Almost a good film

Rating: Null/10 (10 September 2011)

If you are looking for a wall to wall action film, you will be disappointed with Thor. Not that there were not action scenes, but, they are few and do not take up much film time.
If you are looking for a Spiderman-like romance angle for the main character, you have also come to the wrong place. The reason for this, and much of the reason why the film didn't work for me, can be summed up in two words: Natalie Portman. My guess is she took the film for money. She seemed like an actress who showed up on set simply to recite her lines. You can get better acting from a tree stump. Thus, it is difficult to believe that the super hero, no matter how great a nature worshiper he may be, could fall in love with a tree stump. I would have been much happier to see Thor's love interest played by a complete unknown. This would have worked.
The story is slow to develop as much time is taken to set the scene. Eventually, the action moves to earth and it is here that the film livens up. Personally, I wish the entire movie took place on earth. I dreaded returning to the dull life on Asgard. On the other hand, the special effects for this realm are really quite good.
Certainly, the highlight of the film was the acting by Chris Hemsworth. He played the confused, serious, laughable hero angle to perfection. It's too bad he had to work with Portman. Better luck next time.