Director: Kenneth Branagh
Screenplay: Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz and Don Payne
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Idris Elba, Stellan Skarsgård, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenston, Tadanobu Asano, Josh Dallas, Jaimie Alexander, Colm Feore, Clark Gregg, Jeremy Renner, Samuel L. Jackson
One-sentence summary: Thor is exiled to Earth by his father after a misguided attempt to single-handedly defeat the Frost Giants, but unbeknownst to either of them, Thor's brother, Loki, plans to use Thor's absence to his advantage.
Review: I had a geek out when I found out that Kenneth Branagh was going to direct Thor. I love Shakespeare and I especially loved Branagh's adaptation of Hamlet, so clearly there had to be something special in Thor for Branagh to sign on, right? And then I began to have misgivings. Why Thor? Admittedly, Thor is one of the Marvel comics I didn't have much interest in, so I had no idea how they were going to translate Thor from the comic books to the big screen without making the origin story something extremely hokey. I had the same concerns with Iron Man, but they did a brilliant job with it, so there was no way they'd let Thor be subpar, right? But has Branagh ever had this much money go into a film?! I made sure to keep my expectations low.
I'm happy to report that Thor is, quite surprisingly, very deep. The filmmakers really reached in and made sure to emphasize that while this was an action-packed summer movie filled with explosions and fights, at its core it was a human drama. You care a lot more about Thor's relationship with the people around him than the big fight with the Destroyer (which, unsurprisingly, ties in quite well with Thor's transformation from arrogant hot-headed jerk to something far more compassionate). I love that Loki (Tom Hiddleston) isn't, at his core, a bad person... he's just more ruthless than most at getting what he wants, and he ended up doing more harm than good.
But the thing I think I love most about the movie is Jane Foster (Natalie Portman). Okay, so maybe the way her relationship with Thor develops is a bit too fast, but she sells it so well that I had no trouble accepting it. They really reinvented Jane for the movie, and I've got to say I like this new version way more than the original comic book version. In fact, the new way they interpret the series' mythology is quite awesome, and making Jane an astrophysicist (and introducing the concept of advanced technology as seeming like magic) just ties in so well that it's a no-brainer.
Thor feels very... Shakespearean. This shouldn't come at any surprise given that it was helmed by Branagh. The existing films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe were already great, but Thor elevates it to another level by grounding the human element of the story and making it every bit as exciting to watch as the special effects-laden setpieces. They have their work cut out for them on Thor 2.
I think I should mention a couple more things. Darcy (Kat Dennings) tends to steal every scene she's in, so be on the lookout for that. Also be on the lookout for references to other films in the MCU. And I highly recommend watching Thor before seeing The Avengers if you haven't seen it by then because it's going to make The Avengers that much more resonant (Loki is the antagonist!).
Final word: Thor is a fantastic film groomed to be a summer blockbuster that exceeds your expectations and delivers a surprisingly grounded story that emphasizes human drama over explosions.
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