Thor (2011)

Thor (2011)

There are major issues when watching a superhero action movie and one starts thinking about other mundane matters like washing, work and what to eat. This is staggering given the Director is Kenneth Branagh who directed Henry V (1989) and Hamlet (1996). Thor is from Norse mythology featuring King Odin and Beowulf, all interesting characters. What went wrong?

The plot is so classically tragic it is boring. Thor is set up by his step-brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) resulting in his Dad Odin (Oscar Winner for Best Actor in Silence of the Lambs 1991 Anthony Hopkins) taking away his big hammer (Mjölner) and banishing both him and the hammer to earth. There is a sub-sub plot with an Excalibur (1981) type edge where only the one worthy person in the universe can wield it. The movie also features one of the most awkward romances in superhero history as Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman Oscar Winner for Best Actress in Black Swan 2010) have no chemistry and almost act as an AC or DC frequency repellent.  

Thor the movie and character (Chris Hemsworth) more closely resemble Conan (1982) the movie and character (Arnold Schwarzenegger) At least Conan had a sense of camp humour, gratuitous nudity and James Earl Jones as a snake.

The story is set on Asgard, Earth and Jotunheim (where the Frost Giants live).  Thor basically goes between the three locations and indiscriminately belts up their inhabitants. He likes beer and eats and acts like a pig. In short he is like an Australian Viking Bogan. The motives of Thor even when he has supposedly learnt his lessons on Earth and gained insight into his actions are highly dubious. To stop Loki, Thor once again uses brute animalistic strength to dismantle the beautiful rainbow bridge with his all-powerful hammer to block off the Frost Giant army from entering Asgard.

The only performance of any note is Anthony Hopkins as Odin who must be wishing he was locked up in his Hannibal Lector face mask eating fava beans and conversing with Jodie Foster about cannibalistic serial killers. 

The best special effects are limited to the battle with the frost giants. The CGI rendering of Asgard looked fine but for a place where Gods hang out it looks less impressive than actual footage of the Beijing CBD. The effects for Jotunheim made it look cold and icy and the music accompanying the special effects was used solely as background, very similar to The Incredible Hulk. The filming was limited to New Mexico on Earth inside a recreational vehicle, a shop, a bar and the plastic military facility. The best sound effect was when the giant suit of hollow armour shot out a fire beam with a metallic ‘zwanggg’ noise. 

The major issue with the movie is the pacing. At times I just dozed off, especially when Loki kept going backwards and forwards between the various worlds. I’m also not sure how a plastic covered quarantined military area can stop someone, let alone a God? Why did he have to walk along plastic corridors to get to his magic hammer? The movie also introduced Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) and Clint/ Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) who play such minor roles that their presence in this movie is so they can reappear with some minor familiarity in The Avengers (2012).

The film is about family betrayal and if you are an older sibling watch out for the younger ones and if you are the younger sibling make sure your Dad really is dead before you attempt a coup or challenge his Estate. 

Thor-out your brain after this one. (1.5 stars out of 4)

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