'Thor' is a thunderous hit

It’s ironic, the path this film has traveled. From Norse myth came Thor, the god of thunder and comic book character for Marvel Comics. A larger-than-life figure, Thor works well in a comic book, with other fantasy characters. When this film was announced, many people (including myself) were extremely skeptical of the idea. How could someone present Thor as a character in the real world and to be taken seriously, while still keeping the fantasy that makes him who he is? Furthermore, director Jon Favreau (Iron Man), when asked why he wasn’t directing The Avengers, said that one reason was because Iron Man is a very tech-based character and that’s how he chose to approach the films. This approach made Iron Man a serious character, not something tongue-and-cheek. Favreau did not believe he was the man for The Avengers because this tech-based approach worked for Iron Man, but he wasn’t sure if it would apply when a super-soldier came into the picture, or a god, for that matter. Tony Stark is a gifted inventor. Thor is a god endowed with supernatural powers.

That’s the major conflict in bringing Thor to the screen: Getting your audience to take him seriously.

And this film delivers. Chris Hemsworth is perfectly cast as Thor, son of Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and heir to the throne of Asgard. The Asgardians have recently waged war with the Frost Giants of Jotunheim in order to stop the FGs' conquest to control the Nine Realms. In present day, when Thor is about to be made king, the Frost Giants break into Asgard, violating their treaty with the Asgardians. Against Odin’s command, Thor travels to Jotunheim with his companions and his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleson). As a battle ensues, Odin shows up in time to save the group and to hear that the Frost Giants are pissed and that a war is coming. Upon returning to Asgard, Odin strips Thor of his powers and his hammer, putting an enchantment on it that only he who is worthy enough to lift the hammer will possess the power of Thor, and banishes Thor to Earth for disobeying him and endangering Asgard. Once on Earth, in New Mexico, Thor meets Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), a scientist, Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard), her mentor, and Darcy (Kat Dennings), her assistant. Somewhere in there, without revealing plot details, Loki reveals himself to be the villain. I don’t want to give you too much.

The biggest worry I had about this film was that I wondered how they were going to incorporate ancient Norse language with present-day language and how the two would mesh. I was also afraid that the humans in the film would not react appropriately to Thor. He is, after all, a fish out of water and every time he talks about being from Asgard and being the god of thunder that they’ve all read about in mythology, people should react like he’s crazy. I was not disappointed, because they hired Kenneth Branagh. For those of you who don’t know, Kenneth Branagh played Professor Gilderoy Lockhart in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Much more importantly, he has played numerous characters from Shakespeare on both stage and screen. If anyone was going to be able to make age-old dialogue resonate in present-day America, it was going to be this man. He was the perfect choice to direct this film. He made sure the two things I was most worried about never came to pass. Thor is indeed treated like any normal person would treat him: like a lunatic. And why shouldn’t they? They have no proof that anything he’s saying is true.

The best thing this film has going for it is the relationship between Thor and Loki. First off, both actors are fantastic in their roles. Tom Hiddleson makes Loki amazingly sympathetic. You’d think of him as really just a victim of circumstance and favoritism on the part of his father, who always seemed to pick Thor above him, even for the throne of Asgard. This relationship between them drives the entire plot. Again, I don’t want to give details away. You know Thor is the good guy, you know Loki is the bad guy. I won’t tell you how and why.

I want to also address another issue that a lot of you might be worried about. Iron Man 2 was the first Marvel movie that was made after The Avengers was announced. As such, it was riddled, absolutely BOMBARDED with tidbits relating to the Avengers (specifically Captain America, and Thor after the credits) or S.H.I.E.L.D. (the Strategic Homeland Intervention ahhhhh whatever), who will bring the Avengers together. This would not have been a bad thing, except that each “clue” felt like a wink to the audience, and then an elbow prod, and then a “Eh? EH? See what I did there?” It would not be fair of me to not mention that not everyone feels this way, and I wish I was in that group of people, because then it would not have taken me completely out of the movie. But I’m not, and it did. The beauty of Thor is that SHIELD’s involvment in it does not distract from the story in the least. In fact, I wanted more. That’s exactly how it should feel. SHIELD is integral to the plot here and any mention of the other Avengers is welcome and just makes it all feel like it’s coming together, which is what I think we all hoped for.

I must mention the weak points, but I won’t linger on them. Natalie Portman was just okay for me in this film. But let me say, that’s not really her fault. There wasn’t really much for her character to do besides discover the Bifrost (the wormhole that connects Asgard to Earth) and fawn over Thor. She is not completely devoid of character, though. I guess I just expected more from her performance, but it is not at all bad. Also, those hoping for a huge action climax won’t get their wish. Now wait, I didn’t say nothing happens, just don’t expect Thor to fight a ton of minions or something. What is important is the character climax. Thor sees Loki for what he is and the brothers come to a head. Too often in comic book movies, (except in the Spiderman franchise, which is awesome) the filmmakers try to crowbar a reason for a huge fight into the film, and it can feel inorganic. If that’s your thing, fine. This won’t satisfy that need, but everything that happens in this film happens as it probably would in reality.

Thor is a terrific film and everyone should go see it, especially if you’re as excited for The Avengers as I am. Thor is playing in theaters everywhere in 2D, 3D, and IMAX. Again, Mobile residents can see the film in the Carmike and Hollywood theaters.