'Thor' lives up to epic status
By Matt Grantz, Assistant Editor
May 17, 2011
  “Thor” is the latest entry in Marvel Comics’ series of superhero films. It tells the story of Thor, a hero transported to Earth from another realm, known as Asgard, and his attempts to redeem himself.
The film opens in Norway in 965 A.D. as the Asgardians fight a race known as the Frost Giants in order to stop them from taking over Earth. The Asgardians are eventually successful and the Asgardian king, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), forces peace upon the Frost Giants and takes the source of their power. This fierce battle causes humans to view the Asgardians as gods and take a place in Norse mythology.
In the present day, Odin’s son Thor (Chris Hensworth) is preparing to assume the throne of Asgard when the Frost Giants attempt to recover their power source. The attempt is quickly discovered and the giants are destroyed, but Thor advocates an attack on the Frost Giant world in order to teach them a lesson. Odin doesn’t wish to see a war, so he forbids taking action against the Frost Giants. Unfortunately, Thor is stubborn and, together with several friends, attacks the Frost Giant world, leading to a massive battle forcing Odin to save them. Odin is extremely angry and strips Thor of his power before banishing him to Earth.
Once on Earth, Thor is discovered by astrophysicist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) as she studies the phenomenon that transported him to Earth. Thor soon begins to seek the hammer, Mjollnir, which gave him his power and discovers that SHIELD, a secret organization involved with homeland security, has surrounded it but can’t pull it from the ground. Thor soon tries to recover it, but is also unable to pull it from the ground and begins a journey to become a better man and regain Mjollnir.
The journey of Thor and his battles throughout the film make for an epic superhero tale that generally keeps the audience riveted. The special effects are excellently done and quite impressive on their own. These are then coupled with a good storyline and decent acting throughout the film, making for a solid film.
The only real issues to be found are that some of the battle sequences are almost too fast. I realize that these are godlike superheroes doing battle, but because this is also a movie, people need to be able to watch it and follow the action. Additionally, Marvel keeps putting post credit scenes into their films, which are rather ridiculous. Honestly, if a scene needs to be included, the editors should insert it into the film; otherwise, they should leave it out.
Other than those two very minor issues, “Thor” is an excellent movie that ties in well with the ongoing series of interconnected Marvel superhero movies. For anyone who likes a good action or superhero movie (almost everyone), I wholeheartedly recommend “Thor.”
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