Thor

Well it’s time for another one of my Avengers build-up reviews. Today I will look at the Norse god of thunder himself, Thor. This Marvel superhero’s adaptation came out in 2011 (one of my favorites), directed by Shakespearean actor, Kenneth Branagh. For those who are not familiar with Norse mythology (I will admit, I don’t know that much either), Thor is the god who has a hammer and a really short fuse. In Stan Lee’s adaptation, Thor’s father, Odin, banishes Thor from Asgard and sends him down to Earth, where he lives as Dr. Donald Burke, a physician who would pick up the hammer when mankind is about to be attacked by evil.

The movie gives us a brand new deity who is also a little bit of both.

The story bounces back and forth between Thor, who is exiled on Earth in New Mexico, where he meets the storm-chasing astrophysicist, Jane, played by the very beautiful Natalie Portman, and Asgard, where Thor’s half-brother, Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston, to defeat the Ice Giants and get respect from Odin, played by Hannibal Lecter…I mean Anthony Hopkins.

CNN reviewer, Tom Charity, describes Asgard as, “An unholy combination of a Vegas penthouse and Disney palazzo, Asgard is a computer-generated Valhalla with gold fixtures and diaphanous walls revealing Hubblesque views of the cosmos. A vast waterfall drains out into space, and an electric highway allows the gods to drop in on any of the nine realms, one of which is Earth. The stereoscopic scenery is impressive, but the screenwriters have a tin ear for god-speak, settling for something between Shakespeare and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.”

Probably this is the reason why Marvel Studios handed this over to Branagh, who is well-known for roles in Shakespeare film adaptations as Hamlet, Othello, Henry V, and Much Ado About Nothing. Branagh has a talent for back-slapping protest and boldness, as well as the kinky camera-angles that have you questioning if someone’s tripod has lost a leg – which describes the movie’s tiresomely lop-sided first act.

“Thor” is much safer on Earth. The tone is completely the opposite than on Asgard: more relaxed; comic, not cosmic, as Jane and her co-workers (played by wisecracker Kat Dennings and the non-trustworthy Stellan Skarsgard) figure out whether Thor is either a miracle or a lunatic.

In this miracle, Thor lost his hammer, which is known Mjolnir, but he has kept his mind about him and takes his new circumstances in his pace.

Australian actor Chris Hemsworth looks like he is channeling Branagh in his portrayal of an impulsive, brave alpha male, trying to be king. There’s no skill in the performance, but wide strokes are all it takes; the other actors just work off of him, and the movie finds its sense of fun.

But it never settles that long. All the large planning takes place on Asgard. The scenes in New Mexico feel like a sideshow.

In the post-credits scene, Skarsgard’s character, Dr. Erik Selvig, has been taken to the S.H.I.E.L.D. facility, where Nick Fury opens a briefcase and asks him to look at the Cosmic Cube, which Fury as been told it has unspeakable power. An invisible Loki shows up insisting Selvig to agree, and he does. This is leading up not only to “The Avengers,” but also the Cosmic Cube will play a part in the next superhero movie leading up to the amazing “Avengers,” “Captain America: The First Avenger.”

Now we come to the sequel, “Thor: The Dark World,” which came out two days ago. The story begins thousands of years ago, where Odin’s father, Bor, played by Tony Curran, led Asgard’s men in a war against the Dark Elves who were not nice people. Their leader, Malekith, played by Christopher Eccleston, had created a superweapon called “the Aether,” but was defeated before he could use it. Since the Asgardians were unable to destroy the Aether, they decided to bury it someplace where no one will be able to find it.

Moving to present day, Thor has returned, leaving Jane, his love-interest, behind on Earth. While she is looking for a way to contact him, she stumbles into another dimension where she gets infected with the Aether, and it doesn’t leave her body. Malekith and his crew were in suspended animation for a while, but they are awakened by Jane coming in contact with the Aether and come looking for her, while plotting to destroy the universe, and enter the world in darkness.

If you think that this plot makes it feel very much like “The Lord of the Rings,” that’s exactly what I was thinking a few times when I was watching this last night in the theaters. However, it’s a very good movie. Sequels nowadays don’t really live up to how good the first one is, but if you liked the first one, or you weren’t a huge fan of it, then you will definitely like this one. It beats the first one by a long run. Not to say that I didn’t like the first movie, because I did.

Recurring characters from the first movie include Idris Elba as Heimball, the gatekeeper between Asgard and the nine realms, the Three Warriors, Ray Stevenson as Volstagg, Zachary Levi as Fandral, Tadanobu Asano as Hogun, and the hot Jaimie Alexander as Sif. Rene Russo also returns as Thor’s mother, Frigga. Jonathan Howard plays Darcy’s intern, Ian, who later becomes her love interest. Maybe because she’s jealous that Jane had a god as a boyfriend and she has nobody. Or it could be that she is desperate and wants someone to love. Also, Loki in this film seems to help out Thor more than he does trying to betray him.

Just to let you know, there are a lot of more comedic moments in this one than there was in the first one. I would like to thank director Alan Taylor, who is well known for that hit show, “The Game of Thrones,” for making this enjoyable. It’s just like how in “The Avengers” there were a handful of funny moments. “Thor: the Dark World” had better writing, better direction, better action, and all around a better feel to it. Expect also a small cameo from Chris Evans as Captain America, which I will be getting to once the sequel comes out.

Stay after the credits because one is when Volstagg and Sif visit the Collector, played by the great Benicio Del Toro, and give him the Aether. They say that the Tesseract is in Asgard, and two Infinity Stones close to one another would be dangerous. Once they leave, the Collector says, “One down, five to go.” This is probably hinting at the upcoming “Guardians of the Galaxy” movie that will be coming out next year. Another is after the credits when Thor returns to Earth to see Jane, while somewhere in London, where this film now takes place, one of the creatures known as the frost monster, is wrecking havoc in the streets.

All in all, I really like both of the Thor movies, and I recommend that everyone should watch both of them. They are great films and really put you in a good mood once you have seen them. “Thor” probably would belong in the top 10 best superhero movies, but “Thor: the Dark World” belongs in maybe the top 5. This is another one of my favorites.

Thanks for joining in on my “Avengers” build up reviews. Check in for this coming Friday when I continue “Die Hard month.”