Review of "Thor," DVD version

Review of

Thor, DVD version


Four out of five stars

 While the special effects representing the abode of the Norse gods known as Asgard and the Bifrost bridge are extremely impressive, the storyline is less so. At the start of the story, Thor is depicted as an impulsive, emotional god that must be reigned in by the reigning god, the wise Odin. Thor’s behavior is so out of line that Odin banishes him to New Mexico with no godlike powers and without the ability to control his mighty hammer known as Mjolnir,. Although he is still tough as nails and capable of physically defeating nearly all human males, he can still be whipped up on.

 When a small team of astronomical researchers encounter the deposed Thor when he is hit by their van, a relationship between them is begun. Thor’s mighty hammer also lands near where Thor did, and it defies all attempts by humans to move it. There is a great cameo by Stan Lee in that sequence of actions. A massive team of U. S. government agents (S. H. I. E. L. D.) swarms in and begins the study of the hammer, yet despite the highest of technologies at their disposal, they learn very little about it.

 Meanwhile, Thor’s brother Loki learns that while Thor is Odin’s true offspring, he was in fact adopted by Odin. This leads to a great deal of resentment and Loki engaging in a great deal of underhanded machinations in trying to ascend to the Asgardian throne. Since Thor rekindled the hostilities between the Asgardians and the Frost Giants and they are plotting to recover the source of their power from Asgard, Thor’s absence gives the Frost Giants an advantage. Since he is the spawn of the Frost Giants and the Asgardian throne is at stake, Loki does not hesitate to align himself with the leader of the Frost Giants.

 The weakness of the movie is that the events on Earth sometimes come across as forced and uncertain. The S. H. I. E. L. D. agents are arrogant, ignoring the laws regarding search and seizure and some of the action scenes are played with needless destruction by the killer robot known as Destroyer. It is a fun movie, but the dialog does not have the charming Shakespearean quality of the comic book character.