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May 22, 2018gord_ma rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Or the one with Point Break hair.  Until recently, the Thor films were much neglected by the general populace. Everybody seemed to like Chris Hemsworth, everybody seemed to like Thor, and everybody seemed to like Chris Hemsworth’s Thor. And the same with Tom Hiddleson’s Loki. But how many casual viewers saw [Thor] and [Thor: The Dark World] at the cinema out of their own volition?  Regardless, Kenneth Branagh’s [Thor] was the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film that opened the doors of a once Earth-bound film series to the Marvel Universe, with a history both ancient, dark, and glorious, and a future that could also be glorious still.  A family tragedy of universal proportions, [Thor] was the story of two brothers, Thor and Loki, both born to be kings, who fought and squabbled for the love of their parents’ and the people of Asgard. And in the end, the Nine Realms suffered.  For anyone wondering it, the road to [Avengers: Infinity War] began with [Thor].  Kenneth Branagh’s direction is largely competent and sometimes quite apt. The sound and special effects were amazing. Acting was good with the stellar cast of [Thor]: Hemsworth (Thor), Hiddleson (Loki), Anthony Hopkins (Odin), Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), Stellan Skarsgard (Erik Sevig), Kat Dennings (as the hilarious Darcy), Idris Elba (Heimdall), Jaimie Alexander (Sif), Ray Stevenson (Volstagg), Tadanobu Asano (Hogun) Josh Dallas (as the best Fandral), Rene Russo (Frigga), and Colm Feore (Laufey). However, the plot didn’t really rise above expectations and the many of the characters just aren’t that interesting given how little we saw of those who weren’t Thor, Loki, Odin, and Jane. The dialogue was proper and its delivery was… proper. Though sometimes, it seemed like the actors powered through the script.  The film is funny, both in the fish-out-of-water New Mexico segments and in Asgard.  Contemporary film critics, none less than Roger Ebert and A.O. Scott, criticized what they saw in [Thor] as a porous plot, thin characters, an excess of special effects, poor direction, and the predictability of the New Mexico scenes. However, I felt that they were overreacting to the spectacle of Marvel Comics’ Thor.  The story of Marvel’s Thor is the original story of a god exiled to Earth in order to learn humility. The character was introduced in 1962 and it is such a well known story, like Spider-Man, Superman or Batman, that I wonder if any origin story about an established superhero presented as it was could be anything else other than predictable.  The saving grace of [Thor] is Patrick Doyle’s score, that remains one of the best and most memorable scores in the MCU and among superhero films.   MCU Introductions: entire cast, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye   MCU Minor Cast Additions: Maximiliano Hernandez as Jasper Sitwell   Marvel Moments:  #11 – Asgard  #12 – The Bifrost  #13 – Banishment  #14 – “Then give me one of those large enough to ride.”  #15 – He can’t move the hammer