There is little more awesome than standing on the verandah of a house watching a thunderstorm. It is also understandable that the ancients attributed such incredible display of nature to the gods. For them, the god of thunder was Thor. If you have ever watched a thunderstorm you would have felt small and overwhelmed by its power. Unfortunately, while Thor: God of Thunder is entertaining, it doesn’t quite rise to the heights of an actual thunderstorm!
The story is simple. Asgard is the home of Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and his two sons, Thor (Chris Hemworth) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston). It is one of the nine realms of the universe. Odin has previously suppressed the warfaring nation of Frost Giants and there has been relative peace for many years. Odin is getting old and needs to make one of his heirs king. After Thor disobeys his father and attacks the Frost Giants and reignites the ancient war between the two nations, Odin banishes Thor to earth as punishment. Loki, his rival brother, attempts to keep Thor banished in order to take the throne. In the process, Thor learns what it means to be a true hero – with a bit of romance on the way.
Thor is certainly entertaining and moves along at a fairly rapid pace, apart from a dull patch in the middle. There are moments of brilliant space photography and the fight scenes are pretty impressive. Overall, though, the story is pretty inconsequential with common themes of true heroism, sacrifice for others, loyalty and betrayal. The music by Patrick Doyle (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire) is dramatic and Kenneth Branagh (Hamlet, Frankenstein, Henry V) does a good job of direction. His conceptualisation of the story was a Norse/comic-book twist on William Shakespeare’s Henry V) – something I will leave to those better acquainted to Shakespeare to comment on. Natalie Portman stars as Jane Foster, the love interest, but doesn’t shine as much as she does in recent work such as The Black Swan.
Thor is entertaining but I’ll vote for a real thunder storm any day!
PS: Make sure you stay for the end of the credits – there is a taster for The Avengers and you will see what happens to one of the main characters of Thor.
Positive Review
'The 3D is ace and the effects are spectacular, making this the most thoroughly enjoyable superhero flick since Iron Man.’ - David Edwards/Daily Mirror
Negative Review
'Somebody, somewhere, is proud of the art direction and animation that brings this city to life, but it just looks like a Lord of the Rings fan film.’ – Nick Deigman/Fan the Fire
Content Advice
intense sequences of frenetic violence, some menace and language
AUS: M
USA: PG-13
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