Reviews by Matt

Well, the summer movie season is upon us. There will be a big name release every week for the next four months. A few weeks ago the summer opened with “Thor,” the latest in a very long line of comic book movies. It is also the first of at least four comic book movies opening this summer.

Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the arrogant son of Oden (Anthony Hopkins) is the god of thunder. With his mighty hammer he is unstoppable and that combined with his arrogance leads to him reigniting a war with the Ice Giants, a race his father beat a long time ago. As punishment Oden strips him of hammer and banishes Thor to Earth. As he casts out his son, Oden sends the hammer to Earth as well with the words “Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.” The hammer crashes to earth and no one can pull it from where it landed. When Thor lands on earth, he encounters Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), a scientist studying unusual phenomena in a small town. Thor is forced to change his ways and learn to live on Earth if he ever hopes to wield the hammer every again.

Chris Hemsworth, was actually pretty good as Thor. He was really funny as well as great in the action scenes. As much as I do not want to say it because it is super cliché, but this is a classic fish out of water story. We spend the first part of the movie seeing Thor in Asgard where he is at home and has power. When he is thrown out he has lost his power and is in a place where everything is different. This is where much of the comedy comes from. There were moments where it could have been too much, but Hemsworth is able to pull of these moments and make them genuinely funny.

Despite winning an Oscar, Natalie Portman was out of place in the movie. I was really not convinced with her performance. I understand her purpose in the movie. She has to be there to make the end of the movie more powerful, but her role never amounts to anything more than that.

I was worried going into this movie that it was not going to be good. There is a lot riding on this movie. If this movie or “Captain America: The First Avenger” fail, “The Avengers” fails as well. Since Joss Whedon is writing and directing “Avengers,” I want to see the movie succeed. I hope that “Captain America” is as good (if not better) because I have a lot emotionally invested in how these movies do. That being said, there is a lot to like about this movie, it is fun, action packed and funnier than I thought.

8 out of 10
115 min
Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence