Spider-Man was obvious, X-Men...marketable, Captain America...inevitable but after the financial and critical success of Iron Man the door was open to allow Marvel Films to bring some of their second tier characters to life on the big screen. Thor, I believe, was a pretty big gamble for them.
Far from a sure bet, the Gods of Norse mythology having been all but eradicated from the brave new world that we inhabit, just how were Marvel going to do justice without it becoming a Beowulf-esque mess the answer, my dear friends, was the masterstroke of hiring Kenneth Branagh to helm this chapter in ongoing 'shared' universe.
Branagh is a man who knows his way round tales of brotherly intrigue and fallen princes, of old kings in grand palaces and of machiavellian schemes and betrayal not only that but he's no slouch as an actor himself so all the pieces fit. But how would he handle the all guns blazing action to appease the multiplex masses? I'm pleased to say to that the answer to that particular question is 'Very admirably. Thank you very much'.
This review will contain minor spoilers (depending on your mileage) so you may wish to turn back now safe in the knowledge that, to me, this is the best Marvel film yet and is a great movie in and of itself and that you should have no hesitation in plunking down your cash to see this in all it's glory. If you have the opportunity you should see it in IMAX, this movie deserves the very best viewing that you can afford.
So for those of us hardy souls who continue, here's a shot from the first part of the movie...
The movie proper begins with a swift summation of who the Gods are, their backstory and a sweeping aerial tracking shot through the kingdom and spires of Asgard and into the Throne Room of King Odin Allfather where the masses of Asgard are gathered for the return and seeming coronation of Prince Thor Odinson. This also provides us with our first glimpse of the Warriors Three from the funny books and they look PERFECT.
Not however as perfect as Asgard looks. In every single shot of the Realm of Asgard I was taken about with how beautifully the practical sets were built, lit and shot. The CGI enhancements adding to the golden splendour.
Vainglorious and arrogant Thor disobeys his father by leading an assault onto another realm by way of the Rainbow Bridge Bifrost and proceeds to make his way through a seeming checklist of what I wanted to see a live action Thor do, swing Moljnir, fly, bring down the lightning and generally kick large amounts of booty.
Needless to say, it all goes a little bit pear-shaped for the raiding party and they have to be rescued by Odin himself who, as punishment banishes Thor to Midgard (Earth) until he is truly worthy to take up the mantle of King and Guardian of Asgard.
The film then splits into two branches the Earth-bound 'fish out of water' tale and the Asgard based Shakespearean power struggle which carries the movie through to the climatic confrontation and the lessons learned.
There are beautiful nods to both the shared universe and the comics strewn across this movie most notably the intervention of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the by now ubiquitous Agent Coulson who would really like to know who this large blond warrior of a man is, where he comes from and why there is a large Hammer stuck into the ground in New Mexico.
This time however, Coulson has some assistance from an archer named Barton...Hmm I wonder who that could be (psst. for the non-comic books geeks...he's Hawkeye one of The Aven...Ah, I'll get to that later).
Needless to say after an encounter with the Destroyer, Thor takes back the mantle of the Prince of Asgard and returns to Asgard for the epic final confrontation which is, quite literally, earth shattering.
I cannot get over how well the Asgardian realm was handled, featured, used and explained in this movie. It is a Comic Book Geek's mad-acid tinged wet dream come to life. Jack Kirby himself would, I suspect, be VERY pleased with the translation from his imagination to the screen.
However, special mention MUST go to Sir Anthony Hopkins, the welsh wonder, for bringing his chops to the table and simply inhabiting Odin Allfather in a way that we've not seen from Hopkins in a long, long time. Yes, this film is not Shadowlands but Hopkins still delivers an extremely strong performance as a weary yet benevolent ruler and father. This will, of course be ignored by most critics as they will dismiss this as a 'Comic Book Movie' and therefore not entirely worthy of praise but I am steadfast in my belief that not a single member of this cast 'phoned it in' which, of course, makes for an intensely dramatic two hours.
This has, as I said above, proved that it doesn't always have to be only the top tier of characters that get a look in and get the treatment that they deserve. Thor is a worthy chapter in the shared universe cannon that the Marvel Universe takes to the next level with the upcoming Joss Whedon helmed movie The Avengers (which co-incidentally began shooting today somewhere in New Mexico). Before that though we've got Captain America to look forward to in July which, from what I have seen, will be yet another step up for the franchise.
Ryan Reynolds has got one hell of a bar to reach for in this June's 'Green Lantern' and unfortunately I think he'll fall short, by a long chalk.
As the spell of a grieving father once went 'Whoever so hold this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor'...
He was Worthy, we are not.
Oh...by the way...just in case you don't usually do this, stay and watch the credits for not only a sumptuous visual 3D feast, not only for the amazingly Bondian 'Thor will return in The Avengers' final credit but for the BEST post-credit sequence yet.
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