Thor (2011)

“Thor” is a blockbuster comic book movie. I was hesitant about this film early on -- I loved the books as a child/teen, but Thor’s whole Norse god history, blue costume and red cape, the hammer, and long hair? It spelled disaster. Enter Kenneth Branagh, director of several Shakespeare adaptations and the A-grade thriller “Dead Again.” He perfectly balances this superhero fantasy: Massive special effects, action, fluffy back-stabbing drama, and prerequisite heroic self-sacrifice. The plot spans a thousand years and multiple galaxies: God of Thunder Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is banished to Earth after he starts an intergalactic war (oops) thus irking poppa Odin (Anthony Hopkins). As Thor cools his heels on Earth, brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) does very bad things back home. Hemsworth – he played poppa Kirk in 2009’s “Star Trek” – is charismatic, tough as concrete, a bit foolish, but fully heroic. A sly Natalie Portman plays a scientist who Thor happens to luck into – these things happen in comic books. “Thor” could have been a disaster. We have villains named Frost Giants for crying out loud. But Branagh treats it as vital as anything written by the Bard. Near-constant jokes and asides welcome. B