By Jason Apuzzo. THE PITCH: Muscular Aussie newcommer Chris Hemsworth swings the heavy hammer in Thor, a big-budget adaptation of Stan Lee’s superhero comic series – featuring an expensive, A-list cast (Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman) and operatic direction from Kenneth Branagh.
THE SKINNY: Thor brings muscle, pomp and even Marlovian court intrigue to this revered Marvel Comics property – while never losing its sense of humor. In a genre that sometimes takes itself too seriously, Thor strikes a nice balance between campy light humor and mythic/fantasy storytelling.
WHAT WORKS:
• Chris Hemsworth, who between Thor and Red Dawn (which I’ve already reviewed, in its original, non-castrated form) is about to become a major star. Physically, Hemsworth reminds me of the linebackers who played for Pete Carroll at USC – big, wild, ripped dudes with long hair, like Clay Mathews or Brian Cushing. As an actor, though, Hemsworth excels in moments when he needs to project warmth, sensitivity or shrewdness. He’s the complete on-screen package, and should have a strong career ahead of him. The rest of the film’s pricey cast is similarly solid – especially Anthony Hopkins as Odin, and Tom Hiddleston as Loki.
• Thor’s boffo set pieces and art direction from Maya Shimoguchi and her team make Asgard look like something out of Wagner’s Ring-cycle as performed by The Met. Shimoguchi and cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos also elevate the film’s New Mexico desert town into a cozy, archetypal burg out of classic 1950s sci-fi. I wanted to move right in and hunt aliens.
• Strong, humanistic values. Thor is a lover and a fighter, you might say. Banished to Earth by his father Odin (a highly grizzled Anthony Hopkins, complete with eyepatch), and having lost his super-powers, angry young man Thor matures and comes to enjoy Earth and all its human pleasures (coffee, beer, cute astrophysicists). Plus, although our government doesn’t know who he is – after he weirdly drops out of the sky into the New Mexico desert, and cheerfully clobbers everyone in sight – and although government agents quasi-threaten him with ‘enhanced interrogation,’ Thor eventually comes around to the government’s side, pledging himself to defend Earth’s security. Thor’s very much a team-player, a good egg who digs small town America, and you basically get the sense he would fit in well on SEAL Team 6.
Continue reading By Asgard’s Hammer!: LFM Mini-Review of Thor