Thor

Now I have to admit that when I heard this movie was going to be directed by Kenneth Branagh I wasn't all that excited to see it but I'm glad I changed my mind. Going in I always thought there were two kinds of super hero movies, the good kind which encompassed films like Superman and Superman II, the Spider Man movies, the first two X-Men films and certain others. Then there are the bad kind like the Fantastic Four films, The Incredible Hulk films, the last X-Men film, and the rest of the Supermen films after the first two. I wondered where Thor would fall and I can surprisingly say it belongs in the good batch and I'll be damned if it didn't raise the bar.

As stated above Thor is directed by one of the preeminent Shakesperean actors of our day and it was a job well done. Kenneth Branagh lately has been known stateside thanks to the Harry Potter movies where he plays the inept professor Gilderoy Lockhart. He has directed other films but none of them were commercial standouts. There's nothing on his directorial resume that would lead anyone to think that he could pull this movie off but he is a competent director as well as a confident one and he had a pretty good story to work with which always helps. A pretty good cast doesn't hurt either and he definitely had that. Starting with two Oscar award winners in Natalie Portman and Sir Anthony Hopkins the cast also includes the likes of Idris Elba, Stellan Skarsgard, Rene Russo, Samuel L. Jackson, Jeremy Renner as Hawkeye, and the relative newcomer Chris Hemsworth who plays the God of Thunder. You last saw him play George Kirk the doomed father of James T. Kirk in JJ Abrams Star Trek reboot and if you blinked you missed him in A Perfect Getaway as Kale. This is his first starring role and he was great. The story deals with the spoiled and arrogant future King of Asgard who starts a war with the Frost Giants even after his father, King Odin forbade him not to. For this Odin bannishes Thor from Asgard and sends him to languish on Earth.

There's palace intrigue and treachery, sibling rivalry that turns in seething jealousy between Thor and his brother Loki who holds a very interesting secret about his past and where he comes from. Odin knows Thor can and will be a great king but he also knows that Thor has a lot of growing up to do. And while you wonder why Odin would pick Earth of all places to bannish his son to it seems to be the right planet for the job. He falls for Jane Foster played by Natalie Portman and she teaches him that there are some things worth risking your life for. Until he learns that lesson, his mighty hammer remains stuck in the earth like Excalibur. The moment Thor faces down the Destroyer and puts his life on the line does he become worthy of reclaiming his hammer, his power, and his place back in Asgard.

The film is a joy to watch, it's charming and at times completely hilarious. If you ever read any of the comic books you would have to admit that visually and costume wise the movie is stunning. The pages of the comics are wonderfully brought to life so the movie for real Thor fans is very much worth the wait and if Alexandra Byrne isn't at least nominated for her costume designs then something is just wrong in the world. The score is done by Patrick Doyle who over his career has had more misses than hits with his scoring capabilities and this time it's more miss than hit. Thankfully he's scoring a film that doesn't need to be carried by the music so you barely notice the trite heroic themes that well up from time to time. That being said, this movie is definitely worth the price of admission.

See you at the theater.