I should preface this review with one caveat: I’ve never read or watched — or heard of Thor at all, really — before seeing the film. As you can probably guess from the preceding sentence, I don’t even know what format of text or media from which its story originates. Was Thor a comic book? Was it a television show? Cartoon? Movie from the 1980s? Colour me uneducated and largely incurious. Instead of attempting to hide this gaping hole in my nerd credentials, I’m sure that highlighting my lack of Thor knowledge will make for a pretty interesting review.

Spoilers ahead.

After watching Shakespearean-stalwart Kenneth Branagh’s film adaptation, I have come to understand that the character of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is a “God of Thunder” who lives in the “Realm Eternal”, otherwise known as Asgard. The people who live there — Asgardians? — are unimportant in the long-run, assuming importance correlates with the amount of screen-time the average Asgardian citizen is provided. There are maybe three or four scenes with larger groups or crowds and almost all of them are scenes of war. I’m sure these scenes were filmed during those short moments when Branagh remembered he wasn’t directing a play and could have more people in a scene than just the essential cast.

Thor, the aforementioned God of Thunder, has a father named Odin (Anthony Hopkins) who appears to be dying, despite the Asgardian’s apparent claim to immortality. Because of this — never quite explained — confusion about supposed immortality, Thor’s father decides to abdicate the throne of Asgard, naturally choosing to give his crown to his smug first-born, Thor. Thor’s younger brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), is rebuffed by this decision but appears to accept being overlooked by his father well enough. However, Thor has blonde hair and wears red; Loki has dark hair and wears green. Any costume designer (or reader of any fantasy novel series) could tell you that, yeah, Loki is probably the villain of this piece.

Rounding off the Asgardians that you actually get to see in the movie are the all-seeing, all-hearing sentry Heimdall, Thor’s mother and his gang of ruffian warriors. These warriors include “the female one”, “the Asian one”, “the one who looks like Thor but isn’t Thor — wait, no, he’s just blonde” and “the fat one” (Ray Stevenson, in a role that made me weep for this wasted Rome talent). They fight and are loyal to their friend Thor. That’s basically it.

Because Thor isn’t content with the universal admiration of his people, his chiseled abs, (questionable) immortality, upcoming coronation and overall blondness, he decides to confront Asgard’s greatest enemies, the Frost Giants, defying both his father and logic in the process. Unsurprisingly, these Frost Giants are very large people who wield ice powers. They are a very literal people, apparently, and they live their lives on a planet of ice, spending most of their time being blue — both in colour and temperament — while hating on Asgard and its king.

The aftermath of Thor’s decision doesn’t go so well and, after some hammer-throwing and war-provoking, Thor’s father banishes him from Asgard. Thor is then teleported from their planet — and ends up on ours. Branagh, much to the audience’s probable content, decided to spend as little screen-time as possible on Earth. The film’s greatest moments — from its fantastical origins to its inevitable fight to the death — are set on Asgard. While on Earth, the banished Thor meets astrophysicist Jane (Natalie Portman) and the members of her research team, played by the horrifically underused Stellan Skarsgard and Kat Dennings. With the exception of some “stanger in a strange land” physical humour, most of the Earth scenes are largely forgettable. I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy some of the Earth scenes, but after a battle with insanely-blue, gigantic aliens, immortal gods and rainbow bridges, it’s more than a little funny to see see Thor incapacitated by an undergraduate with a taser. There is also a very memorable barbecue featuring a cameo appearance from the father of Marvel comics, Stan Lee.

Halfway through the film, Thor’s brother Loki discovers something about himself that reshapes his worldview, adding numerous layers to a character already overshadowing everyone else in regard to development and personality. This new development should have been the lynchpin of the entire narrative arc of the film, but the screenwriters pass on this opportunity. Instead, they revert the character of Loki into a caricature of the jealous usurper, depriving the audience of more screen-time with the stellar Tom Hiddleston in order to add more Natalie Portman. Sad to say it, but Hemsworth and Portman have absolutely no chemistry and share only a handful of scenes together. Thus, it appears that Thor and Jane fell in love after a trip to the hospital, a cup of coffee and a rooftop conversation about constellations. If you’re sensitive to this underdeveloped relationship, you’ll be questioning Thor’s behaviour at the end of the film much like I did.

Overall, I felt that Thor was an enjoyable and much better film than expected. It benefited from an ambitious depiction of Asgard, both in terms of scope and visuals. Unfortunately, Natalie Portman’s character and the use of 3D are largely superfluous. The film also suffers from a bland, unforgettable protagonist, Thor; as well as a deformed development of its antagonist, Loki.

For those unfamiliar with the Thor universe — like me — there will be a few moments which will pull you out of the film, as the script does a poor job establishing the rules of the universe. Examples of this include:

• How can you be immortal and potentially die?
• How can Loki duplicate himself?
• How can Loki teleport to Earth and appear suddenly invisible?
• Wait, Thor can fly?

Despite these flaws and questions, Thor is an admirable installment in the Marvel universe of films, and I would be ecstatic to see Tom Hiddleston return as Loki. Also, the bonus scene at the end of Thor with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is worth the excruciating wait through the very, very poor end-credit song choice.

I didn’t know it until I saw it, but I have been waiting for a summer movie like Thor for a long time. It is fun, far more fun than any comic adaptation I have seen in years. Admittedly, I say that as someone who does not read a lot of comics and is not familiar with the source material. And to me, that is the beauty of this film. This movie knows its material is not as invested in a legion of fans such as follow Batman or Superman, and its British director brings to it a distantiation that allows for investment in the fun of it all: the outrageous narration, exaggerated and impossible action sequences, and actors who can just let go and enjoy the ride without any pressure while still maintaining their integrity and talent. This, my friends, is what a summer movie should be: exciting, clever, comedic, and a joyride.

Kenneth Branagh has been much maligned in the press in recent years, to my mind unfairly. Yes, he has had some duds (Frankenstein comes immediately to mind), but his good films (Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, Dead Again, Sleuth) far outweigh the bad, And even with their faults, Branagh is willing to take risks where very few other (i.e. Hollywood) directors are not; sometimes it doesn’t work, but more often than not it does. At first he might have seemed like an odd choice for this film, but actually he is perfect. Thor is not Batman; he does not have the following or the pressure. So it takes a director from outside the genre to make this kind of film, who can look at the source material with a less interested eye and find the key, transferable elements.

Thor is the son of Odin, King of Asgard, central of the nine worlds (of which Earth is one.) Odin has managed to maintain peace with the Frost Giants after a great battle many years ago, but Thor feels the kingdom is threatened. In a fit of youthful egoism, he and his band of followers, including his brother Loki, go to the Frost Giant’s kingdom and almost start a war. As punishment, Odin casts Thor down to earth until he can prove he is worthy of being King. And as write this, it sounds laugh-out-loud absurd, but you have to get into the rhythm of the film.

There are two worlds the film inhabits: Earth and Asgard. Asgard is gorgeously rendered in golds and reds, exactly what one would expect of such a kingdom in the sky, where everything is taller, brighter, and more formal. Earth (in the setting of New Mexico) is dirty, dusty, and laid-back. In the opening scenes of the film, the two worlds and their characters are separated. The collision that takes place once Thor falls to earth is nothing short of brilliant; classic fish-out-of-water comedy that borders slightly on predictability and yet is just clever enough to elicit great laughter. The action sequences, through both real acting and CGI, are exciting and not drawn out as too many film try to do these days.

Branagh’s directorial strengths lie in two areas: text and actors. The man knows words. And it is through the dialogue that Asgard and Earth are differentiated. Asgard is the Shakespearean side: everyone speaks in rather lofty tones, which a first seems a little strange, but again, just get into the rhythm and it seems perfectly natural. Earth is, well, Earth, and colloquial. The trailer gives away some of the jokes in Thor’s first encounters with earthly communication, and yet this did not stop me from laughing when I saw the film. The Asgardian characters never seem untrue in their dialogue, nor do they waver in its delivery. I have a feeling that this dialogue, in script form, might be a little less than impressive, but the actors pull it off. They know this is not actual Shakespeare, nor is it meant to be delivered as such; but they do understand how to say the words without making them seem trivial or incomprehensible or silly.

Of course, if you’re going to have a king of Asgard, you’d do no better than Anthony Hopkins. I was also surprised to discover that Canadian actor Colm Feore was the King of the Frost Giants (though his performance is vocal, as it is a computer generated character; not that that is a problem with Feore.) The film needs strong older actors such as these, as well as Stellan Skarsgård as an Earth scientist, to helm the film for the younger actors. Chris Hemsworth is perfect as Thor (and he certainly isn’t hard on the eyes either.) I never once failed to take him seriously or believe anything coming out of his mouth. His transformation from arrogant boy to wise adult doesn’t happen in one fell swoop, it happens with every smashed cup and every kick of a bodyguard. Tom Hiddleston is the perfect foil as Loki, and it is a credit to him that, although one knows that in Norse mythology he is the trickster, I was still surprised by each further trick he pulled. And will someone please give Kat Dennings more films roles! She is horribly underused in this one, providing most of the earthly comic relief, and I wonder why she wasn’t cast as the lead female, Jane Foster. I continue to be baffled by the popularity of Natalie Portman. I’m sorry to be harsh, but she is as dull as dishwater, and I could see no reason why Thor would have any interest in Jane. And for those very few racists out there who insisted that a black man shouldn’t play Heimdall, all I can say is just watch the damn movie. Idris Elba is a force of gravity, and in his scenes he draws everyone into him.

In other hands, this film would have been terrible. With Branagh at the helm, I have no doubt it’s going to be one of my top films this summer, and likely the year. He picked the right actors (well, mostly), he directed them well, and he paced the movie perfectly, weaving together its strange and frenetic generic, geographical, and linguistic distinctions seamlessly. My only regret is that due to the few locations where 2D viewing was available, I had to watch it in 3D. It is not necessary, and in fact I would have enjoyed it more in 2D. It looks glorious, it sounds glorious, and I haven’t had so much fun at a film in a long, long time. Bravo, Branagh.

A new trailer for Kenneth Branagh’s live action adaptation of the Marvel’s Thor has hit the web. The action epic stars Chris Hemsworth as the titular Norse god, robbed of his power and cast down to Earth by his father Odin. The film also stars Anthony Hopkins as Odin, and Natalie Portman as his love interest, Jane Foster. See the trailer below.

This new trailer features quite a bit of material not covered in the previous trailers, TV spots or sizzle reels. We’re still a little skeptical about the whole venture, but this trailer has sold us a little more on the idea. Let’s just hope that Thor doesn’t suffer from Iron Man 2-itis, and become nothing more than a setup for Marvel’s mega tentpole Avengers film.

Thor thunders into theatres May 6, 2011.

Superbowl viewers were treated to a quick glimpse of the God of Thunder tonight in the new TV spot for Thor. The Kenneth Branagh directed action epic stars Chris Hemsworth as the titular Norse god, robbed of his power and cast down to Earth by his father Odin. The film also stars Anthony Hopkins as Odin, and Natalie Portman as his love interest, Jane Foster. See the trailer below.

Entertainment Weekly has posted two brand-new photos of Captain America and Thor. Both characters are part of the upcoming Avengers film and have respective movies coming out this year.

Click to enlarge.

Captain America: The First Avenger is directed by Joe Johnston (The Wolfman, The Rocketeer) and stars Chris Evans, Hayley Atwell, Hugo Weaving, Stanley Tucci, Sebastian Stan and Dominic Cooper. This is the first official shot we have of Chris Evans as Steve Rogers in full Captain America regalia (although the film is said to have a few costume switch-ups throughout). A teaser trailer for the film is expected to arrive soon.

Click to enlarge.

Thor is being helmed by veteran actor/director Kenneth Branagh (Hamlet, Sleuth) directing another solid cast, including Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston and Idris Elba. You can view the trailer for Thor here.

Click to enlarge.

In a recent interview, director Johnston commented that it was very important to have the Captain America costume feel real, while remaining faithful to the comic – aside from just using the colours and shield. For example, Captain America needs the wings on his mask; having them painted on his helmet is much cooler and less campy than having actual pieces attached. Branagh has gone on record with similar feeling towards the look and feel of everything in Thor.

These two films are Marvel Studios’ buildup to the eventual Avengers film, and things look to be shaping up nicely. There looks to be something here for newcomers as well as old-school fans.

Thor hits theatres on May 6, 2011, followed by Captain America: The First Avenger on July 22, 2011.

Marvel has released the first official trailer for Thor. The Kenneth Branagh directed action epic stars Chris Hemsworth as the titular Norse god of thunder, robbed of his power and cast down to Earth by his father Odin. The film also stars Anthony Hopkins as Odin, and Natalie Portman as his love interest, Jane Foster.

If you saw the Thor showreel that Marvel debuted at San Diego Comic Con then you’ve already seen much of what is contained in the trailer. While the visuals are stunning, we’re still having a hard time reconciling the huge tonal differences between Thor in the heavenly kingdom of Asgard and Thor stuck on Earth in small town America. The trailer makes Thor feel like two completely different movies, hopefully director Branagh will be able to successfully balance the finished product.

We’re still cautiously optimistic given the huge talent that is involved in the film. As long as Thor can stand on its own two feet as a film and avoid the “Avengers-setupitis” that plague Iron Man 2, Marvel fans should be in for a treat.

Thor thunders into theatres May 6th 2011.

From left to right: Robert Downey Jr., Clark Gregg, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Chris Evans, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner, Mark Ruffalo, writer/director Joss Whedon and Marvel head Kevin Feige. (Click to Enlarge)

Marvel Studios brought out the big guns for their panels at the San Diego Comic Con this weekend. In addition to showing off the first footage from Thor and The First Avenger: Captain America, they assembled the cast of the upcoming Avengers film. Joss Whedon (Serenity, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) was officially announced as the director of the film. Marvel also announced that Mark Ruffalo would indeed be replacing Edward Norton as Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk, as had been rumoured. For those unfamiliar with the comics, The Avengers are a team of Marvel Comics superheroes made up of Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, The Hulk, Hawkeye, Nick Fury, Black Widow, various “lesser heroes” and  S.H.I.E.L.D agents.

The film is basically the biggest comic book movie anyone has ever attempted to make. My own personal feelings about Joss Whedon aside, I tend to agree with people who say he is a great choice for such a large ensemble piece. Whedon has made a career out of ensemble pieces full of witty dialogue and clever retorts and Serenity proved he could do big budget action. It’s going to be a tough balancing act, but at this point you would be hard pressed to name an a suitable alternative.

The success of The Avengers is going to depend greatly on how well the Thor and Captain America films do critically and financially. With the Iron Man and Hulk films laying the groundwork for this new contiguous Marvel film universe, the studio is off to a pretty good start. It is the upcoming films on the Marvel slate that have some heavy lifting to do: Joe Johnston’s Second World War Captain America film and Kenneth Branagh’s cosmic Thor adaptation have their work cut out for them if The Avengers is to be a success. Fan reaction to footage from both films has been overwhelmingly positive, so things at least seem to be on the right track.

Marvel has launched a teaser site for the film, complete with the famous “A” logo, which you can see here.

The Avengers is set for a May 4th, 2012 release.

Hero Complex gives us the first official photo of the three stars of Marvel’s upcoming Thor film being directed by Kenneth Branagh (Hamlet, Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein).

The photo shows Norse God Odin (Anthony Hopkins) alongside his two sons, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston). It’s also worth noting that this is our first look at Thor wielding his famous weapon, the mighty hammer Mjölnir. It looks very similar to the previous unofficial photoshop images released a few weeks back.

The article goes on to discuss Branagh’s decision to add 3-D to the film in post-production, and mentions that Captain America director Joe Johnston test filmed some 3-D scenes for the upcoming First Avenger film. Both directors confirm that their films will be in 3-D, and that they hope to create a better experience for viewers than other more recent conversion attempts.

I think the shot looks amazing and you can really see the detail and effort Branagh is bringing to the table.  With the San Diego Comic-Con just around the corner, hopefully we’ll get a chance to see the film in action.

Thor is set to hit theatres May 20, 2011.

The cast for Kenneth Branagh’s Thor just keeps getting better and better.  Twitch is reporting that the big screen adaptation of Marvel’s Norse hero has added three more extremely talented actors to its already stellar cast.  Tadanobu Asano (Ichi the Killer, Mongol), Ray Stevenson (Rome, Punisher: Warzone) and Stuart Townsend (Queen of the Damned, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) are set to “play Warrior’s Three, a trio of Asgardian adventurers who fight alongside the Norse god.”

It’s exciting to see these three join the cast, particularly Asano.  The enigmatic actor’s presence has me even more intrigued by Branagh’s production.  Stevenson is no stranger to the Marvel universe, having played Frank Castle in the recent Punisher sequel.  In addition, his role as Titus Pullo on the HBO series Rome secured his place as a legendary onscreen bad ass.  Townsend is a talented guy, he deserves a chance to redeem himself after the mess that was The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.

Cameras begin rolling on Thor this January in Los Angeles, with a release date set for May 20th, 2011.

Via Twitch Film

The Heat Vision Blog has some intriguing news about Kenneth Branagh’s big screen adaptation of Marvel Comics Thor, both on the casting and story front.  Word has come down that Sir Anthony Hopkins is in negotiations to play Odin, the chief god of Asgard and the father of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston).  The film sees Thor banished to Earth, forced to live among humanity.  However, when evil forces from Asgard threaten his new home Thor attempts to redeem himself.  Ah, the good old cast-down-god-seeks-redemption story, don’t see that very often.

Hopkins joins a great cast that includes Colm Feore, Natalie Portman and allegedly Robert De Niro and Jude Law.  With Branagh at the helm and a cast like that, the film is shaping up to be one of the most interesting Marvel projects to date.  Thor is certainly heavy on acting talent, hopefully Branagh can match that with a solid story and great action.  Only time will tell, Thor is due in theatres May 20th 2011.

Hello Everyone Jeff here, glad to be back and I’m very excited about this bit of casting news.

Why am I excited? Director Kenneth Branagh has demonstrated an ability to spot talent time and time again for his many film adaptations of Shakespeare plays. He takes stage actors and casts them in unlikely film roles. His selection of respected stage actor Tom Hiddleston for the role of Loki in his upcoming Thor film seems like a natural move for Branagh.

When you cast a Tom Cruise- or Arnold Schwarzenegger-level name to a project, it brings unneeded drama to set, drama unrelated to the project. This creates unwarranted hype and expectations amongst the viewing public, who aren’t going to go see the movie for its own merits, but because there is a big name attached. Think Schwarzenegger in Batman and Robin as Mr. Freeze… although seeing Batman and Robin for its own merits is another issue entirely.

The Doctor Who television series did this best; casting known talented actors as villains and non-household names as the lead characters.

This isn’t a case of a Daredevil or Ghost-Rider where you think, “Okay. I’ll see what Ben Affleck or Nic Cage can bring to this project,” leaving you weeping as you stare at your own crushed expectations. Thor is a project that seems to have things in order, they aren’t building the movie around a star. The calibre of the director and actors involved speak volumes about the potential quality of the movie.

Thor is set for release May 20, 2011.

Deadline Hollywood Daily has confirmed that Chris Hemsworth; who most will recognize as the ill-fated George Kirk from J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot, has been cast as Thor.

The big screen adaptation of Marvel Comics’ Thor is being helmed by Kenneth Branagh, who many considered an unconventional choice to direct. Branagh’s involvement led many to believe that the casting of the Norse God of Thunder would be equally unconventional. Alexander Skarsgård had been favoured by fans for the role of Thor; Branagh was seen having lunch with him on a few occasions, and he seemed the most likely candidate until today’s announcement.

Thor is scheduled for a May 20, 2011 release.

Via Deadline Hollywood Daily