Fails with certain things, but still highly entertaining!

Rating: 8/10 (16 August 2011)

First thing i need to say is that i'm not very familiar with Thor as a character. I heard of the comic books and everything, but i've never actually read one. With that being said, i can't say whether the movie is faithful to it's original material, but i can say that as a movie it works. It's got that fine line between science fiction and fantasy that in a way makes it stand out from all the other 'SUPER-HERO' movies i've seen. I like all the mythology behind it and all the interesting perspectives of looking at, or at least comparing science to magic. And even though i think that the beginning is too sword and sorcery like as far as the dialogue goes, the rest of the movie works fine in that matter. There are even some good jokes made of it when Thor comes to earth.
As surprising and admirable as it is that Kenneth Branagh, who is considered a highly artistic director, directed this movie, i must say that i think that it was the wrong choice. I just don't think he has an eye for action or for a spectacle as some directors like Sam Raimi, Bryan Singer and Zack Snyder do. I'm not saying that directing is bad, i just think that certain action sequences could've been done way more exciting and simply more cool, which would fit this kind of movie. However, i also think that he brought some goods to the movie as well. And also, now that i think of it, i'm not so surprised that he decided to direct this movie. It has that Shakespearean quality about it. All the family like friendship's and family relationships and betrayals, which were quite predictable by the way, give this movie that tragic undertone which Shakespeares work always had.
That is one of the main problem's i had with the movie, it's too predictable and certain things just don't work and are very poorly done. Like for instance, the relationship between Thor and Jane. It happens so quickly and so structurally bad that it's barely noticeable. Don't be surprised if by the end of the movie you ask your self, when did these two fall in love!?! The two characters were not given enough time with each other, or they did even too much but none of it being a romantic time, and even though they were seeing each other through out the movie i never, not once, had a feeling that they took it to another level or that they were even about to. Well, the camp fire scene near the end looked like they were about to, but guess what, they didn't! Another thing i didn't like is that the only character in the entire movie that is somewhat characterized is Thor. All the other characters are completely ignored and barely anything that happens has anything to do with them. That stands especially for characters from earth.
I'd recommend the movie, but with a note that if the things i mentioned were done better, the movie would've been a lot better. Very interesting and entertaining, but....