Since his first appearance in August 1962, Thor has always been one of Marvel's more offbeat characters. Thor Odinson is the immortal prince of a heavenly city known as Asgard. His weapon is an indestructible hammer and his powers include flight, dimensional transportation and the manipulation of weather. A far cry from the scientific engineering of Iron Man, then. Could this really translate to the big screen without coming across as magical nonsense? So skeptical mind in toe, I ventured off to see the adaptation of the might god of thunder. And, as it turns out, Thor may just be the best Marvel blockbuster yet.
The film opens with Thor's arrival to earth where he meets Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), Darcy (Kat Dennings) and Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard). With a quick introduction established, we're whisked away in a flashback to the city of Asgard. Thor is about to be crowned King by his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins), but before the we see the exchanging of oaths, the city is attacked by Frost Giants of the rival realm, Jotunheim. Thor believes the best course of action to be revenge, while Odin reminds him that a good King must never go looking for war. Enraged by the Frost Giants, Thor gathers a willing team of warriors to attack Jotunheim behind Odin's back. Unfortunately for Thor, Odin realizes what his son has done and in a fit of anger banishes him to earth, where he must learn humility and prove his worth.
The general consensus with Marvel's advertisement campaign for Thor has been extremely negative. The trailers, clips and featurettes focused heavily on the earth-based action set pieces, including Thor's fight with S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Destroyer attacking the local town. But thankfully, Thor is stuffed with other-worldly action. We see our hero battle the Frost Giants on their icy home world (which looks incredible) as well as some scene-chewing drama in Asgard. The biggest round of applause must go to Thor's designers. From the moment we first see Asgard, it's obvious these guys really and truly went for it. Every room, every chamber, hallway, bridge, you name it - it's all stunning. The costumes, too. I was weary at the idea of them including Thor's signature winged-helmet, but once you see it, it's perfect. There is such a beauty to the film that I really would be surprised if it doesn't snag an Oscar next year for Best Art Direction or Best Costume Design.
On the performance front, nearly everyone nails it. Hemsworth is a perfect Thor; arrogant and aggressive, yet kind and charismatic. Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Ray Stevenson, Jaimie Alexander and Tadanobu Asano were all great, too. Natalie Portman is good, but seems to be slightly uninterested at times. The one fatal flaw in Thor's casting; Kat Dennings. In my 15 odd years of watching movies, I don't think I've ever seen such an incredibly pointless character. Darcy is supposed to be what, exactly? A tag-along student on some field study? I can't understand the reason for her even being there. Her character is literally in the background for 60% of the movie in which she says about 5 lines, each delivered with the zeal of a cheerleader on speed. Her one-liners range from Facebook references all the way down to how many songs she's put on her iPod. Yes, really.
Besides that completely pointless and often cringe-worthy character, Thor is a gleaming success. It features some of the best action, acting and direction* thus far in the Marvel movie universe. In the words of the Mighty Thor himself, "This movie, I like it...ANOTHER!".
*On a side note, I think Thor might very well break some kind of record for the most dutch angles in one film.
