The Dork Review: Thor

Yeah, verily. I doth have a review of Thor, a moving picture of stupendous quality.

Thankfully the movie doesn't contain a lot of Shakespearean dialogue, which is surprising considering it was done by Kenneth Branagh. In fact, if I didn't know from the credits that Branagh worked on the film I wouldn't even realize it. That isn't a slight against him or the movie, but is in fact a compliment as it's a sign of a good director in my books when they don't try and stamp a certain style on every movie they do but rather let the story and the subject matter dictate how things fall together.

I saw Thor with two friends, and all three of us agreed that it was a good superhero movie. The pacing was just right so that at no point in this film did it feel like it was dragging. It was an origin story, but it didn't feel like it was an endless progression of exposition telling us who Thor is and why he's in the situation he finds himself in. In fact, the movie is much like the character it's named after, direct and action oriented.

And the visuals were amazing! Asgard actually looks like it could exist, with a techno-magic feel infused in the buildings, the costumes, everything. You can actually believe Thor when he says that he comes from a world where magic and science are one and the same.

And the movie actually had a sense of humor! In fact, all of the Marvel movies leading up to the Avengers have had a definite humorous undertone, being both aware that they are comic book movies and therefore deal with subject matter that can be by its very nature ridiculous, but at the same time saying that the world they exist in is both valid and real, and underlying that reality by injecting humor. In other words, more real because of the funny bits.

We saw the movie in 2D, and based upon other reviews I've read I recommend you go and see it thus. I don't think 3D would really add much to the viewing experience, and you'll save a couple bucks. Still, go and see it in theaters so you get the full effect of Asgard and you won't be disappointed.