Odin (Anthony Hopkins) has ruled the mystical world of Asgard for thousands of years. His two sons, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston), know that eventually one of them will ascend to the throne and take their father’s place, inevitably pitting them against one another throughout their lives. When Thor is chosen to rule and wield the mighty weapon Mjolnir, he takes it upon himself to destroy the truces made between his father and their former enemies. Now banished from the walls of Asgard and unable to handle the powerful hammer, Thor must reevaluate himself and his values in order to bring peace to the Nine Realms.
Director Kenneth Branagh is known very well for his roles (writing, directing, acting, producing, etc.) in William Shakespeare related films. The choice to have him lead the first cosmic film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), and help bring Thor to life is an interesting one. However, the reality is that talent is talent and Branagh has a lot to bring to the table. While he’s not responsible for developing the story, he is tasked with bringing it to life, helping perfect the acting, and regulating how each of the characters (particularly Thor) are received by viewers. The conflict that lives within the film's titular character shines brightly throughout the film, and viewers are able to see clearly who and what Thor is. This is his greatest triumph throughout Thor.
How viewers perceive Thor (the character) comes not only as a result of Branagh, but as a result of Hemsworth’s ability and casting directors Sarah Finn and Randi Hiller’s talent as well. All of the brilliance possessed by these individuals converge and provide audiences with an actor more than capable of leading his own film, but filling the role of the mighty Thor. He is charismatic, emotional, and convincing in each and every aspect of his performance. Hemsworth is brilliant, but a great portion of his success comes as a result of the rest of the cast--including Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), Kat Dennings (Darcy Lewis), and Stellan Skarsgård (Erik Selvig)--and their ability to connect with Hemsworth and the viewers.
Thor is meant to be physically and tonaly darker than previous MCU films, altering the way viewers see the franchise and providing some originality in the process. The darkness is ironically inviting to viewers, however, and allows them insight into the type of character that would transcend the MCU and help to round out the upcoming The Avengers film. His presence creates contrast among the heroic group and is to act as somewhat of a foil to both the righteous Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and pompous Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.).
It seems necessary that Thor, a film revolving around a series of gods, would possess a wow factor from beginning to end, and while there are some truly remarkable aspects of the film (i.e. Hemsworth), the spark needed to truly ignite Thor doesn’t really exist here. There needs to be something especially phenomenal about this film in order for viewers to appreciate the strength of Thor and those closest to him, but, sadly, that aspect of the film, beyond the actors, is missing. I’m a fan of the acting and the ability of Branagh to direct his actors appropriately–and I appreciate the change in tone from previous MCU films, but there’s something missing here, and it’s sometimes hard to put my finger on. In addition to that, the drab action sequences fail to entertain viewers as previous MCU installments had. Thor takes a step backward and fails to live up to the expectations set by previous films–but the film is certainly not a complete failure and manages to entertain throughout its majority.
Directed by Kenneth Branagh.
Written by Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, Don Payne, J. Michael Straczynski, Mark Protosevich, Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, & Jack Kirby.
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Skarsgård, Kat Dennings, Clark Gregg, Colm Feore, Idris Elba, Jeremy Renner, etc.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/10
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