Thor (2011)

“Thor” is the fourth entry in the MCU and is arguably one of its least fondly remembered. Directed by Gilderoy Lockhart himself, Kenneth Branagh, it introduced audiences to Thor, Loki, Asgard and several other characters and locations that would become integral pieces in the wider MCU. So how does this 8 year old Shakespeare in Space adventure hold up?

Well for one thing, it’s not as BORING as Shakespeare!

Overall, I like “Thor” quite a lot, it’s far from perfect but it’s still an entertaining film with likeable characters and some stunning visuals.

It’s quite jarring to watch this movie with the benefit of hindsight as the character of Thor has been altered so radically in recent years (I mean just look at his hair, it’s so short now!) It took me a while to fully realise that the protagonist of this film (“Be warned, this boy grows tired of your mockery!”) is also the hero who arrived on Wakanda with a sentient tree and a gun-toting space racoon. Of all the Avengers, Thor has had the most defining and epic character arc throughout the MCU!

Kenneth Branagh’s direction in “Thor” is one of the highlights of the film, he brings a level of grandeur and scope to the story that makes this film feel distinctive. Unlike Alan Taylor’s work on “Thor: The Dark World”, this movie feels as though it was made by a director that had a unique vision that couldn’t have been put to film by a journeyman director (a filmmaker that can craft a movie competently but doesn’t really bring anything out-of-the-box to the table.)

The cinematography in “Thor” is spectacular, whilst the scenes in New Mexico aren’t particularly visually interesting, the sequences set on Asgard look amazing. It’s worth mentioning that this was the final MCU movie to be shot on film rather than on digital, which is probably why “Thor” has such a rich and saturated colour palette.

The cast in “Thor” are mostly good, though certain actors definitely improve in subsequent appearances.

Chris Hemsworth is fantastic as Thor, he handles the action sequences extremely well, but he also has a very comedic screen presence (“I need a horse!”) Hemsworth did a brilliant job of making Thor a relatable hero, even though he begins the story as a brash and petulant prince, his journey to redemption is very compelling.

Speaking of which, this movie is hilarious at times, it hasn’t got the constant quips of “Thor: Ragnarok” (“Hey, let's do 'Get Help'”) but there are several highly amusing moments of fish-out-of-water comedy which offers up a stark contrast to the snarky one-liners of the “Iron Man” films.

Arguably the best performance in the film comes from Tom Hiddleston as Loki. It would have been so easy to make Loki a one-note cackling baddie with no sympathetic traits, but he ends up being one of the best supervillains in all of cinema. Whilst it wasn’t until “Avengers Assemble” that Loki became a definitively brilliant villain in my eyes, he is still a great one here. What makes him stand out from Malekith, Yellowjacket and Kaecilius is that the audience can actually understand where Loki is coming from, his argument makes sense so his turn to villainy is all the more tragic.

Natalie Portman as Jane Foster was pretty good though not great, she had believable chemistry with Chris Hemsworth and was a decent character throughout. Jane could have become a great character if “Thor: The Dark World” hadn’t crowbarred her into a weak narrative, followed by a “mutual dumping” between Portman and Marvel that caused Jane to vanish from the series completely.

The final actor I wish to mention is Sir Anthony Hopkins as Odin. Hopkins is excellent in the more emotional scenes and brings gravitas to the role, but he also tends to become slightly over-the-top and hammy (“BUT YOU'RE NOT KING! Not yet.”)

“Thor” is fairly light on action, the set-pieces it does have are fun but they’re not particularly mind-blowing. There’s a thrilling battle in which Thor, Loki, the Warriors Three and Sif fight off hordes of Frost Giants; the problem is that the scene is so darkly lit that you can’t see what’s happening. The finale is solid but it’s not as incredible as it could have been. My favourite scene is Thor’s attempt to take back Mjolnir; it’s very enjoyable (even though it ends up revolving around Thor rolling around in the mud.)

I also appreciate that “Thor” is very much set in the fantasy genre, even though it also includes elements of science-fiction, it’s very much a traditional tale of gods, myths and monsters. This is one of the aspects of the MCU that I love the most, that each film is set within its own sub-genre; “Guardians of the Galaxy” is a crazy sci-fi comedy whilst “Captain America: Civil War” is a political thriller. This means that the movies don’t all blend into one as each one feels different to the next.

The final point I wanted to make is that Patrick Doyle’s score is brilliant, it’s majestic and sweeping, grand and extravagant!

I don’t really have any criticisms with “Thor.” It doesn’t attempt to be the biggest or best MCU movie, it incorporated the cosmic side of the MCU whilst grounding the narrative in a human story very well. “Thor” is essential for later MCU stories so it’s definitely worth a watch!