THOR, MUTHUF*CKA!

The book shown above was published in 1976 when I was _ years old and was my favourite comic book for a long time. I'm sure I must have read and reread it until the cover fell off and well afterwards. It was one of a series of huge over-sized re-print volumes marvel released at the time (I had an F.F. one as well) so the splash pages were way bigger than my head, all the better to enjoy the genius of Jack Kirby. If you've never experienced the work of the King in his prime you're really missing out. The bold graphics pop with detail and pulse with an energy unmatched before and rarely equalled after. I'm talking about pages like this:

or this:

See what I mean?
Anyway, the point I'm taking the long way to get around to is this. If I thought for a moment that Kenneth Branagh's "Thor" film was going to come anywhere near the epic epicness (that's a word if I say it is) of these comic book pages, I would have been much more excited these past few months.
Well, now I've seen the film, 3D and all,  and I'm happy to say that it may not quite be Kirby but it manages to come a lot closer than I would have thought.

The early scenes of "Thor" will be the real test to separate the long term from the casual fan. To his credit Branagh, his designers and his special effects team have actually managed to create a world combining sparkling  mythical grandeur with the over the top pop-kitsch sensibility of a golden age marvel comic.You will either find this all incredibly silly or kind of thrilling. I chose to channel my younger self who so loved that above mentioned comic book and be thrilled by the silliness of it all. If you're able to do the same, you should enjoy "Thor".

The film's story is pretty rudimentary and suffers from what I call "origin-itus". It's mostly set up with not as much pay off as I would have liked. However, it does echo Stan Lee's original concept. Thor the Asgardian god of thunder is sent to earth (or "Midgard") to learn humility and inadvertently becomes a super-hero. Along the way he falls for a human woman (Natalie Portman) encounters S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and has to deal with the treachery of his brother Loki. Despite being plot and exposition heavy it moves at a good pace and certainly delivers on a summer blockbuster level.

The cast is very good. Chris Hemsworth is a terrific hero, as good at fish out of water comedy as heroics, Anthony Hopkins is a fine Odin, although he's not exactly tested by the role and Tom Hiddleston is very strong as Loki, arguably the most interesting character in the film, a villain with complex motives for his actions. On the human side Stellan Skarsgaard, Kat Dennings and Natalie Portman are all good in, again, non-demanding roles. I know a lot of this sounds like faint praise but they are all very likable. If the film gets a sequel, it would be nice to see the characters developed further.

So I admit that "Thor" is not a home run like the first "Iron Man" or the second "Spider-Man" film but it should please fans of the character (like me) and entertain summer audiences. I wasn't blown away, but I did smile throughout, and that'll do.

Oh, one more thing. DO NOT SEE "THOR" IN 3D!! It's a conversion so it frequently looks flat and (ironically) two-dimensional. Also, some of the best action sequences take place in a dimly lit environment, which would have been okay except that they are made even more dim by those damn glasses. I cannot emphasize this enough. Do not support bad 3D!

Thanks.