Pretty much everything a superhero film should be

Rating: 8/10 (4 March 2020)

After defying his father's orders to not seek vengeance against another realm would be king Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is exiled to live on planet Earth by his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and has now lost all of the powers that were bestowed upon him in Asgard. With the help of scientist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and her team Thor slowly starts to learn where he has been sent and what he needs to do in order to return to Asgard, but it seems that the real threat to Thor is much closer to home than he imagined...
As daft as it sounds the biggest surprise that I came across with this film was when I learned who had directed the film; seeing the words 'Directed By Kenneth Branagh' at the end of the film genuinely had me shocked. I don't mean this to sound bad, because I do respect Kenneth Branagh as both an actor and a director, but the superhero genre is virgin territory to him and the fact that he's directed the film so well makes the achievement even more commendable...
The first thing that works in the film's favour is the tone; it is serious and business-like when it needs to be and is also fun when the time is right. It starts out serious (which is fine as it explains away the war between two realms and continues in this vain until Thor's expulsion to Earth). The film switches tone for a while when Thor is on Earth and what is genius about this is that Thor initially doesn't realise that he's lost his powers - he's still strong, but doesn't have the superhuman element that he had on Asgard meaning that in some scenes Thor is condescending and dismissive towards the 'Earthlings' before being swiftly brought down to Earth (groan...sorry :-(. In some ways though I found this endearing as for a good chunk of the time we're following a man rather than a superhero (there's even a couple of fish-out-of water moments to lighten the tone).
Although the comical aspect with Thor is fun to watch and provides a nice contrast to the serious business up on Asgard, Branagh pitches everything perfectly here (this is mostly when Asgard brings the fight to Earth when the giant robot is unleashed). This aspect of the film brings some tension simply because our superheroes are afforded some vulnerability (yes we all like seeing superheroes kicking ass to a degree, but there's not much emotional investment if you just sit there and think 'Such and such a superhero will get the better of their adversary so why should I care what happens?' This can take you out of a film if it's not done right, but despite knowing where this would go Branagh and his scriptwriters did display vulnerability which gives a rooting interest to the characters.
The film has an A-list cast who mostly deliver A-list performances; Hemsworth was the biggest surprise as I expected him to walk round as though he was coated with Ronseal, but to my surprise he was actually very good and his switch from Asgard persona to Earth persona was delivered with an air of skill and believability. Natalie Portman is far more accomplished so my expectations were higher for her; she is OK, but with so many strong performances from her in the past this is not 'amazing work' from her - although it's by no means a bad performance. Skarsgard is featured in a very slight supporting role and gives a nice nuanced and understated performance. Hopkins only features predominantly in the first half, but makes his mark. Dennings plays a fairly simple slightly ditzy character, but does OK with what she has to work with.
Thor is a very enjoyable film and another solid entry in the Marvel Universe. The script is good, but Branagh deserves a lot of credit for making the whole film flow like water. Knowing that Thor is now a franchise I'll certainly be back for more.