Would have been a good movie if it was longer and had no romance.

Rating: 6/10 (2 January 2015)

'Thor', in short, is a decent film that has both pros and cons. I enjoyed it immensely. It had an interesting plot, good pacing, a reasonable amount of action, great actors, and decently written characters. There were, however, two major letdowns: unnecessary, forced, heterosexual romance and rushed character development.
Pros first.
The plot was original and interesting. Thor's arrogance and destructive tendencies get him banished and he has to mature so he can wield Mjolnir again and return to Asgard. This is beautifully interwoven with Loki's secret plots and schemes to rule Asgard and win the favour of his parents. Loki's progression from protagonist to villain is incredibly fascinating, and his realistic motivations and charming exterior make him a memorable one.
Marvel, as always, has great casting directors and Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston played Thor and Loki (respectively) wonderfully. People have joked that 'Marvel grows its actors on trees' and I think this can be applied to 'Thor', in which Hemsworth and Hiddleston portray the brothers' chemistry and rivalry perfectly.
The visuals are beautiful as well. The realm of Asgard is majestic and glorious. The rainbow of the Bifrost and the stars are all displayed to enhance its beauty. Not many films these days have beauty for the sake of beauty, but Thor is one of them. All of this is backed up by a great soundtrack from composer Patrick Doyle, who manages to capture the grandiose nature of Asgard, as well as the intimate emotions of the characters.
Cons now.
'Thor', like so many other films, contains the cliché of unnecessary heterosexual romance. The chemistry between Thor and Jane is incredibly forced and irritating, and seems to be no more a superficial infatuation. Their awkward exchanges left me cringing with secondhand embarrassment. Jane is reduced to a love interest and a plot device for Thor's character development, the unfortunate fate of so many female characters these days.
Thor's development from bullheaded, arrogant idiot to sensible, intelligent hero is too rushed. Played out only over two days, Thor's sudden desire to sacrifice himself for his new-found friends earns him the right to wield Mjolnir again. This is obviously too sudden, and perhaps another half-hour of screen time would have done this film good. Also, self-sacrifice is by no means a determination of maturity and/or humility, so Thor's immediate refusal to destroy the Frost Giants afterwards seems rather stretched and implausible.
Sadly, the cons are both major plot points of the story and have reduced an otherwise good film to a 6/10.