The latest in Marvel superhero movies, Thor is a surprisingly fresh take on the superhero movie. Our main hero, the god of thunder Thor, is an inherently silly character. He wields a giant magical hammer that has a name, wears a silly giant red cap, a thick plate of armor and sports a blond lion’s mane as hair.
If Kenneth Branagh, the director famous for directing/starring in Shakespearean films, has decided to approach the film seriously, it would have been really problematic. Thankfully, there is a degree of self-awareness, an element of taking this silliness, pointing it out and then just having fun with it. Since he is very aware of all the silliness at the heart of the Thor mythos, Branagh is able to use such to make the film comedic and fun, breezy and enjoyable, which has lead a lot of people to draw comparison between it and Iron Man.
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Not knowing much of Thor’s mythology, I was impressed with the scope of the film, having hardly expected so much of it to take place in a fantasy realm. This made it feel more like a fantasy or sci-fi than a standard superhero movie and that was a welcome change; a nice change up to the standard fare. That is not to say that those fantastical parts weren’t super cheesy at times; the larger than life sets, the awesomely overdone costumes, evil Frost Giants…; but it was nice to see something entirely new. Chris Hemsworth was definitely a good choice as the titular character. He manages to be arrogant without being annoying, pulling off a hero who is both undoubtedly sure of himself but is fun to watch.
More importantly, we actually care about this character, we want him to succeed and this is largely due to Hemsworth’s performance. I mean how often does a superhero cry? And while many are saying that Thor little more than another piece to The Avenger’s puzzle, more than anything, I’m personally left wondering how they will fit these two worlds together.
Ultimately, we can thank Branagh for adding layers of complexity to a character that just seems downright difficult to translate into film, as Thor really had massive potential to simply be terrible. The high points of the movie were the constantly evolving family relationships, which admittedly got convoluted at points, and Thor’s initial inability to catch on to the mannerisms of Earth which resulted in some genuinely comedic moments. Although Thor was no great piece of art, it really was enjoyable, and a pleasant surprise. Congrats Marvel, I’m starting to become genuinely interested in The Avengers.
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By: Matt Oakes
Started blogging about film in college when the university paper wouldn’t have him. Dislikes your consensus film Twitter favorites. Devotee of horror movies that make him die a little inside. Catches films at festivals when he can. Proud SFCS and OFCS member and Tomatometer-approved critic. Editor-in-chief of Silver Screen Riot.
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