Thor – Blu-ray Review
The Film:
They say in movies anything is possible, especially with our current technology to bring our imaginations to life. But adapting Marvel Comics’ Thor? Why that would seem as silly as a big budget remake of Hercules in New York, and yet doubters be damned. Kenneth Branagh has delivered an easy-going, richly simplistic tale of the God of Thunder. As Thor tells Jane about the nature of his world, our world, “I come from a world where magic and science are one-in-the-same“, so true is Thor.
Premiering in Journey in Mystery #83 back in 1963, Thor has always been the odd-man out in the Avengers canon, due to his role as a God, where as the other superheroes are science-based. To make this film work, the screenplay had to be a delicate example of honoring the history of Thor from the comics, as well as acknowledging our modern reactions towards a guy who uses the words thee and thou a lot. Luckily, the film primarily focuses on Asgard, where such things can be accepted easier. Here, it’s like a sci-fi version of HBO’s Rome. The Frost Giants sequence is probably the coolest action scene grace a Marvel movie, but that could be the horror movie lover in me.
Once the action flips down to Earth, it’s the strength of the actors (Natalie Portman and Stellan Skarsgård) that make what could be pure camp, into just good fun. Also, here on the Earth sequences, the battle with Destroyer should be worthy of some repeated visits to the theater. But with everything going on between the Earth issues, what’s happening on Asgard, S.H.I.E.L.D., and a strange cameo, the film never loses its focus on its title hero. An arrogant, brash individual, but not in the Tony Stark mode, Thor (played air-tight by Chris Hemsworth) is a born hero that has to learn the values of being that hero. It might be a birth right, but it’s truly only earned.
Kudos to Tom Hiddleston as Loki, a slimy, deft performance, even if the film tells a strict origin of the character that might rub some non-comic fans the wrong way. The film clocks in around two hours, yet Branagh who claims there’s plenty of deleted scenes, kept the film moving as fast as when Thor throws his Mjolnir. In fact, the adaption of a character we didn’t think would work, only makes us want more. More is what we’ll get in The Avengers, but it’s Thor as a solo film that in a world of deep, dark characters, heroes connected into our increasing technological and violent world, that is a breathe of fresh air in its fun simplicity, something comic fans really haven’t seen so innocently since Superman (1978).
The Blu-ray:
Audio/Video: Paramount Home Entertainment offers up a godly visual and audio treat. The film’s picture ranks pretty high, as colors sparkle and pop out, details are of the highest order of clarity and definition, and the rich, bold blacks add depth. The DTS track is as loud as the heaviest booms of thunder during a storm, dynamic and incredibly immersive, with active surrounds and deep – and I mean deep – bass.
Commentary: Director Kenneth Branagh talks solo in this track, which is very good. He covers all aspects of the shoot; the tone, the mythology, the actors, the Shakespearean qualities, and it never bores.
All extras are in HD.
Marvel One-Shot: The Consultant: The much-talked about original short film, is almost too quick to register, as it follows Agent Coulson (Clark Gregg) that connects some dots towards The Avengers.
From Asgard to Earth: Running nearly 20-minutes, this piece follows the production of the locations and sets in the film, using the comic as inspiration.
Our Fearless Leader and Assembling the Troupe focus on director Kenneth Branagh and the actors and how they got involved and how it was working with each other. Very EPK. Hammer Time and Creating Laufey are great six-minute featurettes, focusing on the history of the Mjolnir hammer and creating the FX for actor Colm Feore [here] as the Frost Giant king.
Stan Lee, Co-Producer Craig Kyle, and Comic Book Writer J. Michael Straczynski discuss Thor in A Conversation, although it’s too short for anything more substantial. Do check out the Deleted Scenes as there’s some decent stuff left out of the film.
Finishing the extras out are your Trailers, Road to the Avengers, which isn’t as cool as you’d think. It just shows various clips from the prior films tying it into Joss Whedon’s anticipated team-up; Music of the Gods showcases the film’s score and that Digital Copy rounds everything out.
The Film: Rating: 
The Blu-ray: Rating: 
