Thor

Rating: ★★★½☆

“Thor” is a movie adaptation of a popular comic book that stars good-looking people in the midst of wide spectacles of special effects. We get to see some fighting, flying, shouting, kissing, hammering, and also, a bit of shirtlessness. 150 million dollars was spent to make all of this happen. The season of summer movies has begun.

Directed by Kenneth Branagh, “Thor” has very little depth and complexity that we saw in Christopher Nolan’s Batman movies, or even in “Spiderman 2”. But so what? It is made with skill, with humor, and it exhibits mighty action sequences that can make Superman jealous. That Thor guy and his heavenly hammer can do some serious damage. This is very fun.

The Norse gods are enjoying peace and power in the land of Asgard, which is currently under the rule of its king, Odin, played by the famous Anthony Hopkins. But Odin’s son, played by the soon-to-be famous Chris Hemsworth, desires to eliminate the Frost Giants, a race that Odin has a truce with. You see, Thor is arrogant and egotistic, and disobeys his father’s orders to stay home. So he travels to Jotunheim, an ice ball the size of a planet, home of the Frost Giants.

Odin is not pleased to discover that his son has broken the truce by smashing lots of Frost Giants. As a punishment, he then takes away the godly powers of Thor and banishes him straight to Earth. (New Mexico, to be precise.) Poor Thor is lowered to the point that his strength is only equivalent to that of a professional wrestler. He can’t seem to fully comprehend what has become of him, and his pride remains intact. What Thor needs is the sweet, caring, lovable Natalie Portman.

Thor’s stay on Earth will cause laughs. This is the first time where we see Hemsworth shine as an actor. From a vain, loud, and ignorant God of Thunder, he turns into a confused, vulnerable, and charming Mortal. Most of the movie rightfully focuses on Thor’s character. That includes his hair, eyes, abs, and beard. By the time the movie reached midpoint, I wasn’t so sure anymore on who’s more beautiful, Natalie Portman or Chris Hemsworth.

Meanwhile, things up above are not doing so well. Loki, son of Odin and brother of Thor, has lost it. He aims to annihilate Jotunheim and its inhabitants. Also, He wants Thor permanently banished, and sends a scary metallic fella called The Destroyer to Earth with the command, “Destroy everything.” Not very specific, so it blows up some cars along the way. When Thor finally comes across with The Destroyer, he gets the chance to regain his honor, and his hammer.

I can’t reveal how Thor can redeem himself, but I can say that with a great hammer, comes with an awesome costume.  I can also say that “Thor” will be enjoyed by many. There are innovative fight scenes on Arsgard, Jotunheim, and New Mexico. There are many close-up shots of the faces of Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth. There are snippets of dialogue and cameos that remind us that “The Avengers” is very near. May 4, 2012, to be precise.

Comments

  1. Great review. I’m going to see it later this week when the crowds die down a little.

  2. Good review x)
    Anyway in response to “I wasn’t so sure anymore on who’s more beautiful, Natalie Portman or Chris Hemsworth” … Chris Hemsworth of course!

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