科幻动作大片《雷神》

    Directed by Kenneth Branagh, best known for Shakespearean productions like “Henry V” and “Hamlet,” “Thor” stars Oscar winners Natalie Portman and Anthony Hopkins and handsome young Australian Chris Hemsworth as the God of Thunder. It also kicks off a new franchise*.

    The first setting is the fictional* town of Puente Antiguo, New Mexico, where astrophysicist* Jane Foster (Portman) and a pair of colleagues* (Stellan Skarsgard and Kat Dennings) are tracking some strange phenomenon in the nighttime desert sky when Foster accidentally hits Thor with her pickup truck. “Do me a favor,” Foster says to the man on the ground, “and don’t be dead.”

    To explain how the Norse* God of Thunder ends up lost in the American desert, the film takes us for a long interlude* to the magical world of Asgard, home of Thor, his father, King Odin (Hopkins) and Thor’s clever brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston).

    Though he is the heir to Odin’s throne*, Thor is a violent* warrior with serious anger management problems. When Asgard’s enemies, the tall and troublesome Frost Giants, cause difficulty, Thor is all for teaching them and their evil* King Laufey (Colm Feore) a lesson they won’t forget.

    This does not work out as planned, and Thor and his mighty hammer Mjolnir end up banished* to Earth, where Thor no longer has special powers.

    With good performance by Hopkins, the Asgard story is substantial, showing the conflict* between a father and his headstrong son.

    Back on Earth, the plot is not in such good shape, making it seem a different movie.

    The film’s special effects are also a mixed bag. Some elements, like the Rainbow Bridge that leads to the “Beam me up, Scotty” machinery that connects Asgard and Earth, are fun, while other shots of Asgard make it look silly.

    In a film like this, talented actors are often caught in a bind. Do I try to give a real performance — Hopkins’s rather poignant solution here — or, like Hemsworth and Portman, do I wink at the audience?

    Hemsworth is the best thing about “Thor.” He’s learned the central lesson of past musclehead movies: Beefcake* is best when he’s making fun of himself. (SD-Agencies)