So I guess we “officially” start the time of the year known as the summer blockbuster season with “Thor” based off the Marvel character and one of the four superhero films that are being released this summer. I had no idea what to expect since I had little knowledge of this particular character and the fact that it was directed by Kenneth Branagh. In case you didn’t know, Branagh’s previous film efforts have been adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays, and when you think Shakespeare you never think of action; Shakespeare and action never really go hand and hand, there are a few exceptions, and without offending anyone and going further, you know what I’m trying to say. However, Kenneth Branagh’s “Thor” is an entertaining action/superhero film filled with excitement and fun, while being mixed with Shakespearean elements and overtones all at the same time.

The title character, Thor, is an arrogant and highly ambitious god; he is played by Australian actor Chris Hemsworth. As the movie opens we see that Thor is destined to become the new king of Asgard (which is basically a giant mountain city somewhere in space). However, during the ceremony the Asgardians are interrupted by their enemies known as the Frost Giants. Thor, angry about their intrusion, decides to go to the Foster Giants home planet and defeat them despite his father’s orders not to. When Thor returns to his home planet, his father Odin (Sir Anthony Hopkins) banishes him to Earth (New Mexico to be exact). It is here, where Thor meets a group of scientists who want to study him since they could be on the verge of discovering something extraordinary. The scientists’ names are Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) Erik Selvig (Stellen Skarsgard) and Darcy Lewis (Kate Dennings). Jane then starts to teach Thor about not being arrogant and about how to live life in an orderly manner. In the meanwhile, Thor’s mighty hammer also has come to Earth and he must retrieve it from a government facility. As a parallel his jealous brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) doesn’t want him to come back home, only so he can rule Asgard.

Let’s face it, Thor is a silly character compared to other characters. He doesn’t have the charismatic or smart-ass personality like Robert Downey Jr/ Tony Stark/Iron Man, or the dark fascination in Christian Bale’s Bruce Wayne/Batman. But the film knows that, and really embraces the character’s silliness; which makes the film have fun with itself. Chris Hemsworth brings out a charming and comedic performance; he just doesn’t give a performance that’s all muscle (Think Schwarzenegger), he brings more range to the Thor character especially on the earth scenes. The Earth scenes are where the film is at a strong point because it’s funny to watch Thor interact with humans. For example, there is a scene where Thor wakes up in a hospital and starts hitting every doctor in sight because he doesn’t understand why he is there. This has certainly been done before but “Thor” does it right and that’s why it’s funny.  Even though I found this to be comedic throughout, most of the jokes are hit and miss. Kate Denning’s character purpose is to be the comedian and this and most of her jokes aren’t funny. The only thing that is funny is the interaction of Thor and Humans.

Besides the comedy interactions, the art direction was very good. The fictional Asgard look of this home world is visually dazzling and creative. Yes, it’s overstuffed with Computer Graphic Imagery (CGI) and it may look fake, but I really didn’t care; the look is exhilarating and creative. Some people may question the dialogue in the Asgard scenes because it may seem weak and may borderline on seeming campy. However, I feel that was Branagh’s intention because it adds to the Shakespearean overtone. It feels like something Shakespeare would have wrote. However, the small problem I had with this planet Asgard is that the characters, other than Anthony Hopkins, living on Asgard were flat especially from the main villain Loki. Since all action hero movies need a villain, there wasn’t anything memorable about him, and he didn’t feel menacing or threatening. (Heath Ledgers/ Joker/Batman) I really forgot that Loki was the villain half the time. I wished that the Frost Giants where the main villains instead of side-villains, because they are everything that Loki is not, plus there design is creative and dark.

So here we are; May 2011, and we get our first taste of the blockbuster season with “Thor”. It may not be the best superhero film I have seen, but it’s a visually dazzling film that equally mixes action and Shakespearean elements, a romance that is played out smartly, some creative CGI, with performances that are good, and above all?..... It is fun. Please see this in regular 2-D, since 3-D makes everything visually darker, you won’t be able to appreciate how better the film looks in regular 2-D.

***| PG-13| 114 Minutes