Thor (2011) Review

"Do not mistake my appetite for apathy!"
-Volstagg



Moments before Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is crowned King of Asgard, his homeworld is attacked by a group of Frost Giants.  After he recklessly tries to get revenge, Thor's father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), decides his son is not worthy of being king.  Odin strips Thor of his powers and banishes him to Earth.  Now Thor has to find a way to get his powers back and learn what it really means to be King before his mischievous brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), can seize the throne for himself.


What Works:

The best part of Thor is Loki.  Along with Thanos, Loki is in the top-tier of MCU villains and one of the few to receives any sort of development.  Tom Hiddleston is fantastic in the role and even manages to outshine the incredible Anthony Hopkins.  Loki is charismatic and likable even while performing heinous acts.  He also has a solid motivation and it's very easy to understand why he is the way he is.  Bringing him back as the villain in The Avengers was a stroke of genius.

Chris Hemsworth is also perfectly cast as Thor and I can't envision anyone else in the role.  His bravado and arrogance ooze through the screen, but as the film goes on, we find ourselves liking this guy.  This is a redemption story and (for the most part) it works.

I have read some criticism of the Earth-sections of the film, but I really enjoyed the stuff on Earth.  The humor in the middle of the movie is great.  I love watching Thor be the fish-out-of-water and we get some truly hysterical moments.  I especially like Thor's relationship with Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård).  Erik seems like a great guy and I love the scenes where he gets drunk with Thor.

Finally, I appreciated the epic nature of the Asgard sections of the film.  It has a very Shakespearian-quality to it.  It's weird to have the worlds of fantasy and sci-fi blend together like this, but I like it.


What Sucks:

As I mentioned above, this is a redemption story for Thor and most of it works, but the Earth stuff takes place over like two days and Thor doesn't really begin his redemption until the second day.  He earns his powers back remarkably quickly, to the point where it's actually absurd.  It might have been cool to have Thor trapped on Earth for a few months.  It would have been an interesting direction to take the story and make his redemption feel more earned.

Finally, I didn't care for Natalie Portman's character, Jane.  She just never clicked with me.  She's a super smart scientist, but loses herself completely whenever she interacts with Thor.  I don't know, I  could have maybe bought this with another actress in the role, but I think Natalie Portman works best in purely dramatic roles.  The silly elements of this film and the character don't really work with her.


Verdict:

I didn't like Thor the first time I watched it, but the more I watch it, the more I like it.  Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston are perfect in their roles, Loki is a phenomenal villain, and I enjoyed the Shakespearian elements and the comedy.  Natalie Portman doesn't work in the role and the speed in which Thor earns his redemption is absurd, but Thor has still got it going on.

 8/10: Really Good 
   

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