Review: ‘Thor’
"Thor" is a dopey, goofy movie. But if you don't consider those adjectives to be necessarily pejorative, you can have a fun time with it. There are many, many things wrong with this Marvel movie about the guy who gets his power from a hammer, but not since "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" has a big studio blockbuster been this unrepentantly silly about itself and still worked. You may not want to admit to friends that you actually liked "Thor," but your secret is safe with me.
Whereas the "Iron Man" films are a winning combination of high-tech muscle and hip humor, "Thor" is lovably square and mushy. Plus, it makes you wish director Kenneth Branagh had gotten to be in charge of the "Clash of the Titans" remake: At least he knows how to do grandeur and pageantry right. Though it's not always successful, "Thor" is actually a pretty risk-taking comic book movie: It spends a large chunk of its time as a fish-out-of-water comedy, with its god-hero unable to use his impressive powers while stuck on Earth as a mortal. This is probably not the smartest way to launch a franchise, but it's certainly not the worst.
The story is this: Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is one of two sons (along with Tom Hiddleston's wimpy Loki) of the kingdom of Asgard, and his father, King Odin (Anthony Hopkins), is about to make Thor king. But Thor is a hothead, anxious to wage war against the Frost Giants, a rival kingdom of huge, mean-looking blue creatures. After Thor upsets a delicate truce between the two factions, Odin banishes him to Earth, where he's discovered by nerdy scientist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and her team, which has its token kind, older gentleman (Stellan Skarsgard) and its young smart-aleck assistant (Kat Dennings). But soon, the federal government (in the form of the Marvel universe agency S.H.I.E.L.D.) is interested in this Thor guy and his mighty hammer.
Much like "Star Trek IV" -- better known to most people as "The One With the Humpback Whales" -- "Thor" starts off in its fantasy world before dropping its hero into our world, finding humor in the juxtaposition of a larger-than-life character trying to figure out us silly humans. That could very easily open the door to a lot of jokey gags -- and, sadly, there are more than a few -- but it's to Branagh's credit that he treats the Earth sequences just seriously enough so that they don't become obnoxiously cute. There's a love story, of course, with Portman doing her adorable-geek routine, but Hemsworth never oversells Thor's confusion with our world. (Thankfully, this isn't a "Meet Joe Black" situation where he's constantly charmed/bewildered by common Earth devices or slang: The movie's central joke is that, basically, Thor understands everything about Earth but just thinks we're kinda wastes of time.)
The movie is bookended by scenes in Asgard, an opulent kingdom in the stars where Thor and his fellow gods hang out. The tone is understandably very different, and while Branagh (who is best known for doing Shakespeare films like "Henry V" and "Hamlet") seemed a very strange choice to helm a summer blockbuster, the truth is that he gives these fairly routine scenes of family drama and palace intrigue a crispness they so badly need. The last time Branagh tried to make a Hollywood movie, it was the disastrous "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein," which drowned in its melodramatic, operatic foolishness. "Thor" has its bold gestures as well -- it's guaranteed that no movie this summer will feature near this many canted angles -- but Branagh gives the film just the right amount of Shakespearean grandiosity for its big finale to work. As a director, Branagh has always enjoyed his own cleverness, which you would assume would be a bad fit for a movie that has to appeal to many, many people, but for the most part he integrates his showy style successfully.
But, oh, is this film dopey. On one level, I suspect that Branagh and his cast sorta realize that the film's overblown theatrics are a bit much. (Putting professional ham Hopkins in your movie at this stage of his career basically acknowledges that, right?) But "Thor" works because nobody lets on: Everybody seems to have gone into this film with the same spirit of "Yes, comic book movies are sort of ridiculously self-important, but let's see if we can't have some fun along the way." Hemsworth really is the whole secret to this approach: In the film's early stretches when he's supposed to be an arrogant clod on Asgard, he's pretty dull, but once he gets to Earth he's a warm, likable romantic interest. There are a lot of lame jokes and generic CG heroics you're going to have to sit through, but slowly but surely I came to fall for the film's genial rhythms. For better or worse, "Thor" isn't your typical comic book movie. It's not dark, it's not edgy -- it's actually sorta nice and sweet. I don't know how that will affect its bottom line, but I was grateful for the change of pace.
Grade: B-
