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Thor (2011)
Reviewed on 2011 May 7
I am practically fidgeting, waiting for Super 8 and Captain America to come out, but this was also something I wanted to catch in the meantime. I expected it to be good, and was impressed with how entertaining and at times how very funny it was. This was a blast to watch.
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is Odin’s (Anthony Hopkins) golden boy; his favored son and presumed heir to the throne. Thor is well-loved and in fact kind of a fat-head from all the adulation; he thinks he knows better than his old man how to run thinks in Asgard. After he gets too heavy-handed with some quarrelsome enemies, he is expelled from Asgard. Meanwhile, scientist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) notices the increased atmospheric disturbances and pyrotechnics in the sky over New Mexico. She drags her crew (Stellan Skarsgård and Kat Dennings) to investigate the strange activities one night and soon realizes they stumbled into something big.
While they took many variations from Norse mythology to make this thing work, I though it was great that they acknowledged the Frost Giants and their role in Scandinavian folklore. Hemsworth was hammy in a good way as Thor and laid it on thick just enough; in the first part of the film he portrayed him as a kind of Asgardian frat boy, and it works. Tom Hiddleston was a perfect Loki, and Idris Elba didn’t have much to say as Heimdall, but he looked great standing there and radiating awesomeness. The best part is that this wasn’t just pretty actors and amazing sets. There are some great lines mixed in with the flowery speech and amongst the scenes with us puny mortals too, and director Kenneth Branagh paced it well.
Three chocolate morsels, and a little Viking meade. And stay for the credits!
— Shukti
