Most superheroes tend to be humans either gifted with superpowers or with enough resources to make themselves stronger. But, in 1962, Stan Lee, along with Jack Kirby and Larry Lieber, decided to create a superhero from a god. Since most people knew of the Greek and Roman gods, Lee decided to base the character on Norse gods. So, The Mighty Thor debuted in Journey into Mystery #83 in August 1962, and became another Marvel household name. Interestingly, plans for a Thor movie date back to the early 90s, with Sam Raimi wanting to direct. Over the years, the film went into various stages of development hell, with the rights going to various studios. Eventually, Paramount acquired the rights, director Kenneth Branagh was hired to helm the project, and Chris Hemsworth would play Thor. So, three years after Iron Man kickstarted the MCU, we have Thor.
%
Rating
In the far-off realm of Asgard, the god Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is set to become the new king. That is until a group of frost giants invade and attempt to make off with a powerful weapon. Believing this an act of war, Thor travels to the home of the frost giants accompanied by his friends. Unfortunately, this breaks the truce between Asgard and the frost giants, so Odin (Anthony Hopkins) strips Thor of his powers. Meanwhile, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) is conducting research on star patterns when she runs into Thor with her car. As Thor stumbles around Earth trying to reclaim his power, his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) takes over the throne. In addition to Thor, his hammer Mjolnir has landed on Earth, and SHIELD is investigating the phenomenon. Thor must learn what it means to be a true king and reclaim his power before it’s too late.
When I decided to revisit the MCU, this was one of the entries I was looking forward to the least. While this movie has its flaws, I’m happy to say it’s not nearly as bad as I remember. Starting off, much like Robert Downey Jr with Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth is perfect casting as Thor. His charisma literally flies off the screen, and he’s also very sympathetic in many of the more dramatic scenes. Tom Hiddleston as Loki is probably one of the best villains the MCU has had, largely thanks to his performance. While not as over-the-top as in the later films, you can tell Hiddleston is having fun in the role. The rest of the Asgardian cast does a fine job, even if they’re not given much screen time. Speaking of Asgard, the production design is breathtaking, and Kenneth Branagh’s direction is top notch.
Unfortunately, while this movie is enjoyable, there’s also a lot that drags this movie down. For one, while the regular human cast is ok, they’re very underwhelming compared to the Asgardian cast. Natalie Portman and Stellan Skarsgard are decent, but Kat Dennings can get pretty annoying, especially with her sitcom-like dialogue. Also, while the scenes on Asgard are visually stunning and interesting, the scenes on Earth are just hohum. The movie tries to set up a romance between Hemsworth and Portman, but they don’t seem to have much chemistry. If anything, I more so bought Hemsworth and Jaimie Alexander as Lady Sif as a couple. In the end, this movie is a bit of a mess, but it’s still has some enjoyable moments. Overall, Thor is very middle of the road, not amazing but not terrible either. It’s better than the sequel, but that’s for another time.
