My review of "Thor"...
Watched it today, so it's still fresh in my mind.
So, it all started with "OK, yet another comic book character made into a movie." When the trailer was released, I thought "Pfft... whatever. It is just fists and all out action."
When the reviews came in particularly from RT, I was quite surprised. After the abysmal movie I watched previously, I was sure to watch any movies with
"critics reviews first, then viewer response." In other words, the early critical response was the ultimate reason I decided to watch this. Originally I had no interest in watching this, and the trailer did not make it any better since I felt "Captain America" was going to beat this.
The StoryThe plot here is kept simple, sharp and mildly engrossing. I comes close to hitting the 'sweet spot', say of "Spider-Man" or even "Iron Man" but it holds up very well. Daftly directed by Kenneth Branagh, I must say, well done.
The plot definitely keeps the movie going in the right direction. I loved how they started the movie - the war, Asgard, then cut right back to Earth. So casual movie goers would be like "Ahh.... that's how Thor ends up on Earth." That's how you keep the audience fascinated and intrigued. "Thor" caters to both hardcore fans and casual movie goers. It doesn't divide them. The movie also never takes itself too seriously, something most Hollywood movies these days are struggling to keep out. Everyone wants to go "
darker, grittier and meaner". "Thor" definitely takes itself light-heartedly and delivers quite a bit of humor, injected at the right moment. I have to add, even when superhero movies have humor, it usually isn't even funny... probably earning a smile, but here, there are
actual laughs. Again, something recent Hollywood action flicks are lacking.
The PaceRelentless at times especially the action sequences, and it does very well to let you take a breather. Nothing ever feels overly done or exhaustive. It just feels right. Most movies these days tend to give you non-stop action sequences claiming it would make the movie "epic". "Thor" surprisingly pulls itself back at times, restraining from going all-out crazy. Nice one and quite a rarity in action movies of recent times.
The Acting PerformancesNice casting. Chris Hemsworth absolutely nailed the "nature" of Thor and played him very well. It didn't have to take a brilliant actor to play Thor, it just takes a rugged, disheveled and brute person. The fact that Chris did more than that is brilliant. If Iron Man worked big time because of Robert Downey Jr., then without doubt, Thor worked because of Chris Hemsworth. I was quite surprised by Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston. He absolutely delivered a great performance considering how the character of Loki has to deal with his past and present self. The character Odin could have easily been overdone, or overplayed, but Anthony Hopkins did justice. Good stuff. It could have gone very wrong for Mr Hopkins, or it could have gone very right, for the character he plays. Fortunately, it was the latter.
OverallLet's see- a good plot, great cast, nice action sequences, light-hearted, non-disappointing ending. This itself, warrants the movie a nice 8 out of 10. I'll add 0.5 because it surpassed my expectations...
FINAL VERDICTDefinitely worth your money. It's comic book character done right in movies like these that give hope to future Hollywood movie makers wanting to make beloved characters into live action. Kenneth Branagh definitely deserves a pat on his back for job well done. It may not be the most supreme superhero movie, but it gets it right for most part. "Captain America" - - can this summer movie be on par with "Thor" ? If it does, brilliant.
8.5/10