All hail the God of Thunder.

Rating: 10/10 (6 March 2015)

Having never read a single Thor comic when I was younger, I didn't know what to think of Thor when I sat down to watch it. Well, I will say that Thor is a great movie from its impressive visual design to its acting and even has a little Shakespearean drama thrown in for good mention.
Our story starts off well, first with Natalie Portman clobbering Thor with her car then the film cuts to 965 A.D. where the Asgardian king Odin does battle with the Frost Giants and their king, Laufey, defeats them and seizes the Casket of Ancient Winters. In the present day, Odin's son Thor is about to become king when the ceremony is rudely interrupted by the Frost Giants trying to recover the Casket. Against his father's orders, Thor, Loki and a few friends journey to Jotuhnheim to challenge Laufey. A fight breaks out between the Asgardians and the Frost Giants resulting in Odin having to saving their hides. For his son's overconfidence, Odin strips Thor of his powers and exiles him to Earth when Thor meets Dr. Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis and Dr. Erik Selvig. Meanwhile, Loki seizes the throne, while Thor learns to become more human and begins to develop a romantic attraction to Jane, but Thor must prove himself worthy in order to return home and stop Loki's devious plans.
Like other Marvel films before it, Thor show that in the right hands, a comic book film that may seem stupid can have secret complexities when it's put in the right directorial hands. Any discord I would have had with Kenneth Branagh being the director seemed to vanish in the first 30 minutes of the movie. This is a brave and dicey move for a director who is known for showing the theatrics and details of Shakespearean dialog to the silver screen to tackle a superhero film meant for general movie goers. Adding to the film are the Shakespearean undercurrents of disloyalty and sacrifice, not to mention Branagh bringing a bit of realistic feeling to the magical setting. It's also fair to say that Branagh understands the character of Thor and while his version of Thor differs from the comics, he still gets the main points down pretty well, much like how Christopher Nolan handled Batman.
When it comes to the humor, it doesn't feel overdone and provides us with a great change between what is going on in Asgard and Earth. Out of all the MCU films I've seen thus far, Thor got to be one of the most visually stunning, the effects and production design is eye-popping; Asgard just might be one of the most astonishing landscapes I've ever seen. I had to strain my eyes, attempting to take in all the elements in, but visuals can't sell a big summer movie without action and the movie gives us some great fight sequences. The battle on Jotuhnheim is fantastic, with Thor and his buddies showing off some awesome moves, the fight at the S.H.I.E.L.D. compound is realistic and thrilling, while the showdown between Thor and the Destroyer is another mind-blowing action scene. The musical score is also great with Patrick Doyle providing us with some unforgettable tunes that enhance our viewing of the movie.
The sibling conflict here is handled perfectly and is a powerful driving force during the film and is fully understood by the actors. Thor does show love for Loki, but there is an absence of understanding along with jealousy and loathing. Loki is far from being a one-dimensional cartoony villain but instead being a more likable villain who admires his father but also hates him.
As for the cast, they're all perfect. Chris Hemsworth exemplifies the personality of Thor perfectly, projecting Thor's journey from an egoistical warrior to a more humble, understanding person with ease along with humor, fighting, and love all being embraced in his performance flawlessly. Natalie Portman is enchanting and magnetic as Jane Foster; the scenes of her and Hemsworth together just seep chemistry while her scenes with Stellan Skarsgard and Kat Dennings excel with a great sense of friendship. Tom Hiddleson steals the film whenever he is on screen as the sliding, scheming yet strangely sensitive Loki; this is a perfectly dense part, and Tom never misses a beat while playing the character. Anthony Hopkins, rather than hamming it up, bring a great seriousness to the role of Odin by being threatening, yet wise and tried from his years of knowledge and learning, The sequences between him, Hemsworth and Hiddleson are wonderful, with each actor bringing all their talent to the table and accomplishing it beyond anyone's hopes. Jamie Alexander, Ray Stevenson, Tadanobu Asano and Josh Dallas are all good in their respective roles. Renee Russo gets a few brief appearances here and there as Frigga. Idris Elba is awesome as Heimdal and is a force to be reckoned with. Clark Gregg shows up as S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson and has a bigger role to play here. Stellan Skarsgard is great as Dr. Selvig. Even Samuel Jackson and Jeremey Renner show up briefly, teasing future MCU films. The only actor that I disliked was Kat Dennings as Darcy as she came across as annoying and pointless to the overall plot of the movie.
Now, I do have some problems with this film: the romance between Thor and Jane feels a little rushed into the story at break-nick speed and is given no room to develop into a much deeper love story. My other issue is how when Thor comes to Earth, he changes from being an egocentric warrior to being a more compassionate person within a matter of days, something I think could have been explored much more deeply. Outside of those problems, I really enjoyed Thor and you're a fan of comic book films, Give this film a watch, it'll knock your socks off.