By the Hammer of Thor!

I'm not going to lie to you. I was very sceptical when I went to watch Thor the other week. As much as I love comic book films, I do feel let down occasionally by the results (please read X-Men Origins: Wolverine). And the set up for Thor lead me to thinking this would be another in that classification of comic-book adaptations. Whether this had something to do with my lack of knowledge of the lightening god from the comic-book world, other than he spoke funny and like to swing about a hammer with an unpronounceable name, I am not sure. Or it may have to do with signing up Kenneth Branagh to direct, a man widely known for his Shakespearean adaptations rather than a source material from Marvel Studios. So suffice it to say, my expectations weren't exactly high on entering the cinema. But boy, did the feature itself change my mind!

The plot is classic Shakespeare, which explains how Branagh handles it so well. The power struggle, feuding heirs, and Machiavellian siblings, its all there, and it is all portrayed convincingly in a digitised world of deities that is Asgard. The plot plays the perfect backdrop to some astounding action sequences which really keep the pace of the film up. Think Macbeth, but with ice-giants and fire shooting suits of armour. Sounds good yeah? Well it is. It is very good.

And the key to keeping this film watchable, is the comparison of this fantasy world, with Thor's interactions with our world after being banished by his father. It is mainly these sections which provide the comic relief in the movie, and Chris Hemsworth manages to pull off the 'fish-out-of-water' routine very well. Watching this mountain of a man with a mane of golden hair march into a pet store and demand a horse, or a cat or dog big enough to ride, really hits the spot. while the supporting cast of mortal characters mainly serve to look on in astonishment at his behaviour, they play the perfect straight acts against this gos amongst men. Natalie Portman isn't exactly stretched by her role in this film, but is distractingly beautiful throughout, and tries to bring what depth she can to the character. As a side note, it should be know I am a massive fan of Portman, so I am likely to be unashamedly praising of almost anything she does. You have been warned.

To back up Thor and take up some of the more comic moments from him as the plot progresses, therefore allowing him to take on a more serious role as the film approaches it's denouement, are his quartet of fellow god warriors. They comprise of a variety of archetypal characters from history to show the diversity of this culture of heavenly soldiers. There is the rapier wielding cavalier (twirly moustache included), the axe bearing viking (complete with russet beard), the Xena huntress (breastplates as standard), and the stoic samurai (ethnic diversity, tick). These characters tend to steal the scenes they are involved in, as they are assigned some of the best tongue in cheek Shakespearean dialogue. Mt personal favourite being when the viking character is chastised for eating so much, offer the rebuke of "Do not mistake my appetite for apathy!". By holstering the lighter parts of the plot from Thor, they allow him to continue his journey to the climax of the film, and his face off with his brother, Loki.

Loki, in this film played by Tom Hiddleston, is a truly great villain, and Hiddleston does an absolutely stellar job of playing him. Treading the full character arc from seeming ally, to arch nemesis, Loki is a character you can easily hate, but still leaves you with a sense of sympathy for his predicament. The intensity in which he confronts his father about the legitimacy of his birth draws real tension from a character who has up until then held him self with a disarmingly calm demeanour. As the plot progresses, and we see that Loki is intent of the destruction of the race of ice-giants, we start to see his descent into madness at the discovery of his inception, massively parallelling some of the great characters of Shakespeare. This leaves him aptly treading the line between hard done by son of a god, and evil genius. Almost an anti-villain.

Whatever you thoughts on comic-book films, I would highly recommend trying to catch this while it is still in the cinemas. If it has gone already, I would urge you to eagerly await its DVD release. It is a welcome addition to the Marvel Studios collection, and paves the way well for the upcoming Avengers film. Especially if you knowingly wait until after the credits for the compulsory post film extra, which leaves with a massive teaser of what is come in Marvel Studios future.

Happy viewing...