Thor (2011) Review

Thor is the fourth instalment in Marvel´s Cinematic Universe. Thor is loosely based off Norse Mythology and tells the story how Thor gets banished to earth by his father Odin to learn to not be arrogant, after he disobeys his father and causes Asgaard to be at war. Down at earth he befriends Jane Foster and Erik Selvig who help him loose his arrogance. It is directed by Kenneth Branagh, who is mostly known for directing Shakespearean movie, something translates well into the world of Asgaard.

The first thing that struck me with the film was that somehow Asgaard, which I was expecting to be very silly looking, actually looked great. The Asgaardian world was done the best way imaginable and somehow the parts on Asgaard were the best, and I am not even a big fan of science fiction. The casting was pretty perfect; I can’t imagine anyone but Anthony Hopkins doing Odin. The second Odin appeared on screen, I instantly bought it. Then there is Loki played by Tom Hiddleston, who also was a perfect match. In his early scenes we see him as very quiet and a huge contrast to his brother. As something happens to him that changes him and he starts turning into a villain, we get a very menacing performance.

Big Australian Chris Hemsworth is perfectly arrogant, yet likable. In the first hour or so we see him as incredibly arrogant, yet he has so much charm that we still really like him. I was very surprised at how perfect his comedic timing was as well; as he is absolutely hilarious once he gets to earth, which of course is very different from where he comes from. I wasn’t expecting it, but I actually laughed pretty hard at times, mainly because of how well the lines were delivered by Hemsworth. Yet he is very believable as the god of thunder, with his massive body and long blond hair. I was a bit worried about the romantic chemistry between Thor and Jane (Natalie Portman), but I actually felt it really worked. Portman was a little over the top in her performance at times, but it mostly worked pretty well.

Branagh really got a perfect look for the outer space fights, which I really didn’t think would work, but it actually looked great and the action was very exciting. There is a big action scene pretty early on where Thor and Loki fight together and it was probably the most entertaining scene in the film. First of all it was fun to see them fighting together, but the visuals were absolutely amazing, despite being in a really dark place, it was just dark enough so that it still had an interesting mood, but we could still see what was going on. The movie did kind of loose me in the third act though, as the group of Thor´s friend came to earth and I really felt they distracted from the story and they were kind off silly.

The film does have some issues in cohesiveness and doesn’t quite keep up in the third act, however the movie is very good up until that point and by no means bad at that point. The movie, despite its flaws, is incredibly entertaining and does a great job of building character for Thor and giving him some depth. With great humour action and visuals it is an excellent popcorn flick.

3/5