Its hammer time at the movies this weekend. Thor, the sledgehammer superhero feels like an amuse-bouche for the big Avengers movie coming up next year, but with its rippling muscles, crazy mythology and giant Frost monsters, it’s still a bit of fun. Not “Iron Man” fun, but more of a good time than you’d imagine a superhero movie directed by Kenneth Branagh might be.
Based on the Marvel comic book, the action in “Thor” really begins with our hero about to be named king by his father (Anthony Hopkins). Seconds before daddy says the words, “You are king,” Frost Giants from an enemy realm interrupt the ceremony. Furious that his big day has been marred Thor (Chris Hemsworth) disobeys his father and skips realms to confront the invaders. The punishment for his reckless, arrogant behavior is banishment to Earth and the arms of meteorologist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), which isn’t so bad, but he misses his home planet.
Branagh brings a Shakespearean feel to the story, blending all the bard’s universal themes—love, deception, death and daddy issues—with the stuff of superhero movies. Classing up the joint a little bit is Anthony Hopkins, although the way he chews the scenery it’s like he hasn’t eaten in a month.
Unlike its star, however, the incredibly buff Chris Hemsworth, the movie is a bit soft in the middle. It starts off well, slows to a crawl midway, but as soon as Thor Gets His Groove back… er… Gets His Hammer Back the movie gets back on track.
The big problem here is the love story. Natalie Portman may be the hottest women in Hollywood right now, but the pirouettes that propelled her to Oscar glory this year are noticeably missing here. I think she’s miscast, a feeling reinforced by the presence of Kat Dennings in a throwaway role that she turns into a charismatic supporting part on the strength of her quirky comic timing. This movie would have more zip in the deadly mid section if she was the lead.
As for Hemsworth, initially I didn’t know if he was going to cut it with his oh-so-serious line delivery, but later, when he’s on earth he seems to be having fun as “the Mighty Thor” slow to realize he’s lost his powers. The dramatic delivery brings a laugh when he goes into a pet store demanding to buy a horse so he can continue his journey. The movie actually is a lot funnier than I thought it would be, which, for a movie featuring costumes that wouldn’t look out of place in a Chippendale’s show is saying something.
“Thor” is a good popcorn movie, but be warned, it’s thunderously loud. Louder than Thor’s snores after a Busgrogg binge. Take earplugs.
“The Avengers,” the new all-superhero-all-the-time Marvel movie, was going to go one of two ways. Either it would be a Frankenstein of the movie; a stitched together monstrosity that cannibalized the remains of the successful movies that came before.
Or it could have been a state-of-the-art geek fest that wove together the separate backstories of its lead characters—Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), The Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner)—into one seamless super-cool spectacle.
Luckily it’s the former. Director and co-writer Joss Whedon was up to the unenviable task of mixing and matching mythologies, combining them into one epic film that sets a new benchmark for superhero movies (at least until “The Dark knight Rises” comes out).
At stake is nothing less than the freedom of every man, woman and child on earth. The trouble starts when Thor’s brother, exiled god Loki (Tom Hiddleston), steps through a portal into the super secret S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters. Confronted by Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) Loki explains his intention steal S.H.I.E.L.D.’s most coveted possession, the Tesseract, a glowing cube that holds the key to unlimited sustainable energy. Of course Loki isn’t interested in creating green energy, he wants to rule the world. Fury knows that he is “hopelessly and hilariously out-gunned,” but if there is a chance to save the planet it lies in the skills of a disparate group of superheroes– Iron Man, Captain America, The Hulk, Thor–and their helpers–Black Widow and Hawkeye.
“The Avengers” has everything you expect from a superhero—or should that be superheri?—movie and more. All the usual clichés are in place—the earth is in peril, there’s giant action set pieces, a super villain with super powers and special effects galore, including the now-standard-for-every-superhero-movie lightening beam from earth to sky—but the best special effect is Joss Whedon’s expert juggling of the major characters.
Each if the lead heroes are stars in their own right, and each has already had their own movie. Whedon’s job was to bring them together, allow each time to shine, but also work together as an ensemble. He succeeds. As the nominal lead Downey Jr. smarms his way through his now trademarked “Iron Man” one liners, Evans emerges as a thoughtful symbol of patriotism, and Hemsworth flexes his muscles in a most impressive way. This olio of heroism gives us what we want from the characters but also freshens the formula.
It’s Ruffalo, however, who really impresses.
The Hulk has had a tough time on the big screen. Ang Lee’s version flopped. The Ed Norton adaptation didn’t really work, but Ruffalo and Whedon have finally figured out how to balance the Hulk’s humanity with his fury. You’ll like him when he gets angry.
“The Avengers” embraces the high-octane tradition of superhero movie—although this movie is by no means wall-to-wall action—but tempers it with sparkling dialogue, geek wit and the silly pleasure of seeing grown men in costumes spouting one-liners as they try and save the planet.
Its hammer time at the movies this weekend. Thor, the sledgehammer superhero feels like an amuse-bouche for the big Avengers movie coming up next year, but with its rippling muscles, crazy mythology and giant Frost monsters, it’s still a bit of fun. Not “Iron Man” fun, but more of a good time than you’d imagine a superhero movie directed by Kenneth Branagh might be.
