Thor is the tale of… Thor, the god of thunder and in this case comic book turned screen hero. After being cast out of the high concept realm of Asgard by his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins), Thor (Chris Hemsworth) lands on Earth separated his divine powers and this enchanted hammer Mjolnir. With the help of scientist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), Thor attempts to reclaim his hammer, powers, and stop the coup attempt which planned his banishment.
Thor doesn’t start terribly strong since it’s obvious that Portman’s Oscar caused a rewrite to move her up in prominence by placing her at the start of the movie. Then, after literally bumping into Thor on his arrival on Earth, she goes absent for approximately 20 minutes while the tale of Thor and life on Asgard is showcased.
Asgard is a fantastic setting for effect and stunts. Everything about the location pushes the boundaries of good taste. The amount of gilded structures is totally fantasy; it’s like the Donald Trump vision of a fairy tale. As strange as it may sound, it’s easy to get on board with the going-ons of Asgard because Thor is but one of many near equals; his enemies actually pose a threat. Director Kenneth Branagh really pulls this off. Dutch angles set much of the mood and the effect quality compliments the designs. Unfortunately it seems that taking this cartoon-eque fantasy and mixing it with Earth doesn’t quite fit. I actually prefer the way Beastmaster 2: Through the Portal of Time went about this as the fantasy element was less extreme and therefore a smoother transition. Too much time is spent throwing information and customs at the viewer, and without an outsider for the royalty to explain all this, well it’s overbearing.
A bumpy start is the least of worries for Thor, which is built almost solely to set up the collaborative sequel The Avengers. Every mainstream Marvel hero film from the last three years has contained a link for what has become a chain connecting the film to sequel or spin-off. It started with Iron Man through the introduction of S.H.I.E.L.D., a secretive government agency that deals with heroes, and the post-credits appearance of it’s main operative Nick Fury. Iron Man himself then made an appearance at the end of The Incredible Hulk, and in Iron Man 2 Thor’s enchanted hammer Mjolnir is seen at the bottom of a crater. Thor really gets the worst of it since the movie proudly proclaims he’ll return in The Avengers then proceeds to the most half-ass of all post-credit scenes.
Call it marketing or sequel-bating, but for three years audiences have been teased about something that will almost certainly not be worthy of this unprecedented buildup. Imagine it this way. When audiences saw Alien they didn’t get an idea that a sequel was yearning to be hatched. By Predator 2 an Alien skull is briefly viewed in the trophy case on a Predator ship. This is still one of the best tie-in moments from cinema history and for better or worse propelled the creation of the Alien vs. Predator series. The important thing to note here is that Alien (1979) and Predator (1987) didn’t squander the narrative on setting up future films, and that’s the way serious filmmaking should be done, not by hedging bets on advertising. **½
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