“Thor"

By Bob Garver

__-_ Half of “Thor” takes place in our world, half of it takes place in another world. The film isn’t very good in either world. The scenes in the other world are unique and visually impressive, but I never made the connection to the world that the film needed me to make. As for the scenes in our world, they are supposed to hit us as familiar, but the characters are so uninteresting and underdeveloped that they have no place in any world.
__-_ The other world is a distant realm called Asgard. Their king Odin (Anthony Hopkins) once saved the universe from an army of evil Frost Giants, who were then banished to another distant realm. Now Odin is getting on in years and the time has come to pass on his crown. Should he give it to son Loki (Tom Hiddleston)? No, Loki’s a wimp, nobody respects him, and his behavior is so shady you’d be shocked if he didn’t turn out to be a villain. Better give it to Thor (Chris Hemsworth). He commands respect and can defend the realm himself with his mighty hammer Mjilnor. He’s a bit hot-headed and a bit on the arrogant side, but he’s still easily the best choice. Thor is set to be coroneted when a few Frost Giants ruin the occasion.
__-_ Thor’s instinct is to go fight the Frost Giants in their own realm. Odin wants to wait and see if the Frost Giants really want a war. Thor disobeys his father and takes the kingdom’s best warriors to go fight the Frost Giants. A battle ensues that is supposed to be the best action sequence in the film. It is the best only by default. At this point in the film we have no idea what any of the characters including Thor himself can do exactly. The warriors of Asgard are apparently endowed with superpowers, but these powers are used before it’s established that the characters have them. For example, the Frost Giants learn the hard way that Mjilnor can shoot lasers. The scene doesn’t work because we didn’t know the hammer could shoot lasers either. For all we knew it was just a blunt object.
__-_ Thor wins the battle, but he has now officially started a war between Asgard and the Frost Giants. Odin is furious, and he strips Thor of his powers and banishes him to Earth. It’s probably just as well for the story because I was just not sympathetic to Asgard. The film gives us no feel for their culture. It seems like all they do is prepare for war and serve the royal family. Thor crash-lands on Earth and is rescued by astrophysicist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). Mjilnor is also thrown to Earth, where it immediately attracts attention from superhero followers S.H.I.E.L.D.
__-_ Thor spends the rest of the film trying to rescue his hammer and return home. He has to go through S.H.I.E.L.D., who we know to be good guys but here function as a sort of enemy because they don’t understand Mjilnor’s history and purpose. Thor also has to adjust to life on Earth, and the film wastes time with “fish out of water” awkwardness. He eventually falls in love with Jane (who frankly loses credibility for falling for the muscle-bound weirdo so easily) and comes to wish to remain on Earth. But pressing matters back home with Odin, Loki, and the Frost Giants force him to press on.
__-_ “Thor” is directed by Kenneth Branagh, best known for film adaptions of Shakespeare plays. This explains the sophistication and eloquence in the scenes set in Asgard. It does not explain why we never get a proper background for our heroes’ powers or why the majority of scenes set on Earth are so painfully stiff. “Thor” is supposed to be one of the biggest movies of 2011. It will be a sad year for movies if this is the best we can do.

Two stars out of five.

“Thor” is rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence. Its run time is 110 minutes.