Thor review: busting open summer with the God of Thunder!

Got a chance to bust the shrinkwrap off the summer movie season and check out Thor, the latest from Marvel Studios and director Kenneth Branagh. Thor was always one of the more cosmic properties of the Marvel universe and Branagh offers up a satisfying, far flung fantasy where magic and advanced science are one and the same, delivering a trippy hybrid of ethereal space kingdoms and rainbow bridges with costume designs that lean heavy on the fiberglass. Once Thor is banished from the plain of Asgard to dwell among we mortals of Earth, the fun factor really kicks into high gear. Forced to trade in his hammer and cloak for denim and flannel, Thor storms into a pet store demanding a horse.

The Asgard scenes are a bit of a mixed bag. It’s a little bizarre to see The Wire’s Stringer Bell (Idris Elba) as Odin’s personal nightclub bouncer, with a voice so deep he makes Barry White sound like Pee Wee Herman. Thor’s brother/nemesis Loki (Tom Hiddleston) looks eerily like Brent Spiner as Data.

Sadly, the villainous Frost Giants are a real disappointment. Given how they’ve been depicted in the comics, they’re pretty generic here – but their mind-blowingly enormous guard monster is sensationally well designed. But the Frost Giants themselves are barcode CGI bland.

But make ye no mistake – Thor is Fun with a capital F. The pacing is brisk and much of the movie takes place on Earth where fish-out-of-water Thor is incredibly engaging alongside scientists Natalie Portman and Stellan Skarsgård. Portman is a scientist from the Bringing Up Baby school of believability, which is to say, she’s just really about having fun here and you just have to go with it. Thor among the humans creates an atmosphere that reminded me of Star Trek IV – The Voyage Home – affectionate and not taking itself too seriously while still delivering the goods. Loki sends an automaton after Thor called Destroyer – a combination suit of armor and blast furnace, making a very effective antagonist. Destroyer is scary and cool.

A movie about dimension-hopping space Vikings shouldn’t take itself too seriously and Thor wisely makes sure to keep things fun. There are plenty of laughs to be had and Chris Hemsworth makes a great larger-than-life hero. Keep your eyes peeled for a terrific Stan Lee cameo and be sure to stay after the end credits for another Marvel bonus scene that teases next summer’s Avengers movie. Thor is terrific summer fun.