Review: Thor

By Kevin Martinez

As a child, I had a great fascination with the character of Thor. This began when, as a 7-year-old, I was laid up sick with meningitis and my mom brought me home an 8 inch Mego figure of Thor to cheer me up. From that point on, I was hooked. I soon after bought a giant size tabloid reprint of a classic storyline by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. These comics had a boldness and captured my imagination. I remember having a Mead notebook and 7-11 Slurpee cups with Thor. The comics were so vibrant that I even went and read the Norse myths on which Jack Kirby and Stan Lee had based their characters. In fact, I once aced a test on Norse Mythology during my senior year at Henry Clay because I had been reading Walt Simonson’s brilliant run on Thor. I also can recall the great disappointment back in the late 1980’s when Thor appeared in an Incredible Hulk TV movie of the week. A low budget approach may have worked for the Hulk, but not for Thor.

Thankfully, the new film from Marvel Films and Paramount Pictures is a high budget attempt at bringing this character into the mainstream. Director Kenneth Branagh has redeemed himself in the eyes of fanboys everywhere after letting us down back in the 1990’s with his version of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

Unlike most summer blockbusters, this one doesn’t scream at you with a loud soundtrack from a bunch of forgettable pop metal bands.  It also has a story that makes you care about these characters. Part of this, I would assume, is because the story was co-written by J. Michael Straczynski of Babylon 5 fame. JMS to his fans, he recently had been the writer on Marvel’s monthly Thor comic series.

Thor is portrayed by Chris Hemsworth, who played Capt. Kirk’s dad in JJ Abrams’ Star Trek update. This guy is excellent. He plays Thor as a brash and temperamental character. Of course he ends up having to learn humility after having been manipulated into starting a war with the Frost Giants. These Frost Giants are the enemies of the people of Asgard, and Odin (Anthony Hopkins) forbids Thor from retaliating against them for attacking his palace.

Loki, Thor’s brother, is the manipulator in this film; and he is portrayed quite well by Tom Hiddleston. Loki comes off as sympathetic, yet he’s the mythical snake in the garden of Eden that is Asgard. He is a complex villain instead of a one dimensional cliche.

Thor, of course, takes Loki’s bait and attacks the Frost Giants. Odin banishes Thor and makes him mortal as punishment for disobeying him. Thor lands on Earth, and becomes involved in a plot with a romantic interest played by Natalie Portman. Thor’s enchanted hammer, the Mjolnir, lands in the New Mexico desert and draws attention from S.H.I.E.L.D., the secret agency that has been featured in the Iron Man movies. At that point the film falls into place, and I really don’t want to give any more away. I’d rather you go see this yourself and enjoy. I will say this, Jamie Alexander as Sif is great and, if I were DC Comics, I’d be casting her as Wonder Woman. She’s almost tough enough to be a skater for R.O.C.K. (who, by the way, have a bout on June 4th at the Lexington Convention Center).

This is the type of popcorn flick that is rare. It has a plot and it’s not condescending to the audience or to the source material. If you enjoy Lord Of The Rings or the original Superman movie starring Christopher Reeve, then this is the best of both worlds. Visually, it’s amazing–at least in the scenes taking place in Asgard. The sets were actually built instead of being green screened. The 3-D makes it seem even more vast. The special effects are well done, but aren’t the focus of the film. Story counts with this one. The only real complaint I have is the fact that Thor only wears his helmet during the first few minutes of the film. Dammit, Jack Kirby drew Thor with a helmet! Don’t insult the King! Hopefully, the helmet will be worn in next summer’s The Avengers. Speaking of such, a word of advice: stay for the teaser after the credits. If you know your Marvel folklore, then you will see what the plot for The Avengers is gonna be. Of course, Captain America will probably give us a few more clues when it debuts in July.

On a scale of 1-10 on the fanboy meter, this one gets the Nigel Tufnel approved 11.