Thor -- REVIEW

Most people would recognize Kenneth Branagh as one of top Shakespearean actors or more recently for his role as Professor Lockhart.  His is a brilliant actor in just about everything he does (even though sometimes over acted), and although this is not his first stab at directing it is his first take at a film of such "epic" proportions. I will however be completely honest with you, if you attempt to watch see Thor in 3D you are wasting your time.  There is NOTHING 3D about this film.  It was NOT shot in 3D -- in fact it was shot in 2D and then converted.  Although the "3D" does not appear as painful as that of Clash of the Titans (only meaning I didn't have a splitting headache by the end of the film) I was thoroughly irritated that I wasted my money when there was no 3D involved.

Aside from that massive fail, Thor was entertaining.  Just like all of Branagh's Shakes films, Thor is very pretty to look at.  The CGI is well done and Asgard is very much a world fit for the comics.  It almost felt like Lord of the Rings had stepped into the world of Heros and traveled back in time only to travel back to present day etc, while also bringing along a few of the monsters from the Buffy/Angel series.  (Sadly I feel like I'm now waiting for the punch line of a "walks into the bar" joke)  There is however one slight downside to this film...

If you have seen any of the Shakes films Branagh directed/acted in, I'm sure that you will start to notice little things about Thor... Say that is sort of feels like Branagh wanted to relive his "glory days" and take the Henry V play and throw it into the comic universe via Thor.  Well there you have it, Thor (who sounds sort of english) goes off to war and just in the midst of a "bloody battle" (fight with Destroyer) the king (Thor) makes a LONG speech to his men (Sif and the Warriors Three) and only to go back into battle to victory. There was even a moment during the film where I half expected Branagh to make a cameo appearance.  There was, of course, the Stan Lee appearance which was hilarious and even the Jeremy Renner appearance (although brief) brought out a few chuckles.  It was almost like Branagh was so caught up in the Hamlet/Henry V aspects of the story that everything else was just glossed over.

Don't get me wrong.  I did not hate Thor.  I found it passable.  It kept me entertained for the full 130 minutes, even though it was a bit of a stretch at times.  I thought Chris Hemsworth was as good a Thor as was needed and his chemistry with Natalie Portman was believable, even though she came across like a bit of a giggly-girl meeting her very first crush.  I found that Kat Dennings as Darcy to actually be the best character, even though she was really only there as the comic relief (which wasn't really needed since Portman was doing well enough with that on her own).  Even Stellan Skarsgard was a fine addition to the cast as Erik Selvig.  I will say that I sort of had a hard time with Tom Hiddleston as Loki though.  He was the only character I felt wasn't really all there and I kept picturing Joseph Gordon-Levitt in his place since it was just as bad a role as Cobra Commander.  They also kinda look alike.   And unfortunately I keep almost forgetting that Anthony Hopkins is even in the film.  I love the man to pieces but Odin is the second least memorable character and his role in the film is so small that I find it hard to believe that Hopkins even accepted the role.  I guess he just wanted to play a few more gods and monsters before retiring.

Over all I give Thor a 2 out of 5.  It's not a film that will blow your mind, but it is at the very least entertaining.  I'm sure that it will do fine in theaters, maybe even well enough for Marvel Studios to attempt a round 2 with the franchise (however I wouldn't hold your breathe since it can't touch the Iron Man franchise with a ten foot pole).  It will be interesting to see what happens to Thor in the Avengers which is due out next week.