A comic book movie that is entertaining but far from satisfying...

Rating: 6/10 (23 May 2011)

Having read / watched several reviews for this movie I went in with great hopes for this movie. What I was given was satisfactory but did not sate the expectations I had for this movie.
The Plot: Thor, son of Odin (king of a race of gods called the Aesir). Is sent to earth to learn a lesson on humility, for causing a possible breach on an already brittle relationship between the Aesir and the Frost Giants.
The Writing: I thought this was a weaker part of the movie. The portrayal of Thor was good but asides Odin and Heimdall the rest of the Aesir were something left to be desired. They managed to change quite possibly one of the most campy characters from the Marvel universe to a remedially serious one. However the whole movie has a twist that completely hinges on your knowledge of Norse mythology (I have read bull finches mythology book) and the whole movie seemed kind of pointless and kind of silly if one knows about the positions of the Aesir. Do not read the next bracket if you do not want a weak twist to be spoiled (Loki is the God of mischief and trickery). I thought they were unable to give the full breadth of Thor's powers as I felt ambiguously about the strength of Thor, this also applied to Heimdall as everyone seem to treat him with reverence but we do not really see why.There were also some plot holes that were never explained e.g. What is the Odin's sleep? (I know, but others who are not familiar with Norse mythology may find it hard to accept).The character Kat Dennings played also seemed to have no place in the plot and the deadpan humor she attempted to convey seemed to fall flat for me due to weak writing. What the movie does succeed in is turning a relatively enraging plot (putting an "alien" into our society and see him interact with it) to an entertaining spectacle. The director also made the dialogue believable and some of the quotes spoken by Anthony Hopkins warrants the viewing of this movie. (2/5)
The Acting: Most of the actors portray their characters very well in this movie and convey the right amount of charisma and or subtlety for their respective characters. Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Stellan Sarsgard, and Idris Elba give a great energy to this movie but it is Idris Elba's subtle yet commanding Heimdall that really caught my eye. (4/5)
The Cinematography: This one was a relatively mixed bag, the scenes during the battle with the Frost Giants were very weak and lazily edited having all the Aesir and Frost Gaint (asides Odin) copy pasted several thousand times with a very lackluster set (that continuous in this set throughout the movie) of the Frost Giant's home world. Thor's abilities and the Rainbow Bridge were done very well and really brought a spectacle to be watched. The monsters were relatively mixed, some being detailed others being lazily edited. (3/5)
The Score: Nothing special, some scenes in the Aesir's world were filled with some dramatic and energetic music. (3/5)
Thor to the average person is quite enjoyable and I would definitely recommend on a lazy afternoon, but with if you are searching a movie that is remotely edifying you will not find anything of substance here.
Final Score = 6/10