films, we're used to seeing the bad guy go on some kind of mindless rampage at the end of the film. We saw it in The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man, the Spider Man movies, the Fantastic Four...but not here. Loki acts like a man with a purpose. Actually he has two purposes, both very personal to him. One is to do commit a terrible act of destruction, partly out of self-loathing and partly out of a twisted sense of honor toward his father. And the other is simply to beat his brother, proving himself Thor's equal. He is easily the deepest villain of any of the Marvel films so far.

The film is directed by Shakespearean actor Kenneth Branagh (Gilderoy Lockhart!), who handles the epic material perfectly. More than any Marvel film so far, this one focuses on the hero's journey. Even more than a comic book movie, this is a fantasy film about a hero. Expect father-son drama, palace intrigue in the realm of the gods, and an epic confrontation between two brothers who have been become very different people over the course of the story. There is also plenty of humor, with a few real laugh-out-loud moments. And there is a very sweet, almost cute romance woven into the story. It carries an innocent, young-love kind of feeling. It also takes the two characters, one a god more concerned with war and glory, the other a scientist more concerned with solving the mysteries of the universe, and brings them down to earth in their budding love for one another.

I would recommend Thor to any lover of fantasy films, as well as any fans of comic book movies such as Marvel's Avengers lineup. It is solid fantasy fun with a strong sense of the epic and the heroic. And when you see Thor finally wield his hammer and summon the lightning, you'll want to stand up and cheer.

I went to see this with our 9 year old son, honestly not expecting very much. While I have enjoyed Portman and Hopkins in a number of roles, I felt this would be just another comic book hero movie with a bad script, extremely predictable character development, and unoriginal attempts at humor.
I was wrong...
Not only did I AND our 9 year old boy enjoy THOR, our 13 year old daughter, 15 year old goddaughter, and two more of our daughter's friends enjoyed it...ALL 3 TIMES WE SAW IT!!!
That's right...I saw THOR with our kids 3 times. Granted, this is a bit over-killed, but we thoroughly enjoyed the movie every time and plan to purchase it on opening DVD release day. Here's why:
1. I felt it was age appropriate.
2. Was it violent, sure...was it gory, no.
3. It had clear lines of good and bad, treated well with a myriad of complexities that led people to their struggles...so it felt honest.
4. I thought it was a GREAT play into the Avengers movie that is on the way.
5. I felt Branagh did a wonderful job directing...they should consider allowing him to direct the Avengers.
Rent this one...buy it...whatever works for you. It's good entertainment with plenty of action, quick wit, and a sweet redemption in the end. No Oscars here, but a good film nonetheless...thumbs up!

Comic book fans get a lot of flak for being nerds, dweebs and geeks; or at least they used to. Now comics are en vogue as millions of people attend geekfests like Comic Con; although whether that's to see the movie and television stars in attendance remains to be seen. Comic book characters are our mythology, they rival the super powered beings and gods of ancient Greek, Mesopotamian, and Viking mythology. We as humans have always felt this need to look up to higher powers to sort out our lives, believing that the fate of our race is better left in the hands of someone capable of bending the rules of physics. It's only natural then that eventually the worlds of comics and ancient mythology would collide as it does in the new Marvel movie Thor.

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is the arrogant first born son of King Odin (Anthony Hopkins) of Asgard, and the rightful heir to the throne. When Thor commits an act that could lead to war between Asgard and the Frostgiants, with whom they have a very shaky truce, Odin strips Thor of his powers and banishes him to Earth until he learns humility. On Earth Thor is found by astrophysicist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and her team (Stellan Skarsgard, Kat Dennings) as they study atmospheric disturbances in New Mexico.

Thor is one of Marvel's lesser known properties, despite having been created by Stan Lee back in 1962. An integral character in Marvel's super powered team The Avengers, the movie version of the comic book was announced not long after the success of Iron Man as part of Marvel Studios attempt to bring The Avengers to the big screen. While Marvel has had great success with the first Iron Man movie and to a lesser extent Iron Man 2 and The Incredible Hulk (which is the closest Marvel Studios has come to failure so far), Thor was a risky proposition with the greatest potential for failure. How does one meld the worlds of the mythical Asgard and Earth seamlessly into a movie that is part of a bigger picture with characters that are based solely in our realm?

Enter Kenneth Branagh. The success of Thor can largely be pinned on having a filmmaker with appropriate gravitas to ground the film. Branagh is a star of stage as well as film (for those of you unfamiliar with the name he played Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets). The presence of Branagh alone was somewhat curious considering he's known more for directing acclaimed works like Hamlet (1996) and Henry V (1989) and even as an Irishman the English consider him one of the leaders in Shakespearean theater. It's that knowledge of film and theater that really guides Thor as he borrows as much from Shakespeare's Henry V as he does from modern action films.

Also adding to the weight of Kenneth Branagh's credentials are a list of acclaimed and award winning actors and actresses such as Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgard, Rene Russo, and Idris Elba. Not only do they have the opportunity to ground the movie, but they also look like they're having fun. Part of why we enjoy this movie is because we can see that they enjoy the movie. No one ever really feels like they're hamming it up or sleepwalking through their scenes, you get the sense that aside from the emotions they convey for their characters concerning their predicaments they all want to be on this set and that feeling is infectious. Also Tom Hiddleston's Loki is a revelation at a time when I have to admit that Marvel Studio's previous villains have been lacking a certain je ne sais que. Hiddleston plays the character with a secret, and a glimmer behind the eyes that slowly unravels like a ripe onion throughout the film holding on to his deceit with the hope of another day. He's more complex than the previous villains that have come out of Marvel Studios, and I'm looking forward to his return in The Avengers.

The real linchpin for why this all works though is Chris Hemsworth. While having been around here and there in blink and you'll miss it parts, Hemsworth got his first big break in JJ Abrams Star Trek reboot in the pivotal role of George Kirk, father of James T. Kirk. While his place in geekdom had been set in a small yet important role, the question of whether he could pull off the Norse god turned Marvel superhero. In a lot of actor's hands this would have been a one note character bereft of emotion and humor. Hemsworth is a magnetic leading man, though, exuding charisma and confidence. His poise commands respect, and he effortlessly flows from emotion to emotion, arrogance to humility, with a comedic timing that leaves the audience in stitches but still doesn't undermine his character.

As with most, if not all comic book movies, this movie tries hard to give you a lot of plot in a short two hour span (I say short because it leaves you wanting more, the way a good action movie should). Naturally, some things are a little undercooked but don't ruin the movie. In the end, as much as I fell in love with Natalie Portman's character (as I do with almost any character she plays) the romantic connection between Thor and Foster didn't ring true because for most of the film he seemed somewhat disinterested only to find his infatuation with her later in the movie. Thor's progression from arrogant strongman to humble hero also seems to be slightly haphazard as it really feels as though it could have used more time to flesh out. Hemsworth does an admirable job making the audience feel each twist and turn of the character, but each twist and turn feels a little too abrupt to be genuine.

All in all though, this was an excellent film: a piece of escapist entertainment that embraces Shakespeare as much as it embraces modern blockbuster pop-art. On the scales of Marvel I'd rate this just slightly under Iron Man and far above Iron Man 2 and The Incredible Hulk. The fact that they were able to get Thor right gives me hope for The First Avenger: Captain America and The Avengers. If you're a fan of comic book movies, Iron Man, or Marvel I highly recommend that you give this film a try. Not to mention, this is quite possibly the best use of 3D I recall since Avatar. Check it out!

4/5

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