Thor Film Review

There is a growing trend in comic book film adaptations that has seen the villains overshadowing their heroic counterparts. The recent onslaught of Marvel and DC films has seen many of histories greatest superhero creations make the jump to film. DC’s Batman was successfully rebooted with Christian Bale, however Heath Ledger’s portrayal of the Joker far outshone Bale’s broody Dark Knight. Marvel has seen both Spider-Man and the X-Men achieve great heights with their acclaimed trilogies and as far as I am concerned I would rather see a Magneto: Origins film than the overexposed and overrated Wolverine.

The most recent in this line of medium jumping is Kenneth Brannagh’s Thor, which again falls into the trap of having a villain that is far more charismatic than our hero. I will not deny the admirable attempt at playing a Norse god made by aussie Chris Hemsworth. It was always going to be a hard part to pull off and I am comfortable enough in my own skin to admit that his god-worthy body impressed me. However, through all of Hemsworth’s bellowing and glass smashing I felt myself paying more attention to the trials of Tom Hiddleston’s Loki. Beyond his superfluous romance with an irrelevant Natalie Portman Thor’s tale seemed disappointingly single-layered. His is the typical hero journey. Enemies are defeated, lessons are learnt and the world is saved, but I feel that little changed in his character that was of any worth. Loki on the other hand, in keeping with his comic book origins, had a lot more on his plate uncovering terrible secrets that take the development of his character in a much more world changing directions.

This does not make Thor a bad movie by any means. Nor does this trend reflect poorly on the other films that it has cursed. It just means that a new focus is needed in the production of these films. If this trend continues then why can’t we see a Masters of Evil film next year, rather that an Avengers one? Why not have a Sinestro Corps epic rather than a Green Lantern one? Superheroes are nothing without a foe to fight, so why not give them the spotlight that they deserve for once with a film of their own.