Thor Review

Paramount Pictures

It's the beginning of summer, so that means a new Marvel movie.  But what makes this movie better is it's another step towards the Avengers next summer.  Thor takes a lot of risks, and they all pay off.  Thor is a very well made movie that is entertaining all around.

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is an arrogant man (boy if you ask Odin).  While he respects his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins), but thinks he isn't securing their gates by attacking the Frost Giants.  Thor heads over to Jotunheim and starts a war between the Asgardians and the Frost Giants.  Enraged, Odin banishes Thor to Earth, and sends Mjolnir (Thor's hammer) with him.  Once he is worth, he can wield the hammer again.  While on Earth, Thor meets Jane Foster, an astrophysicist.  While on Earth, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is being the trickster he is, setting things in motion for him to become king.

The plot is very similar to J. Michael Straczynski's relaunch in 2007.  The film takes place after Iron Man 2, as the after credits scene from Iron Man 2 is put into this film.  It's a small thing like that helps solidify these movies as a real universe.  And much like Iron Man 2, this film has an agenda.  But it fixes the ham-fisted nature of Iron Man 2.  Hawkeye is introduced, but it feels natural to the story. There are slight references to The Incredible Hulk and the Iron Man series, which is fun to hear.  The after credits scene sets up next summer's The Avengers.  There aren't as many hints as in Iron Man 2, but this is probably for the best.

The plot is very solid overall.  It deconstructs the nature of Thor while having him adjust to human life so  they don't have to deal with that in The Avengers.  The scope is beyond huge, and thankfully the high concepts are explained in a way that the audience doesn't feel lost.

Chris Hemsworth is very likable and plays up the fish out of water part very well.  The comic relief he can occasionally bring is funny.  Natalie Portman isn't given a lot to work with, but she does a great job.  Her sudden infatuation with Thor reminds me of Thor: The Mighty Avenger.  And to everyone pointing out what happened between Thor and Sif, there is never a relationship established in the movie.  Tom Hiddleston plays Loki very well.  I liked how he is established as a powerful god, even though he isn't bulky as Thor.  As a personal preference, I wish the Warrior Three could have brought a little more comic relief.  Especially Volstagg.

I did notice a hick up or two with the special effects.  During the Jotunheim scene, it's fairly obvious there is a green screen at a couple of points.  I do wish the relationship between Thor and Jane could have been developed a little more.  It seems to amount to a little more than infatuation, but I'll make a full judgement on that after a second viewing

The real payoff with Thor though is an audience is willing to pay to see gods and magic.  If Thor failed, we might not see a Dr. Strange film or Nova film.  The writers of movies like those will need to watch Thor and find what was done right.  With the critical and commercial success of Thor, Dr. Strange will no doubt be fast tracked.

Overall, Thor gets 4.5/5