Thor (2011, USA)

I’m more familiar with Norse mythology than I am with the Thor comics, so I came to Kenneth Branagh’s Thor totally clean. As such, it’s an interesting construction – Branagh should be commended for packing a lot into his movie without it ever feeling overstuffed, and for doing so and still running just shy of two hours (something that’s nearly unheard of in a major action tentpole these days), but Thor suffers somewhat from telling where it could perhaps be showing. It’s a talky movie, even with character backstories and certain plot points curtailed (and some actors/characters, like poor Rene Russo as Frigga, getting only a handful of lines). Compare it to Iron Man, which ran only about 10 minutes longer but managed to tell the bulk of Iron Man’s origin story in images rather than words, and Thor is the poorer by comparison.

But when Thor relaxes a bit to foreground the visuals, what visuals they are – Asgard is beautifully imagined, down to the subtle mix of modern and historic in the costuming (check out Loki’s amazing horned helm). The 3D, something that I’m generally only a fan of in the service of something as stupid as Drive Angry 3D, is surprisingly understated, highlighting a handful of seriously dramatic images. Branagh has also packed his cast with ringers, from the obvious (Stellan! Sir Tony!) to the subtle (Idris Elba and Colm Feore are perfect in their small roles). Chris Hemsworth acquits himself well, though I did find myself wishing that they’d thrown a couple more members of the Skarsgard clan in there, if just for fun (Alexander would have made a perfect Fandral). In all, it’s a decent popcorn flick, and it will definitely be interesting to see how Thor’s ego will mesh with that of Tony Stark and the other Avengers next May. And maybe Joss Whedon will give us a little less chatting and a little more smiting.