LogFAQs > #967225693

Thor
Release Date: May 6, 2011
Stand-Out Character: Odin (played by Anthony Hopkins)
Best Scene: Thor vs. Loki on the Bifrost

Man do I sure have opinions about Thor. I think I like it more than most though. Needless to say, it's very different than the Thor we get nowadays.

Thor is about... Thor, who is manipulated by his brother Loki to disobey his father Odin's wishes and sparks a war with the Frost Giants. Odin banishes Thor to Earth and declares him not worthy of wielding his hammer, Mjolnir. Loki, meanwhile, discovers that he was really an adopted Frost Giant and confronts his father, who falls into a God Coma and he assumes the throne. Later, Loki attempts to kill Thor with the Destroyer while also attempting to destroy the Frost Giant's home to assert his position as King. Thor proves himself worthy when combatting the Destroyer and then returns to fight Loki, eventually besting him and supposedly Loki dies. Thor then turns down the crown, saying he isn't ready to be king just yet.

I have been doing what I like first and then what I don't like, so I guess I'll keep doing it this way.

For those unaware, Kenneth Branagh directed this, and he is the most Shakespeare guy to ever Shakespeare. He dedicated practically his whole career to Shakespeare and the theater, and bringing in him was a brilliant idea for Thor. Because you see, we're essentially dealing with a Shakespearean story. We have familial betrayal, banishment and finding who you are, drama with thrones, and a little love at first sight. We're looking at a full blown Shakespearean tale here, and this sets up everything I think we all really love about the Thor side of the MCU.

In particular, the highlight of the film is absolutely Thor and Loki's relationship. It's the highlight of the entire Thor franchise, frankly. Loki is selfish, bitter, jealous, and insecure, and all he wants is acceptance and to break out of Thor's shadow. It's a relatable thing in a world of wild superhero stories. And to find out that he's a bastard truly breaks him and makes him even more angry, and he feels justified even. Before he was ready to just get rid of Thor and become the favorite child, but upon realizing he was lied to his entire life? He demanded more. Tom Hiddleston portrays this perfectly. His scenes where he's acting as king are tremendous because he's such a tremendous blend of casually cruel and manipulative. This is where Kenneth Branagh was perfect: he is the one that found Tom Hiddleston from his career in theater. Without Branagh, we wouldn't have what I consider probably one of the most perfect castings in the MCU. Hiddleston just blows it away in his performance.

But you know who else blows it away? Anthony Hopkins as Odin. Shocker of all shockers, Anthony Hopkins is an extraordinary actor. For me, this movie isn't nearly as powerful without him. Such a perfect casting as Odin--he was just the only one I can picture in it. The speech Odin gives when he banishes Thor is so tremendous, and only Anthony Hopkins could pull it off this well. He's stern, stubborn, and bold. He's a kind and he takes absolutely no shit from a single person. He just embodies everything a king should be. I love, love, love his performance in this.

I also love Asgard in general. It's an amazing set piece. I wish I knew who was responsible for all of the Asgard stuff because it's gorgeous and so well put together and they do a great job immersing you in this world. The worldbuilding is great for everything Asgard and I think that's overlooked often, because you really get a feel for how it all works.

Oh and Selvig is great. Give us Selvig again. His scenes are really good for what they are. Coulson is also great, but I don't need to tell you guys that again.

And back to Thor and Loki--the final scene culminating everything is so well done. The action isn't necessarily anything to write home about (in the whole movie tbh). But their back and forth where Thor still expresses his love for Loki in the face of everything that his brother has done, and wanting desperately to stop him from going too far not just to save Jotunheim, but to save Loki himself from doing something abhorrent is brilliant. And then Loki, selfish as ever, choosing to fall into the abyss is just the perfect end to their fight. Absolutely awesome stuff in this last scene, and Kenneth Branagh really shined here putting it together.

And uh, that's all I really love. Let me talk about my problems with this.

Kenneth Branagh is not the greatest director you've ever seen. He has such a great mind for a lot of things. Character blocking (where the characters are standing in scenes), in particular, stands out where I wouldn't say it for literally any other MCU film. The scenes where it's just dramatic speaking where nothing else is going on are immaculately filmed. And then sometimes he gives you more freaking dutch angles than you can imagine. Jesus Christ, this camera is always on tilt what the fuck. I understand WHY they do it sometimes, but other times it is just in a dutch angle for absolutely no reason! And everything is so dark and bland on the human world and Jotunheim and I think it's meant to make Asgard pop more but it makes it feel so dreary and dark. But the dutch angles are very distracting, for real. And the action scenes are... so-so. Lacking, really.

I also don't love a lot of the Earth stuff too much and I think a lot of it gets dry with sparks of good stuff strewn in. For instance, I think people give Thor and Jane's relationship too much shit. They say they have a very unnatural love story, but I don't really think so. Jane is initially smitten by this seemingly crazy, incredibly handsome man. Who can blame her? She shows disinterest for a while, but then it's where Chris Hemsworth really shines in this film by showing humanity. He's a god, he's selfish, he's arrogant, but fuck does he ever care about people. He shows such a gentle kindness to Jane in this movie that by the time they really connect, I think it feels more earned than people remember. There's an element of Jane falling for him easily, but Thor is a complete sweetheart after the crazy phase and when he's just decided to stay on Earth.

I really do think this movie is a bit too dry though. The acting is top notch, but it all has this undercut of... dryness to it. Like very sanitized. I feel maybe Branagh leaned into the Shakespearean elements a bit too hard and forgot to make this just a little bit more fun. There's fun to be had, but it feels muted still.

I'm also not entirely in love with everything leading up to Thor becoming worthy and transforming again. I think it's a bit overdramatic and doesn't really feel too satisfying. I feel like it could have been more... interesting? I don't think that's an unfair assessment. And the fact that most of the movie Thor is just straight brawling with dudes in SHIELD and stuff is... well, also not great. It could stand to be more exciting also. There's just a lot here that isn't necessarily interesting or exciting enough, even if the overall idea is good.