Running Time: 114 minutes.
Media: Cinematic release.
Having gone to see this with my fiancée last year I had hoped to see a little more homage to the original Marvel canon, and I was pleasantly surprised, though I have to confess, I did have a few disappointing issues with the film.
Natalie Portman was one of them... Don't get me wrong, I know that Jane Foster is a nurse in the original canon, and she's now an astrophysicist in the film... it kinda ties in with the whole wormholes/rainbow bridge plot they have going... but her character is actually quite wooden and the performance is somewhat lacking. What pains me even more is that I'm criticizing an absolute babe like Natalie Portman... I love her, I really do, and all the work she has done in the past... but this was not one of the best performances... You probably could have written her out of the entire storyline and it would not have made much of a difference, or it could have improved it... The point is, that nowadays most of these Marvel films now have a considerably predictable formula where the hero has a love interest of some sort and the hero has to save the interest at some point in one way or another... This is no different in this film, or any other Marvel film.
Odin, is played by the somewhat immortal Sir Anthony Hopkins... His performance is a little cringe-worthy, maybe because, in my personal opinion, it's a little hammy... Sure, it may seem a little necessary to throw in the Shakespearean vibe... After all, let's face it, we have Kenneth Branagh directing this film, and he also directed and starred in a whopping 242 minute version of Hamlet... But this hammy-ness of Hopkin's portrayal of Odin still didn't quite gel with me...
The only other disappointment I had was with the ever lovely Rene Russo, who plays the role of Frigga (or Freya, depending on how you were brought up in regards to Norse Mythology)... Russo, as lovely as she is, was both a) not as recognizable at first, in fact I had to see Thor a second time just to be dead certain, and b) she was seldom used in the storyline... And that was actually quite a shame... I would have loved to have seen more of her in the film. A gorgeous woman if ever I saw one, and one hell of an actress...
Now, having gotten all that off my chest... Let's proceed... Given Thor was a smash and paved the way for The Avengers movie to come about...the story follows the battle fought in the tenth century between the realm of Asgard and the frost giants of Jotunheim. The Casket of Ancient Winters is claimed as prize by Asgard for winning the battle and all ends well... supposedly. Fast forward to present times and Thor is about to ascend the throne as king of Asgard, all hell breaks loose and Thor gets on his high horse and starts yet another battle with the frost giants... Thor's dad, Odin, a little pissed that Thor has arrogantly gone against his wishes and broken a somewhat fragile truce between the two realms (not that anyone in the audience was aware of any "truce" being established), and banishes him to Earth without his hammer, sending that elsewhere with an enchantment to ensure that only the worthy are allowed to wield it.
Here's where things get kinda funny, Thor after plummeting to Earth has a few issues with running into trouble, be it Natalie Portman's van (twice), military installations or giant medieval metallic fire breathing guardians. But in the process of all this craziness occurring, Thor's brother Loki, played by an amazingly charismatic Tom Hiddleston, who would be by far, the most appreciated character in the film in my personal opinion, but supposedly not the most admired by other characters within the film itself; who wants nothing more than to rule Asgard, Earth, the universe, your grandmother's bakery, the neighbor's doghouse, Germany, certain parts of Monaco and maybe Pluto... Let's just say that Loki is one ambitious son of a bitch... But Tom delivers his character with such direction and emotion, that you almost feel like cheering for him and not for Hemsworth's Thor. He very much follows through on this further in The Avengers, I'm very happy to say. To be honest, I'm very pleased with the portrayal of Loki's character by Hiddleston, one of the most refreshing since Taylor Kitsch played Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
As amazing as this film is, there lacks some continuity between scenes here and there, with trying to link certain aspects together, and although Hemsworth's Thor does attempt to pull it all together and save the day... it does leave the audience feeling like there was something missing... Loki seems to make the movie more than the title character. This movie, which has earned a four star rating from me, still has a few holes that may begin filling up once you've seen it a few more times... Thor is out on DVD and Blu-Ray and should be taken up as soon as possible as it contains a vital component post-credits that is a must-see should you wish to see The Avengers shortly thereafter.
Here's where things get kinda funny, Thor after plummeting to Earth has a few issues with running into trouble, be it Natalie Portman's van (twice), military installations or giant medieval metallic fire breathing guardians. But in the process of all this craziness occurring, Thor's brother Loki, played by an amazingly charismatic Tom Hiddleston, who would be by far, the most appreciated character in the film in my personal opinion, but supposedly not the most admired by other characters within the film itself; who wants nothing more than to rule Asgard, Earth, the universe, your grandmother's bakery, the neighbor's doghouse, Germany, certain parts of Monaco and maybe Pluto... Let's just say that Loki is one ambitious son of a bitch... But Tom delivers his character with such direction and emotion, that you almost feel like cheering for him and not for Hemsworth's Thor. He very much follows through on this further in The Avengers, I'm very happy to say. To be honest, I'm very pleased with the portrayal of Loki's character by Hiddleston, one of the most refreshing since Taylor Kitsch played Gambit in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.
As amazing as this film is, there lacks some continuity between scenes here and there, with trying to link certain aspects together, and although Hemsworth's Thor does attempt to pull it all together and save the day... it does leave the audience feeling like there was something missing... Loki seems to make the movie more than the title character. This movie, which has earned a four star rating from me, still has a few holes that may begin filling up once you've seen it a few more times... Thor is out on DVD and Blu-Ray and should be taken up as soon as possible as it contains a vital component post-credits that is a must-see should you wish to see The Avengers shortly thereafter.
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