Marvel’s big screen version of Thor is not what I expected from a Kenneth Branagh film. While watching the latest build-up adventure to The Avengers, it is quite doubtful one will think, “Ah, this is obviously from the director of Hamlet and Henry V.” Not only stylistically, but because of how safe Thor is. This is a standard summer blockbuster that has enough memorable factors to make one think less about what elements don’t quite work.
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) gets a wonderful character introduction that immediately energizes the audience. Branagh and the string of writers credited on the film (Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, and Don Payne) wisely decided not to go the origin story route. We all know who Thor is. We know what he can do. And if you don’t, his first scene in Asgard lets you know everything you would want about the hero.
Asgard is where the film’s magic it happens. This is where Brannagh is aiming for ambition. Everything from the palaces to the costumes feels slightly cartoonish, but Branagh and his cast play it all perfectly with a straight face. Brannagh has a great sense of tone in Asgard. He doesn’t take the film too seriously and nothing ever feels too cheesy. A great middle ground is found for how to play the fantastical elements. The cast sells this world.
Once the world of Asgard is left behind by Thor, the structure and pacing is less successful. After Thor is banished from Asgard for starting a war with the Frost Giants, he is sent to one of the worst places imaginable: Earth! That is what Thor should think, but he has a change of heart, conveniently, quickly after his arrival.
Earth is the film’s halting stop. Everything slows down. If it were not for Hemsworth’s charismatic performance, the second act would throw the film into total disarray. From the hollow love interest Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) to the unneeded comic relief stand-in Darcy (Kat Dennings) to an annoyingly shoved in cameo, it all feels mechanical and lifeless. Jane Foster is not a believable love interest, and it’s difficult to comprehend why Thor would not fall for his fellow warrior, Sif (Jamie Alexander), instead. Jane Foster is a bare shell of a character that Portman is wasted in. And Dennings does what the role of Darcy requires, but every joke comes off as a studio note for Brannagh to cater to teens.
The half-baked characters of Earth stand no chance to begin with, considering Odin is filled with an array of interesting characters. Loki (Tom Hiddleston), for instance, is by far the most interesting Marvel villain yet. He has understandable motives, is slightly sympathetic, unpredictable, and knows how to raise the stakes. Anyone should be able to understand Loki’s love-hate relationship for Thor. Loki is all about the brains, while Thor is all about how hard he can hit someone with his hammer.
Why should this brainless, cocky jock be king? Loki feels like an abandoned, bastard son. At first, he wants his father’s approval, not the power. Loki becomes consumed with hatred and rage by the end. The final battle between Thor and Loki isn’t as epic as it should be, especially considering how fun the first Frost Giants battle is, but the subtext of their conflict makes for a satisfying enough climax.
Marvel seems to be a studio that settles for B-movies. The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man and its lesser sequel all have the ingredients that could have made for great movies, but they always feels as if their scripts didn’t get enough polish or were messed around with in the editing room. Thor fits right firmly into that mold. What could have been a tremendous epic is, alas, a mostly formulaic action-movie. That should be more bothersome than it is, but with leads such as Hemsworth and Hiddleston, it is easy to tolerate some of the film’s lesser moments.