"I still don't think you're the God of Thunder, but you ought to be."

Rating: 7/10 (4 November 2012)

I always preface my Marvel movie reviews by stating I never followed the comics in favor of the DC Universe. If I picked up the occasional Spider-Man or Hulk, it would have been for lack of preferred reading material, and Thor was never on my radar as a must read character. But with the prominence of the Marvel movie universe, I knew I couldn't pass this one up forever. So even though I didn't splurge during the opening fanfare, I finally got around to it today on DVD.
Altogether not bad. I probably enjoyed the opening half hour the most as the story took in Thor's (Chris Hemsworth) origin and place among the Greek god pantheon. I think the coolest character was that devil styled Laufey (Colm Feore) who oozed sinister menace without even trying. And Lord knows, Natalie Portman has to be one of the luckiest actresses on Earth, Asgard and Naboo to find herself in the most profitable and popular movie franchises going.
That's not to say this film couldn't have used a little more character development, but after all, we're talking decades of comic book history distilled down to a two hour film so not everything is going to make the cut. "Iron Man" probably did it best so far, but this film brought an interesting cosmic dimension to the story that we haven't seen before. For his first super-hero outing, Hemsworth did a creditable job with a physique that admirably suited his character. Somehow I didn't think the character of Loki (Tom Hiddleston) was evil enough, but then I go back to my comment about King Laufey. Love those red eyes.
The best single scene for me, and I look for him in every Marvel flick - Stan Lee marks his presence as the truck driver attempting to dislodge Mjolnir from the New Mexican desert and loses the flatbed! That's a big enuff 'Nuff said' for any Marvel fan.