Ragnarok and Roll!

And so begins the summer; not with a whimper, but with a bang. Yes, Kenneth Branagh’s super-hero epic has arrived, and it’s… really quite good, actually, provided you just put your brain into neutral and let the sheer energy of it all roll over you.

The story tells the tale of Thor (Chris Hemsworth, who is certainly not the worst-looking man ever filmed), a young Asgardian about to be made heir to the throne by his father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins). In the background his younger brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston, who looks very familiar despite my not having seen him in anything before), seethes with jealousy. During the ceremony to invest Thor with his titles, the Frost Giants attack, trying to steal a device that was taken from them after the last war between Jotunheim and Asgard. They’re stopped, but Thor vows revenge. He rounds up his friends, crosses Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge, and launches an ill-fated attack. In the end, war is declared and Odin, who had hoped to maintain peace, is forced to send his son into exile on Earth.

Now that story alone could have made for an interesting film, but that’s only the first act. After arriving on Earth, Thor meets up with an astrophysicist (Natale Portman, whose own scientific background lends her credibility to this role). He’s lost his powers and lost his way. The two quickly bond and, well, you know where that’s heading. Meantime, SHIELD is investigating a mysterious, unmovable hammer that seems to have dropped out of the sky and hit the ground hard in New Mexico…

Like I said, I really enjoyed this movie. There’s quite a lot of humor, lots of action and wonderful acting. Idris Elba, who plays Heimdal, is the real revelation here, as he does an exceptional job in what’s really a fairly small role. The story also does an excellent job incorporating the various elements of Norse mythology. As both a super hero fan and a mythology fan, I really appreciated seeing the version of Asgard that was put up onto the screen.

I must say, aside from some of the overall silliness of the story, I can’t find much anything to complain about, though the movie seems to sort of just stop rather than actually end. It was wildly entertaining and the brief appearances by the likes of Hawkeye and Nick Fury, both of them there to help set up next year’s Avengers film, were enough to make the fanboy in me make all sorts of happy noises. I really cannot recommend this movie enough, and if this is what the other summer super hero movies have in store for us, well, we’re set for a great summer!