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Being an admitted comic book fan, I’ve always said I thought Marvel’s THOR would be one of the hardest characters to adapt successfully, mainly because the concepts behind it are fairly bizarre and visually complicated.  Plus the idea of Thor as a character, interacting with modern day Earth… well, it just seems almost impossible to depict without things getting really silly.  When Marvel announced THOR was next on their slate after the success of IRON MAN (2008), I was rather shocked, and understandably nervous thinking about just how wrong it could wind up being.  But something cool happened when IRON MAN came out.  Marvel Comics put in place some significant creative control over their film adaptations, and suddenly ideas of intersecting storylines and characters were becoming confirmed plans instead of proposed ideas.  Last year at San Diego Comic-Con some select press (including myself) and Marvel staffers, along with a few thousand lucky comic fans, were treated to a five-minute trailer for THOR… and for the most part blown away with what we saw.  I’m not sure anyone, especially me, would have ever thought that character would look that cool.  But hey, looks aren’t everything, and the real question was would The God of Thunder work as a big-budget summer movie.  I may have the answer.

THOR opens (wisely) on Earth for a brief prologue scene, in which scientist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), her fellow researcher Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) and assistant Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) are investigating atmospheric anomalies in the New Mexico desert.  When a powerful spiraling cloud drops from the sky, they race in their van to investigate, and smack right into a blond long-haired man who seems to have come from the source of the storm.  Cut to the opening titles, and an explanation (through voiceover by Anthony Hopkins) of how many ages ago in Norway, armies of frost giants (large and evil beings with ice-based powers) attempted attacking the people of Earth, when an army of allies from another place in the universe known as Asgard helped defend the innocent humans.  Led by Odin (Hopkins), the Asgardians eventually retreated to their homeworld, and after fierce battle with the frost giants, they negotiated a truce to leave each other alone, with the frost giants surrendering their source of power.  Odin raised two sons, Thor and Loki, either of whom could have become king.  Thor (Chris Hemsworth) won the honor, though his vanity and impulsive nature has made him a dangerous choice.  Loki (Tom Hiddleston) appears to have grown into a more analytical personality, using magic rather than braun to get what he wants.  Just before Thor is crowned the new king of Asgard, some frost giants break into Odin’s weapons vault, attempting to steal their old source of power.  It’s a moment that threatens the security of Asgard, and infuriates Thor.  Against his father’s wishes, Thor and his friends Volstagg (Ray Stevenson), Fandral (Josh Dallas), Hogun (Tadanobu Asano), and Sif (Jaimie Alexander) decide to travel to the frost giants’ world and exact revenge… an act that proves reckless, and is met with anger from Odin. As a result, Thor and his magical hammer (the source of his power) are separately cast out of Asgard and banished to Earth. Cut to the scene we opened with, as Jane Foster literally runs into to former God of Thunder with her research van.

After spending time with his new Earth friends, Thor begins to adapt, while Jane’s equipment is confiscated by Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) and agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – a mysterious government organization interested in anything scientifically out of the ordinary. These guys also form a protective perimeter around the crash-landed hammer, which no one can seem to lift. Thor becomes aware of this, and enlists Jane’s help to recover his weapon of power. Meanwhile, back on Asgard, Odin has fallen into a fatigued sleeping state, and Loki uses this as an opportunity to take control of his homeland with nefarious purposes.

The first 30 minutes or so of THOR (with the exception of the brief prologue on Earth) takes place in the mystical realm of Asgard, and it’s breathtaking to behold. You’ll swear you’re watching scenes out of THE LORD OF THE RINGS, and might even find yourself getting lost in this strange and fantastical world. But we eventually make it to Earth, where the bulk of the film’s remainder takes place. It’s a daring move and a tricky one, but director Kenneth Branagh does a nice job of balancing the action between the two worlds, and takes us back and forth with carful timing. To set the film entirely in Asgard most likely would have been too much, but taking a character like Thor to Earth and staying there the whole time probably wouldn’t have worked either. Thankfully there’s enough of both realms spaced out properly to allow the audience to relate to what they know, and take a mystical trip into what they don’t. There’s also appropriate moments of “fish out of water” humor to keep the film from taking itself too seriously. Chris Hemsworth does a good job of playing the proud and over-confident Thor, coming a long way from his brief role as Captain Kirk’s father in J.J. Abrams STAR TREK. He also got himself into incredible shape for the part, sporting the body you’d expect for a warrior god. Among all of the Marvel heroes likely to grace the big screen, Thor is perhaps the most difficult to sell to the audience, based on where he comes from and his personality. Branagh draws upon his William Shakespeare influences here, giving Hemsworth, Hiddleston and Hopkins scenes that almost feel as if they were lifted from one of the famous Bard’s plays. Hopkins has never been more at home playing the powerful and highly-respected Odin, bringing the expected gravitas to every frame of film he occupies. Hiddleston has fun with Loki, balancing a mix of sympathetic brotherly love and nefarious mystical trickery. It’s a fun role, and he never overdoes it, but rather makes it a success with subtlety. Almost all of the Asgardian players are fun to watch, especially the Warriors Three (Volstagg, Vandral and Hogun) and Sif, who are used sparingly but effectively. Fans of the comics will respect seeing these characters realized, at least I know I did. But sadly, the Earth characters end up being the weak points of the project, with Natalie Portman winding up with little more to do that look at Thor funny, Stellan Skarsgård playing the cautious seasoned scientist, and Kat Dennings being severely wasted as the comic relief. They’re all great actors, but just aren’t given enough to do. I was particularly disappointed with Kat Dennings being so underused, as she’s a great actress and deserves a more proper amount of screen time.

The biggest overall problem with THOR is at an hour and 45 minutes, a lot of segments feel rushed through and underdeveloped. Some of the Asgard scenes are so epic, we could imagine spending another 20 to 30 minutes in that universe, but we don’t get to. The relationship between Jane Foster and Thor feels like an afterthought rather than a natural progression. Stellan Skarsgård gets a few moments of potentially great character arcs, playing the man who puts together Thor’s origins with stories he heard as a young boy, but even that relationship is only briefly explored and never seen through to its potential. This is not to say THOR is a bad movie, quite the opposite in fact. There’s several great action sequences and impressive effects shots, and enough to keep comic book fans and kids in the audience interested for the running time. Even Patrick Doyle’s regal score adds an unexpected layer to the overall presentation that separates this from other comic book movies like it. The whole movie feels like daring and expensive experiment that works in selective moments. Branagh almost gives it a classic quality rather than a flashy modern flare, and I appreciated that. And in case you’re wondering if the 3D aspect adds much to the film, it honestly doesn’t. I doubt seeing this in 2D as opposed to 3D would have almost any effect at all on you, so you might want to save the extra bucks this time around. While THOR may not go down as one of the best Marvel movies, it works more than it fails, and should perform as a nice lead-in to Joss Whedon’s work on THE AVENGERS movie. We’ve still got CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE FIRST AVENGER before the team movie, and if you stick around for the post-credit stinger, you’ll see that these movies (now more than ever) are going to really tie into one another, making moviegoers carefully pay attention to what’s beyond the surface. Check out THOR this weekend and tell us your thoughts in the comments.

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