Thor

The mighty Thor has finally graced the big screen and joined the ever-growing movement of movie-bound superheroes. And I am very glad he did. Thor is certainly one of the better comic book movie efforts over the last decade. It has great visuals, it has good action, it has strong acting, and it has heart. It reminds me a lot of how pleasantly surprised I was when I saw Iron Man three years ago and has renewed my faith in the comic book movie for a while longer.

Visually this movie was incredible. Asgard, which looked flimsy and fake in the trailers, hit just the right balance of realism and fantasy. The costumes actually suited this world really well and managed to work even though without context they seem silly.

But what really works well in Thor is the story and the personalities, especially that of Thor. Chris Hemsworth did an incredible job of bringing the god of thunder to life and making him very likable and enjoyable to watch. Loki turned out of be a great villain while Hopkins brought a lot of experience to the role of Odin. The relationships between these three family members brings a certain depth and strength to the story as a whole.

Many seem disappointed with the scenes on Earth, but I’m not really sure why. There is some great stuff there and some very important stuff, as Thor finding humility is at the core of his character. But there’s some great interplay between him and Natalie Portman as well. Portman really seems to ground this otherwise fantastical story and make it palatable as another piece in the cinematic marvel world.

There’s one thing I really didn’t like about Thor and that was almost any part involving his four friends from Asgard. They looked silly, they acted silly, and they brought a whole silly vibe which contrasted with the rest of the movie. We already had comic relief with the fish out of water stuff with Thor on earth and through the character of Darcy. They were really annoying and brought the film down a notch.

Thor is definitely in the higher pantheon of superhero movies along with the first couple X-Men and Spider man films, the recent Batman endeavors, and the first Iron Man. There is some really great stuff here. They way they connected the cosmic aspects with traditional Norse myth was fantastic and the family drama was played up perfectly. But what really drives this home is how Hemsworth really made Thor his own and gave us another great comic personality on the big screen.
8/10