Movie Review: Thor

Movie Review: Thor (2011)
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgård, Rene Russo
Plot: If you watched the 1980’s Thor made-for-TV movie, this is nothing new (except they show Asgard). Thor (Hemsworth) is an arrogant testosterone pumping God of Thunder who is eager to be king of Asgard – one of the 9 realms of our universe. However, his child-like arrogance gets the better of him and he disobeys a direct order from his father, Odin (Hopkins), and reignites a war with an ancient race of beings known as The Frost Giants.

Because of his actions, Odin banishes Thor to Midgar (also known as Earth, for those of you unfamiliar with Norse mythology) as a mortal and curses his hammer to only be able to be wielded by someone “worthy.”

upon landing on Earth, Thor finds himself humbled by his lack of powers and fascinated by astrologist Jane Foster (Portman) and her crew. Thor has to learn to be the hero he should be, instead of the jerk he is.

Despite being almost the exact same story as something I’ve read or seen before with Thor, this flick was a lot of fun. Now, it’s not fair to compare to other Marvel movies (“Is it as good as Iron Man?” people keep asking me), because it’s a very different kind of movie. Thor is a unique character that is difficult to relate to, but is also much more monosyllabic than Bruce Banner or Tony Stark.

Dialogue from him tends to be more “Thor is hungry, bring me a sandwich.”

Despite that, the movie does incorporate a good chunk of humor into the mix that helps the character become more enduring to the audience. You quickly like Thor once he’s humbled, and you want to see him succeed.

In summary, Thor is a fun action flick to open the summer blockbuster season with. It’s not a smart movie or an emotional rollercoaster, but you’ll enjoy yourself while you watch it.

Also, Chris Hemsworth smashing stuff with hammer. If anything about that sentence doesn’t make you giddy, perhaps you should skip this flick.

Note: Stay after the credits for more lead-ins for The Avengers, coming out next year. I am so excited for that movie it’s not even funny.