Thor Hammers The Competition

As of yesterday, May 9, Thor is the number one movie in the box office after being in theaters for only four days. Not surprising for a superhero movie, but still, very good for an untested franchise.

Granted, Thor has the benefit of having been a comic book hero for the last four decades and the character has been seen on TV. Thor appears in The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988) and in numerous Marvel cartoons, such as Hulk Vs. Thor. Thus, the character has a relatively large fan base which has been waiting for a Thor movie for a long while.

The wait is over.  Thor can be seen across the country in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D. The latter is well worth the money if you can afford it.

Director Kenneth Branagh–yes, that Kenneth Branagh–gives us an origin story that tells us how Thor comes to be on Earth and through trial and tribulation becomes the hero–and God–that fans are familiar with. While on Earth, he meets Jane, who becomes his love interest and stands up to a powerful threat in order to protect her and his friends. The resulting consequence is spectacular at the very least and pays homage to another kind of hero that most Christians are familiar with. Though, one may want to see the movie in order to understand what is meant by thatparticular sentence. Apologies for the vagueness.

The acting in Thor is superb. Little wonder, as two of the actors are Academy Award winners Anthony Hopkins and Natalie Portman, who brought their characters to life the way they would have in any other film each has ever worked on. Chris Hemsworth is certainly no slouch either, portraying Thor in a way that looked so natural and realistic. It was as if the character seen in comics had come to life.

The final thing that makes Thor such a great movie, is the design of the sets. Magnificent! That’s really the best word for them. Magnificent in every way. They are truly a sight to behold. Azgard; the home of Thor, Odin and Loke is wonderous certainly as majestic as one would picture the home of the Gods. These sets spark the imagination and look as if they lept out of the comics and onto the screen. Marvelous.

If you are looking for a great movie to see with just the right amount of humor, action, romance,  intrigue and fantasy fun, then Thor is abso-positively the film you should see.