Thor (2011)

Movie Info

That’s right…I’m the god of thunder…I’m badass

Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is cast out of Asgard after almost starting a war with the Frost Giants and lands in New Mexico. Thor is found by a research named Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and seeks to regain his power to return to Asgard unaware that his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleton) is plotting against him and Asgard.

Directed by Kenneth Branagh, Thor was based on the popular Marvel comic character who first appeared in August 1962 in Journey Into Mystery (1) #83.  The film was released as part of the First Wave of films leading into The Avengers and met with tepid reviews, but big numbers.

Family reunions can be tough when your father is a god.

I wanted to like Thor more than I did. The movie had good and bad points but does feel different than a lot of other super-hero movies out there now. This is probably due to Kenneth Branagh’s direction and Shakespearean background. In the story, he ratchets up the relationship between Odin, Loki, and Thor and show how Loki’s wrath is from Odin’s treatment of him and his resentment of Thor. This triangle is the best part of the movie. Anthony Hopkins just eats up the faux-Shakespearian dialogue and seems like he enjoys the cheese-factor. Hemsworth is a good Thor, and Hiddleton is an excellent Loki who’s devious behavior ranges from innocent to dangerous.

Fair Jane…could you please tell your friend to shut up?

Unfortunately, Thor is sent to Earth and the Warriors Three set off to find him with the help of Sif. The Earth stuff feels very half-baked. It is based heavily on the J. Michael Straczynski’s storyline in which Asgard comes to Earth above Oklahoma. I’ve never liked much of Straczynski writing and wish the movie had stayed away from this (and Straczynski does cameo in the film).

Other problems with Earth include Natalie Portman’s snappy one-liner intern Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings). The fish-out-of-water nature of Thor is funny enough and doesn’t need a sidekick talking about the internet, etc. Instead of being clever, she’s just obnoxious and unnecessary.

So…want to fight?

The Warriors Three and Sif also pose a problem. Sif (Jamie Alexander) comes off as a Xenia Warrior Princess wanna-be and instead of being a fierce fighter just seems goofy. The Warriors Three were almost always played for laughs (kind of a Three Stooges). Joshua Dallas as Fandrall the Dashing actually kind of worked as the suave swashbuckler. Tadanobu Asano isn’t developed as Hogun the Grim, but the decision to make Ray Stevenson a slimmed down Volgstagg the Valiant is a mistake. All four make up way too much comic relief in the movie and it almost feels like the aliens in Galaxy Quest.

Overall however, the movie feels anti-climatic and never has a sense of danger or urgency. The movie feels like filler. An example of that is Hawkeye’s cameo which seemed really forced (which it is since it is just a set-up for The Avengers in 2012).  Thor is followed by Thor:  The Dark World in 2013.

Related Links:

Thor:  The Dark World (2013)

Thor:  Ragnarok (2017)

Thor:  Tales of Asgard (2011)

The Avengers (2012)