An entertaining epic that updates the hero's quest

Rating: 10/10 (14 May 2011)

This movie has many strong points. It has some delightful comic moments when the Thunder God comes to Earth as a man. The fights are imaginative and exciting and the visuals of the strange other worlds are stunning.
But its greatest value lies in its telling of the story of an immature man growing into a true hero. This is a kind of male experience that dates back through history, but is a part of the best action films with a male protagonist. This is what makes the film satisfying beyond just a visual action experience.
Most of the reviews of this film have been good, but the few negative ones seemed to be from people who didn't understand the hero's quest or were too caught up in a more narrow, politically-correct mind-set to see it.