Thor: Escape From the Renaissance Fair

The truth: I wasn't all that excited to see Thor. It's not that I was dreading it so much as I just wasn't actively interested in it. Don't get me wrong, when superhero movies are done right I can, and often will, fall in love with 'em. Last year, for example, I ended up seeing Iron Man 2 a grand total of seven times in theaters. For a number of reasons, though, Thor's no Iron Man. Whereas I went into Iron Man 2 already invested in the characters, Thor still had to lay out its lead hero's origin story. And besides that, the characters that populate the world of Thor were a hard sell to me, as a non-comics reader. Thor's blonde flowing locks and steely gaze looked like they'd be more at home on the cover of a paperback romance novel than at the head of a summer action movie. And I knew virtually nothing about Chris Hemsworth (the man who would be Thor) aside from his small roles in 2009's Star Trek and A Perfect Getaway.

OK. I'm rambling. The bottom line: going in I didn't have high expectations for Thor. I wasn't expecting it to suck, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did, you know? Well, after finally seeing Thor the other night I can safely say that it's okay. No, it's not going to light your world on fire, but I'd be damned if it doesn't entertain for one hour, thirty minutes and some change.

If you don't know what Thor's about by now then you probably don't really care, but I'll run through the major plots points regardless, just for clarity's sake. In the realm of Asgard, Thor lives with his villainous bro Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and his dad Odin (Anthony Hopkins), king of the Asgardians. Thor is arrogant and hot-headed, two traits that put him in hot water and ultimately get him kicked out of Asgard. After Thor is exiled to Earth he (literally) runs into scientist Jane (Natalie Portman) and her crew (Kat Dennings and Stellan Skarsgard). Hijinks ensue, stuff explodes, romance blooms, and important life lessons are learned.

So the plot's pretty cliche. If you are twelve years old you might find it gripping, but the rest of us are probably going to walk away slightly less enthused. That's alright, though, 'cause it is a summer blockbuster, not classic literature. The big question is, "Is it entertaining?" To which I'd answer yes, but with reservations. Thor's fish out of water antics on Earth provide some entertaining silliness and clean fun. While I had some doubts about Mr. Hemsworth's acting prowess going into the film, he turned out to be an engaging and surprisingly charismatic lead. His budding romance with Jane was, despite its predictability, still rather sweet. Jane's not given a ton of depth. Seriously, she's a female scientist and that's pretty much it. Yet I still thought Natalie Portman did a solid job of bringing her to life. She brings energy and girlishness to the drab character of Jane.

So while I overall liked watching Thor's antics in New Mexico, Earth, it was Asgard that slowed things down. The first word that comes to mind in regards to Asgard is "cheesy". If I were to be a bit more descriptive I'd say that Asgard resembled the gaudiest renaissance fair ever. This unfortunately makes Anthony Hopkins (Odin) just another crazy old dude on the fairgrounds. Loki's character progression is even more tedious. I understand that Loki added some much needed conflict to the storyline, but did he really have to be so dry, dull, and serious? They tried to make Loki sympathetic, but to me he just came across as an uncharismatic cry baby.

Despite the tedium of Loki's scenes, however, Thor managed to entertain me enough to warrant the approx. two hours of time I had invested into it. Will I see it seven times in theaters? Uh, no. Still, while it never exceeds expectations, it manages to take care of most of the essentials. It's worth seeing if you need a superhero fix, just make sure to temper your expectations before you dive in.