The God of Thunder impresses but forgets about the development along the way......

Rating: 6/10 (26 April 2011)

I'll be honest – I wasn't looking forward to this movie. It's not that I thought the plot looked boring or anything but I have honestly had a bit too much of superhero Marvel films. How many more superheroes are there? I think we're gonna have a shortage soon on who can make it to the big screen eventually. So I went into this, having to pay $25 for a seat (I nearly had shock when I heard that was the amount) for 3-D plus V-max seats. And believe it or not, this is the first time I have seen something in 3-D! So I was very excited to get my first taste of it.
Thor (played by a very physically fit Chris Hemsworth), who was soon to be crowned King by his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) is banished to Earth, stripped of his powers and essentially become mortal after his arrogance and hasty decision making cause their enemies the Frost Giants to have bad blood against them again. While on Earth, Jane foster (Natalie Portman) runs into him, along with two of her friends, who are on a mission to explore stars and the galaxy above them.
Meanwhile, Thor's brother and underneath the surface rivalry between them, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has some questionable motives. Does he really want to look out for his brother or is he after the throne that has been denied to him for so long?
Ten minutes into this film you can already see where the plot will take you and only someone with a blind eye would fail to notice it. It manages to make some believable characters out of this with a good performance from Wensworth, who has come along way from his Home and Away character back in Australia. He is right for the part both in his look and physical appearance and makes it believable. Anthony Hopkins is decent as King Odin but doesn't have as much screen time as I would have liked, considering his character does a vanishing act in the second half. Hiddleston however, felt more like he was meant to be cast in a spaceship movie and overacts in his role.
The contrast of the two worlds of Asgard and Earth is an interesting one, though I will be honest in saying the scenes on Earth are nowhere near as fascinating as the scenes in Asgard. With the 3D, it is simply beautiful to look at, in particular the bridge that links the two worlds together. Visually, I was blown away by how good it looked.
However, one of the themes of this film they explore in this is the making of a good leader. In the beginning, Thor is arrogant, self centered and proud so his lesson is to learn how to be a better person/leader. This aspect was not developed well, mainly because Thor's time on Earth is more concerned with bringing humour and establishing a very boring and highly unconvincing relationship with Jane, the physicist. Why they cast Natalie Portman into this when any other commendable actress could have done this with such a small role is pretty much for star power to attract more people to the theatre. It's funny when Thor mentions one of his lines 'I miss her' when he is back in Asgard – I was thinking to myself 'how could you miss her? You barely spent ten minutes with this woman and you miss her?' I didn't buy it for a second.
For a character like Thor, who is meant to be arrogant and proud, he pretty much snaps out of it quickly on Earth, and not a lot is done to really engage you or convince you that he really has changed for the better. I'm not saying you don't see his manner change, but what really triggers this? I really felt he didn't really learn many lessons with the short time he spent with these humans, and thus the character is underdeveloped when there was so much potential for him to grow.
The real plot driver is essentially another family feud in terms of sibling rivalry and is sort of the norm for epics like this. This is where the real story derives from. In terms of the enemies with the Frost Giants, there is a great scene in the beginning where Thor and his army like friends go head on battle with them, then after they become second nature to everything else, hence the enemy is often neglected in the story.
The overall wrap up of the film in its conclusion is not cliché and I am glad it avoided going down a path of sentimentality to the extreme where you feel this has been done over and over. However, the end feels a bit rushed considering you are meant to have a great high respect for Thor in what he has been through. And yes, I can see why, but I didn't feel it nor did I want to give him the respect, most likely because I think the writers don't give him as much respect he deserves for what could have turned a good film into a fantastic one.