Thor
The Norse-god superhero is cast out of heaven and falls in love with an earthling, played by Natalie Portman.
Directed by Kenneth Branagh
(PG-13)
**
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“If this is a harbinger of the season to come,” may the gods help us, said Joe Morgenstern in The Wall Street Journal. Marvel Studios’ slightly premature entry into the summer sweepstakes is a “ponderous” behemoth whose “oafish action sequences” can do nothing to save its wandering, comic-book-inspired story line. As the titular Norse-god superhero, Australian actor Chris Hemsworth at least proves to be a “generically pleasant slab of beefcake,” said Dana Stevens in Slate.com. Natalie Portman also acquits herself well enough as the earthling who becomes Thor’s love interest after he’s cast out of his heavenly birthplace. Still, you can’t help thinking this movie has “little more on its mind than winning the first weekend and making its money back overseas.” Director Kenneth Branagh might as well have worked from a checklist, said Andrew O’Hehir in Salon​.com. First, drag the audience through a “great, gray, greasy lump” of a backstory. Next, add “family drama,” as a father and his sons “yell, sulk, and brood in their ridiculous costumes.” A reel or so later, “Thor kisses Natalie.” And so on—until another competent but “slightly disappointing” movie is complete. “Welcome to summer!”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
5 conspiratorial cartoons about FEMA
Cartoons Artists take on paper towel politics, king-sized conspiracies, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Take an island-hopping trip around Brittany
The Week Recommends From neolithic monuments to colourful harbours, there is much to discover
By The Week UK Published
-
Why has Joker: Folie à Deux divided critics?
Talking Point The sequel to Joker is 'staggeringly inept' in its attempts to explore mental health issues – but Lady Gaga is 'magnetic'
By The Week UK Published