Review: Thor (2011)

Thor and the bleached eyebrows.

★★

Up until 2011, MCU and non-MCU, Marvel has been rolling with their film adaptations of comic book characters. The best are Spider-Man and X-Men, while others, like Hulk and others suffered. With the MCU, films like "Iron Man" took the series by storm. However, there are other MCU films that also suffered. This film, "Thor" suffers a lot. Which isn't saying much, judging by what everyone else is saying.

Chris Hemsworth stars in Kenneth Branagh's Thor (2011) as Thor, the powerful but arrogant Norse god of thunder who is banished from Asgard to Earth by his father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), after reigniting an ancient conflict. Thor, who has been stripped of his abilities and hammer, Mjolnir, must learn humility while wandering Earth. He meets astronomer Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who helps him comprehend mankind. Meanwhile, his mischievous brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) plots to seize the Asgardian throne. Thor's quest to recover his worth is hampered by Loki's treachery and an impending threat to both realms.

I enjoyed the casting of the film. I think they all did a wonderful job, but suffered from a messy plot and not the best writing. I wouldn't say weak, just not that great. The only characters that actually do anything are Thor, Loki, and Jane. Didn't Jane have two other people with her? What the hell were they even doing throughout the movie? All Kay did was stand next to Jane and doesn't do anything, and Dr. Sevig regards them gravely and looms slightly above a low-angle camera while looking on with wise concern. Most of the movie has Jane flirt with Thor. I guess she saw something in him that no one else saw. She probably saw something else hard in him than his muscles. Nothing wrong with Portman and Hemsworth, they make a good couple, but that direction is way off for a film like this.

The villains in superhero movies make or break the film. The crew of "Thor" is scruffy. The Frost Giants spend the majority of their time in Jotunheim, their subzero sphere, being icy and freezing their adversaries. Loki (Tom Hiddleston), Thor's brother, is dark-haired, thin, shifty-eyed, and lacks charisma. Because these enemies lack sufficient intrigue to provide a climactic confrontation, the film creates a Metal Giant and sends him to the New Mexico town, where he blasts flaming rays that blow up petrol stations but always miss his objective. He is reportedly killed by a sword through his spine, but why does he need a spine when his mask is removed, revealing an empty cavern?

"Thor" suffers in the long run with its convoluted plot, mixture of genres, over-the-top action, and silly dialogue. There's just too much happening, too much for me to even care about. Too many plot lines, too many characters, too many action scenes, and not enough development for Thor. A rough introduction to say the least. When watching, it literally felt like I was watching Man of Steel, even though Thor came out 2 years before "Man of Steel."