Review

Review Date: 8-May-11
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Juicy

Thor (2011)

Since I don't read comic books, it was unclear to me how the Norse god Thor — son of Odin, wielder of thunder, name-giver to the day before Friday — became part of the Marvel superhero stable and member of a team that includes such earthly characters as Iron Man. (There, I pointed the way to Joss Whedon's upcoming Avengers movie like a dutiful Hollywood acolyte.) But one of the pleasures of Kenneth Branagh's (?!) Thor is how it melds the hero's ancient, otherworldly origins with his role as caped crusader in modern-day America. This is a movie where magic and science, or at least newfangled technology, happily coexist. And one where special effects serve rather than overwhelm the story at hand.

Like other possible franchise-starters, Thor has an introductory feeling and, appropriately, it is a coming-of-age tale. On his home planet of Asgard, Thor (Chris Hemsworth, a flesh-and-blood god if ever there was one) starts off as the golden heir to the throne, all power and confidence and lust for glory. He isn't content to hang out in a nifty astral palace with his warrior friends and beloved brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston, who is perfectly cast and, with a different hairdo, could play the live-action version of Shrek's foe Rumpelstiltskin). With slight provocation Thor attacks a race of rival beings and endangers the peace brokered by his father (Anthony Hopkins). For this he is chastised and banished to Earth.

He lands in New Mexico, where he is found by a beautiful scientist (Natalie Portman), her mentor (Stellan Skarsgård), and her comical assistant (Kat Dennings). Babbling about which realm he's in and his missing hammer of power, Mjöllnir, he comes across as a nutcase. Still, his good looks win over the females, and Portman really takes his side when they acquire a common enemy in a government agent who confiscates her research. The mystifying presence of Mjöllnir also interests the agent; more importantly, it serves as an instrument for the hero's journey. Rather like the Arthurian sword in the stone, Odin has sent the hammer to Earth after its master but placed some mojo on it so it cannot be grasped by the unworthy. When Thor first battles through government forces to retrieve Mjöllnir, he cannot remove it from the ground.

Hemsworth proves he's more than a pretty package in this scene of failure, and again when Loki tricks him into believing he can never return to Asgard. Thus shattered, Thor discovers humility. When Loki sends a giant killing machine to finish off him and his friends, Thor also finds previously untapped gifts for compassion and leadership. In this way he wins back his hammer and becomes both the god Odin wants him to be and a protector of humankind. The movie ends where it begins, in the sparkling halls of Asgard, where he battles to set things right. But his eyes look back to Earth where, Avengers or no, there remains the longing for a hero.

Copyright © 2011 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.