Who ever had the idea of asking Kenneth Branagh to direct Thor should be at this very moment have their feet up, smoking a cigar and drinking a very large glass of Champagne.
That is unless you are reading this in September, in which case he/she will have already been sacked and are now busking Mary Hopkins numbers along Sunset Boulevard for their next meal.
Because Thor is a great movie, and after a distinctly average run of Marvel / DC comic book adaptations recently, it feels like a return to the glory days of ‘Super’ films.
The secret to Thor’s success is the respect director Branagh has shown the characters and story, there is a Tempest-like grandeur to proceedings here, and it’s a job he has taken the job seriously. It’s almost like someone has told him it was written by William Shakespeare and not Stan Lee.
Now I am the sort of person who avoids trailers, and spoilers, so if you want to know the plot.. google it. OR do what our incredibly annoying local cinema did and watch the 30 second trailer that is on immediately before the film starts.
Don’t they get it? We are already there, we’re not going to leave before it starts..
Ggggrrrrrr…
Anyhoo, back to the film, Anthony Hopkins is good as Odin, Thor’s Father and so is new(ish)comer Chris Hemsworth, as Thor. In fact the whole cast get the tone of the movie just right, not too hammy, and not ‘Bard’ either… a task I’m sure at times was difficult with the huge amount of special effects taking place on the green screens behind them.
There are nice changes of pace between Thor’s world and ‘our’ world that keep the film from dragging and there is a Clarke Kent / Lois Lane sparkle to Thor’s love interest in Natalie Portman which is both innocent and fun.
If I had to watch it again I would go 2D instead of 3D, because while some of the landscape scenes look fantastic, some of the fast action is a bit blurry.
With the new Avengers film on the way, this won’t be the last we see of Thor (or his hammer) and personally I can’t wait to see more.
Well done Ken, now what about doing Macbeth in Smellyvision?