THOR (By Chuck)

Thor - the next installment in the buildup to the Avengers movie in 2012 - has loads of promise, with director Kenneth Branagh at the helm. This movie has a promising plot of a son making a foolish decision and being sent to exile to learn from his mistake. Unfortunately this plot fell short in it's execution.

Upon being cast down to earth, Thor's weapon of choice Mjǫlnir (myol-neer) is also sent to earth with an enchantment that doesn't allow anyone to move the hammer, unless they are "worthy." At one point Thor gets hold of Mjǫlnir but hasn't learned his lesson yet and is beyond rueful when he is unable to move his hammer. From this point on Thor never really gives us much of a reason to feel bad for him, and this is where the execution of the plot really left me... bored, to be honest. Thor really never really seems too concerned about getting back to Mjǫlnir or overcoming the reason for his banishment. He's actually more interested in teaching Jane (Natalie Portman) about Asgard and the finer points of intergalactic travel (worm holes.)

I want to say I was at a disadvantage not knowing anything about Thor, but I didn't know a thing about Iron Man and I felt that Jon Favreau educated me about Tony Stark and Stark Industries, the origin story of Stark/Iron Man. On top of having Iron Man plainly laid out for me, I was genuinely entertained with not only a gripping plot and story, but smart, witty and at times snarky dialogue. Thor left me waiting for the dialogue, action, and storyline to get better... but it just never happened for me.


In short, I think I could benefit from a 2nd viewing of Thor, but my knee-jerk reaction is to say that most would probably benefit from a discounted matinee, waiting 'til the dollar theater, or even RedBox. I give Thor 2.5/4 stars.