THOR REVIEW
With Iron Man 1 topping the lot of CBMs recently, I found its sequel floundering at times with dissonant performances by Sam Jackson and Scarlet Johansson, in a script I found too flailing in forcing the presence of S.H.I.E.L.D. in the Marvel Filmverse. That aside, Iron Man 2 turned out alright, but far from 'The Incredible Hulk' as well as Iron Man 1...and with the Mjolnir cameo at the end, all bets were certainly off!
Cue us to Hemsworth, Branagh and the well-placed cast to whet our appetites, and with the likes of Brian Bendis, Joe Quesada, all creatively watching over the story by JMS and Mike Protosevich, it all funneled into one of the most eagerly anticipated CBMs ever... Ken Branagh decides to utilize a flashback of a storytelling ploy that is akin to what we read in modern comics, and this is one tool that delves intricately in showing us the aesthetic beauty of the Asgardian Realm. We see the genesis that we need, to understand where the film takes off, and the backdrop of this history is one that JMS fans would take great pride in from his recent Thor run at Marvel. Despite his creative indifferences at Marvel Comics, and his newfound DC throne, JMS fleshes out a grand, elegant script and even finds the time for a cameo, and I hope Snyder/Nolan employs him over Goyer!!! With JMS' script, there's no love lost, and his cameo is truly inspirational an appearance. Sad that I was the only one in my CARIBBEAN home to notice him. I digress...
The Asgardian visuals are nothing short of breath-taking from the realm itself to the Bifrost. Ken crafts the schematic of Odin's history with the Frost Giants via a not-too-decoded narrative that places us at the halls of Asgard showing the All-Father and his progenies.
Further woven into the plot is the history with the Frost Giants of Jotunheim that factor in more than one would expect throughout the film's duration, and it's one that is well received. Hemsworth is spot on and reeks of no humility, and buries himself in the conceited and haughty ways that we yearned him to concoct. It's exactly the performance needed for Hopkins' to trigger his majestic role as Sire! Hopkins matches Hemsworth in each scene together, and it's no fallshort to say that these 2 roles were perfectly casted. Colm Feore also delivers a gratuitously eerie and sinister role as Laufey, and the Jotunheim link is one that's scribed perfectly as it segues into the banishment of Thor. While it isn't a fluid and seamless offering as to Thor's actions of disobedience, such a vague point can be overlooked as Hemsworth shows repugnant arms and insolence in his war-mongering ways and you can't help but side with Odin initially. The arrogant actions lead to ensuing battles of wits, might...and patriarch-son words! Of course, upon exile, there's enough biceps, triceps and shirtless Chris to throw the female minds to the gutter.
Upon his Midgard arrival, there's only one reason and one purpose Odin seeks to place in Thor's eye...no pun intended...and that's to resolve the matter of humility...and tame his son's pride. It's dramatically told and well scripted here as Thor struggles to adapt to his punishment. Enter Natalie Portman as Jane Foster...and surprisingly, she doesn't deliver the wooden performance I expected. She, along with the humor of Kat Dennings, is placed in measured doses to alleviate the woes of Thor, and while not prevalent, Foster's infrequent dalliances do make well to show that this is a story about THOR AND THOR MOSTLY! Of course, Ken does well to insert her in right proportions to build a believable romance, and safe to say, the chemistry is there and us cynical folk will see the romance as plausible. Portman and Dennings, are well complimented by Stellan Skarsgaard as a silent key player in Dr. Selvig, and note that changing Foster from nurse to scientist, was a master-stroke, as this aided the astute science team arc, as well as their interactions with S.H.I.E.L.D. This organization also proves a thorn in Thor's eyes, as he struggles to learn his place on Midgard and find what Odin sought to enlighten him on. Insightful cameos are made by Stan Lee, a certain archer of the town, as well as a Doctor Donald, in this New Mexico town, that completely is clandestine and bears strong semblance to the town in JMS' recent run. Clark Gregg's Agent Coulson also gets in his fair share of prominence here.
Whilst the film lends lots of credence to the Kirby, Simonson works and past writers/artists on this book, it's JMS that shows us why his comic run is one of Thor's best...and why the likes of Marko Djurdjevic and Oliver Coipel's art lend to the superb costume design in this film. From the DESTROYER to all Asgardians...it's all immaculate!
With Thor on Midgard, Odin's kindgom and its denizens find themselves wrapped in moral quandaries as certain sinister elements and secrets begin to unravel. Lies and duplicity become the theme as Tom Hiddlestone takes command of Loki to nothing short of perfection. Make no mistake, he holds no candle to Heath's Joker, but that's due to the fact that Joker had a lot of screen time in Nolan's film. Loki goes from being sympathetic to being eerie in such a fast manner, heads will spin amidst apparitions...and it's punctuated in exclamations...Tom nails the role. Also offering up ideal performances are Rene Russo as Frigga, and the conjugated Idris Elba as Heimdall. While I wondered how could this film work minus Balder, the Enchantress, Skurge, Hela and Surtur...the likes of Elba in his commanding role, as well as the Warriors Three, all show that everyone gets a fair amount of screen time to make their efforts substantially count. The race issue is simply moot at this point for Elba as Heimdall as it never shows him as Sif's brother. Elba's voice and presence dominates in the breath-taking sequences that show him as Sentry of Asgard, and the likes of Stevenson, Asanou and Dallas deliver in their supporting roles quite well as Thor's allies and souls of camaraderie. Jaimie Alexander's Sif also bodes as one that to me, looks to Thor, with more heart that one may purport at first, and as the film grows, her beauty is matched by her brilliantly acted role, which is endearing and loyal, given her short timespace. She is as sexy and swift as she's meant to be and one I look forward to in the sequel. While the allies muster courage to tend to Asgard's hopes, it's all darkness and subterfuge surrounding Asgard's secrets as we see lies and webs of deceit unfold. Betrayal grows strong during Asgard's dark reign in Thor's absence, and culminates as terror comes to Midgard in the Destroyer who seeks out Thor, and any and all assistance that's rendered to him. The end-game of deception seemed a bit shaky but soon began to come together in pieces at the end, and it again hinges of the sheer brilliance of Hiddlestone as Loki. His machinations do seem to make the comic character transition well to the screen, as Ken manages to do with all pivotal characters...and all realms...even with the splendor of the cold Jotunheim and it's deviant Frost Giants.
The action sequences throughout are what geeks, freaks, fanboys and the common action movie-goer would enjoy, and us at CBM would be enticed by the helmets, flight, mentions of gamma-scientists...and hammer-twirls that reciprocate on and on. The battles shows pummel, pillage and raw grit...and it's marvelous to see the comics come to a freshly painted canvas of cinematic life.
Thor's stance to protect Midgard comes full circle as he struggles to cope with Asgard's woe, its dark reign...and his seemingly strong bond to Jane. Loki's interference with the wheels of Asgard and his sinister urges all come full scale in the climax where Thor goes head to head with fiery metal, and familial consequences. Thor manages to confront who he needs to, and it's a reluctant tragedy, well drawn upon from the comics as he tries to show Loki the path to redemption. Suffice it to say, their confrontation comes to a bitter end when Thor faces choices that prove difficult to make as he looks to set things right, and with the weight of the 9 worlds in his hands, he manages to see what his father meant to teach him. It's a resounding film, and the resonance impacts well with what Marvel plans ahead in their movies. The lessons learnt by Thor, his relationships formed, and a newfound penchant for looking towards the ways of Odin all amplify a stellar ending to the movie. The lack of certian easter eggs such as the Infinity Gauntlet and Eye of Agamotto took the amplitude down a notch, but seeing Odin's spear, among many other things, did make up a bit. I wanted more eyes on his throne room's relics as well as a slight insight into Ragnarok, but I ask too much....
Post-credits, we see further clarity into the mouth-watering setup for Captain America and moreso, the Avengers film...
Branagh delivers...bottom line! His castings were home-runs, and the script was best suited to make this movie, in my humble opinion, a film better than Iron Man...and that is no easy feat. It blends the right amount of Ultimates Universe Thor with 616-Thor. With Thor set as my favorite Marvel film to date, I look forward to First Class X-Men, Green Lantern...and Captain America...with 3 words lingering in the back of my mind...
AVENGERS...are...assembling... RICKLY OUT!!!