An underappreciated installment that deserves a revisit

Rating: 9/10 (30 December 2018)

Many Marvel fans and nonfans alike tend to view this film as one of the weaker entries in the MCU, especially after the release of Ragnarok - but I personally couldn't disagree more. I hated the third installment of the Thor series because the main villain was terrible from a character writing perspective and I absolutely loathed the nonstop comedic direction that they took. But this isn't a review on that film nor is it me trying to force my opinion down your throat, this is why I personally love Branagh's Thor and why I feel it deserves a revisit.
The set designs for Asgard are off the charts beautiful. While we may only see Asgard for 50% of the movie and Earth for the other 50%, it is far more memorable and unique here than it was in The Dark World and Ragnarok where it looked like a discount Game of Thrones set.
Patrick Doyle's soundtrack for this film is probably the best in the entire MCU. If you tried to name the original scores from Age of Ultron, Ant-Man 1 and 2, or even Infinity War and Iron Man 1 and 2, you just can't because they are just so bland and devoid of identity. With Thor's soundtrack however, you instantly know which movie it belongs to - and the soundtrack is used perfectly for almost every scene in the film.
At least an hour's worth of this film is dedicated to Thor's development. This isn't like The Dark World where Thor more or less begins and ends as the same generic superhero character or even the first two Avengers movies where his character just isn't very interesting - here he actually begins as an entirely different person than what he is at the end of the movie. His character may not be as sympathetic or memorable as Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins or Tony Stark in Iron Man 1, but he at least has a point where he hits rock bottom unlike all of the other portrayals of MCU Thor prior to Ragnarok. The important thing about Thor in this film, to me, is that he actually redeems himself -something mostly lacking from Thor's other MCU appearances - and earns his powers back during the Destroyer's rampage in New Mexico.
While I still love plenty of other aspects of the film, my main attachment to it is our introduction to Loki, who makes a great villain. Tom Hiddleston was the perfect casting decision for the character and so many scenes with him are masterful. The reveal of him being a Frost Giant and confronting Odin about it is a 10/10. My only issue with Loki here, which certainly doesn't stop me from loving the character and enjoying the film, is his goal had his plan come to full fruition - if I had learned that my father had lied to me my entire life, the last thing I would be concerned about is trying to impress him. Nevertheless, he is one of the best villains in the MCU and this film is a great introduction to him. And unlike Hela in Ragnarok, Loki works really well because you get a sense of there being a fleshed-out relationship between him and Thor and he has relatable motivations, unlike Hela who was just evil for the sake of being evil and had practically no relationship with Thor.
Anthony Hopkins also does a great job playing Odin and Idris Elbra is really good as Heimdall. The Warriors Three aren't the greatest characters in the world but they still work just fine.
I can understand how the scenes on Earth in New Mexico involving Jane Foster and her friends Selvig and Darcy would be a drag for many casual fans since the chemistry between Portman and Chemsworth is often lacking and comes off a bit forced, but for me none of it was ever a deal-breaker.
So you can have your Thor cracking bad one-liner after one-liner and not really earning anything in Ragnarok, or you can have your stereotypical superhero with almost no development like Thor in The Dark World, but give me the Thor that Branagh gave us and give me Loki as the main villain. Give me the amazing Asgard sets and Patrick Doyle's soundtrack. Give me world-building and not literal world-destroying like Ragnarok. Loki's development in this film alone outshines anything in Thor 2 and 3 IMO.