By opening the film with his characters gazing heavenward Branagh states in no uncertain terms that Thor is not your everyday superhero. This is entirely appropriate because he isn't. Thor is a god. One of the principal gods in Norse mythology and treating him as a mere superhero would be, to a certain extent, blasphemous. By extension, Thor is not your everyday superhero film either. It has more in common with Beowulf than Batman, though to be sure Thor is not a tragic character.
After the opening scene the film moves to Asgard where, after a short primer on said Norse mythology, the events that led to that mysterious figure appearing out of a light tunnel in the desert are played out.
Thor is about to inherit the throne of Asgard from his father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), when his ascension is rudely interrupted by a small band of Frost Giants (the Asgardians mortal enemies) who break into Asgard's weapons vault. After the raid is thwarted Thor vows revenge. Odin attempts to rein in his impetuous son but Thor will have none of it. He and his closest companions (the Warriors 3) as well as his younger brother Loki sneak into the Frost Giants homeworld and nearly start a war. Odin intervenes just in time to save the day and then strips Thor of his power (manifested of course in his mighty hammer Mjollnir) and banishes him to earth. At the last minute Odin casts a spell on Mjollnir stating that only he who proves himself worthy will be able to take control of it and wield its power and then sends it through the light bridge to earth after Thor.
Back on earth the man Foster hit with her truck rises from the ground babbling about hammers and bi-frosts and speaking with a kind of formal bravado that makes him seem, well, cartoonlike. Foster's assistant gets spooked by the large, wierd guy and tases him and the group take him to a local hospital.
Meanwhile, events in the desert bring Agent Colson of SHIELD sniffing around. Colson confiscates Jane Foster's computers in the name of national security. Out of ideas and with little clue as to what's going on Foster sidles up to the only guy who might possibly have a clue: the big, crazy guy she nearly ran over. Her colleague Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard) attempts to warn her off citing the fact that this guy seems to think he's some kind of Norse god but Foster reluctantly decides to give him a chance.
The rest of the film deals with Thor having to come to grips with his situation and learning humility, Loki's attempts to grab the throne of Asgard in his absence, Foster and Selvig coming to grips with the possibility that maybe this big, wacky dude really is who he says he is and Colson and company nibbling at the edges of the narrative ever reminding us of the 'bigger picture'.
Branagh's direction is rock solid throughout: fluid yet never gimmicky. He coaxes excellent performances out of his cast, which is first rate and no doubt made his job a lot easier. Comedic elements (like Thor's interesting way of displaying approval of a good cup of joe) are subtle and deftly handled, never overplayed or over the top and never distracting. There is real chemistry between Hemsworth and Portman who once again demonstrates why she deserves a place near the top of the A list of actors working today. Remarkably though she doesn't overwhelm relative newcomer Chris Hemsworth who has genuine acting chops. His performance hits all the right notes and Branagh gives him plenty of space to demonstrate his range, which is impressive. The art direction and cinematogrphy heed the gravitas inplicit in making a film about a god, even one who's spent a few decades slumming through the comic book universe. This is a story that just wouldn't have worked had the cimematography been narrower in scope. A character of Thor's dimensions needs a stage the size of the desert. Patrick Doyle's soundtrack while not remarkable does what a good soundtrack should do, it suggests while staying out of the limelight.
Thor is far and away the best of the "Avengers" setup films. Some of that has to do with the strength and depth of the source material but Thor is more than the sum of its parts. It's big ideas and big characters bathed in golden light and played out on a stage with one of those enormous, multi-layered atmospheric background paintings. It never stays too long in small places, never strays seriously into self-parody but never forgets to be fun.
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