THOR HAS A REALLY BIG HAMMER (and he knows how to use it...)

A Review

In the space of just a couple of days I went from having no real interest whatsoever in seeing the latest Marvel Comics adaptation, THOR, to feeling like I had to check it out. Why? Two reasons: I learned that Kenneth Brannagh had directed it and I remembered that in my senior year of college, my fellow housemates had decided to call our apartment "Valhalla" while jokingly naming ourselves after various Norse gods. These seemed to be two reasons as good as any to see the movie. (No, I don't remember what my Norse god name was. I remember being disappointed that I couldn't be Loki though.)

Anyway, I checked out THOR this past Saturday and while it was certainly not my favorite Marvel movie so far, it delivered a little bit better than I expected. I came away impressed with the straightforward storytelling, the movie's sense of humor and most of the special effects. THOR doesn't aspire to go much beyond being a good popcorn movie...but it is a good popcorn movie and that is an increasingly rare thing.

The thumbnail sketch of the plot--which will be recognizable to anyone who is familiar with the comic book adaptation, but probably unfamiliar to anyone whose only knowledge of Thor is from your high school discussion of Norse mythology--involves Thor (played by Aussie Chris Hemsworth, looking pretty buff) inheriting the throne of the alien realm of Aasgard from old King Odin (Anthony Hopkins), much to the chagrin of his mischievious younger brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston). Aasgard is at war with another realm, populated by "Frost Giants"--a fragile truce is maintained only by a promise kept between Odin and the rival King Laufey (Colm Feore, looking very much like a Cardassian in a bad mood). The hot-headed Thor has other ideas, leads an ill-conceived invasion of the ice realm via a stable wormhole that connects "all the realms of the Tree of Life" and from there it is a very short journey to Odin finding out, stripping Thor of his powers and crown and banishing him and his magic hammer to another realm. A realm that just happens to be Earth, where he is promptly run over by an astrophysicist played by Natalie Portman who, let's face it, seems to be turning up everywhere these days.

The rest of the movie then cuts back and forth between the political struggles in Aasgard, with the untrustworthy Loki now in charge and the efforts on Earth of Thor and his new ragtag group of scientist friends to reunite him with his magic hammer while staying one step ahead of secretive government agents (led by Clark Gregg, dryly effective as usual) and the Aasgard "Destroyer" who has been dispatched to Earth to do just what his name says. Brannagh keeps the pace moving, which is a challenge since THOR has a bit more plot and exposition than most of the other Marvel Comics movies and the old Shakespearean director is savvy enough to know that if you linger too much in one scene or another, you just might realize how flimsy the whole thing is. The conclusion is predictably full of slam bang action and gee whiz special effects, although I thought it was just a little bit unsatisfying. Almost needless to say, I think the writers are holding back just a bit for the upcoming "Avengers" movie, which will unite at least three key members of the Marvel universe (Iron Man, Thor and Captain America) in one adventure.

Should you see THOR? How the hell should I know? It's not a bad movie at all, at times it is pretty darn good, the acting never disappoints and your patience for it probably depends on how much you enjoy comic book movies, Natalie Portman, tall blonde dudes with washboard abs, Anthony Hopkins and all or none of the above. The movie is also chalk full of impressively cast cameo or supporting parts (Idris Elba, Jeremy Renner--really??, Stellan Skarsgard, Rene Russo, Samuel L. Jackson) in case you grow weary of following the plot and just like to stargaze. If I had to give it a letter grade, I'd say "B".

THOR was written by Ashley Miller, Nick Stentz and Don Payne. Directed by Kenneth Brannagh. It stars Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgard, Clark Gregg and Idris Elba. It is a Marvel Picture released by Paramount Studios. It is rated PG-13 for, I guess, intense comic book action and mild profanity.

(Side digression--this might be sacrilege to somebody like my good friend Z., but I am starting to weary of all the comic book movies. We are now "reimagining" or "retooling" comic book franchises that are less than 15 years old, like Spider-Man, The X-Men and Superman. WHY??? Plus, was there really a clamor for a Captain America movie? For the Green Hornet? The Green Lantern? I say enough! This is a topic I should probably dive into another time, but it all just seems a little out of control to me. If you have any thoughts on this topic, feel free to share them with me.)

Random Thought of the Week

Former "real" housewife of New York Bethanny Frankel just sold her new "Skinny Girl Margarita" line to a major alcohol distributor for a cool $120 milllion. Who says it doesn't pay to be on reality TV?

Peace...