There are many stories in the world, some as old as time itself, some that are being told as new every day and some that are a little of both. In the 60's Stan Lee decided to take inspiration from Norse mythology to write a new comic book hero based on the god of thunder. Through varied storylines the character remained popular and so much so that he joined Marvel's Avengers, a band of superheroes from different titles within the Marvel universe that would fight the forces of evil as a team. Recently Marvel came up with an ambitious plan to have an Avengers movie but also introduce (or reintroduce in some cases) the individual characters in their own franchise movies. There's already been The Incredible Hulk and Iron Man (the latter becoming significantly more successful) and there's the flag flying Captain America due next month so the series seems to be ramping up quite nicely.
Thor (Chris Hemsworth; Star Trek, the forthcoming Avengers movie) is an arrogant, headstrong god and son of Odin (Anthony Hopkins; The Rite, You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger) the king of Asgard and ruler of all gods. There has been a long feud between the gods and the Frost Giants for many years. When a small group of the Frost Giants infiltrate Askgard and try to steal The Casket of Ancient Winters which was won in the war against them, Thor and his friends go to Jotunheim to teach them a lesson. Whilst there a fight breaks out (no thanks to Thor) and war is declared once again. On hearing of his son's reckless behaviour he banishes him from Asgard and sends his hammer, Mjolnir, to Earth along with him for the time when he will be ready to wield it once again.
Knowing your Norse mythology might give you somewhat of an advantage when going to see Thor, or at least having read some of the comics. Because for the casual moviegoer, who may or may not have a full understanding of the character, the explanations for certain elements of the plot may confuse some. However this really doesn't detract from the plot which is as simplistic as you may imagine for such a movie.
Helmsworth and all the other Asgardians are portrayed with the godly dialogue you may expect from a Shakespearian play, albeit more understandable for a modern audience unfamiliar with the bard's work. There's a lot of fun to be had in Asgard as well, Anthony Hopkins revels in the role of Odin and along with the rest of the cast plays along with all the fun in the spectacularly over the top realm.
Loki (Tom Hiddleston; Wallander and the upcoming War Horse) is jealous of his father's favouritism towards his brother and he wants to rule Asgard himself, so with his brother out of the way he goes to making sure he will never return. Hiddleston particularly relishes in his bad guy role, camping it up and in times giving a performance and presence not dissimilar to Richard E Grant and makes Loki a worthy superhero baddie for the audience to hate.
Meanwhile back on Earth, Thor runs into Jane Foster (Natalie Portman; Black Swan, Your Highness) and her team of scientists, Erik Selvig (Stellan Sarskard; Angels and Demons, Mamma Mia) and Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings; Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, The House Bunny) and the take him in, despite his ramblings about a world that Erik only remembers from the stories of his childhood.
Soon they warm to him and his journey (both physically and mentally) take him back to Asgard to the final showdown with his brother. A special note should be made for Chris Hemsworth, carrying a movie such as this with as little acting experience as he has (relatively) would seem like a daunting task but he matches up with Hopkins and Portman in the various scenes they share and is able to display a range of emotions (albeit limited by the plot) with ease and will make a fine addition to the cast of The Avengers next year.
Thor is, after all, just a superhero movie. It's not to be compared with the likes of The Dark Knight but by no means is it The Fantastic Four. It sticks well to its source material and at the same time gives a light, entertaining adventure for all fans of the comics, the mythology and the movies.
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