Thor-oughly enjoyable.

Rating: 8/10 (5 May 2011)

'Thor' has all the ingredients you need for a superb comic book adaptation with a panoply of characters that are perfectly portrayed, easy to follow dialogue with occasional humour, effective CGI and all of this handsomely directed by Kenneth Brannagh.
The performances of the cast are exceptional with no one letting the side down. The two main newcomers, Hemsworth and Hiddleston, are jewels in the crown, with Anthony Hopkins upping the theatrics and Natalie Portman delivering a seasoned performance.
Chris Hemsworth makes Thor his own with a prodigious performance that captures all the emotions of this young, arrogant and powerful warrior on his journey of self discovery. It is hard to dislike him even when he is arrogant, but as the film goes on, you feel overwhelming support for Thor.
Tom Hiddleston manages to catch Loki's mischievous nature with pure precision. Even though he is a deceitful character, you can't help feeling for him as the jealous younger sibling of Thor.
Anthony Hopkins is perfect as Odin and delivers a consummate performance of the wise and ancient King of this fantastical realm of Asgard.
Natalie Portman superbly plays the astrophysicist who is caught up in all the action, with a straight laced performance that contrasts perfectly with all the fantastical events happening around her.
Kenneth Brannagh proves the doubters wrong and delivers the goods with clever direction that blends the splendour of Norse mythology with a workable story on present day Earth. Brannagh knows how to pace the action and is happy to give the audience plenty of breathing space with the slower scenes.
Credit must go to Idris Elba and Colm Feore although the latter is criminally underused. Elba is imposing and statuesque as the all seeing Heimdall, with Feore successfully capturing the menace and sadness of Laufey, the King of the Frost Giants.
The intricately detailed costumes and sets are a big positive and the special effects up the bar for other comic book adaptations to beat.
At just under two hours in length, this is a thoroughly enjoyable action packed romp and takes you places you only usually dream of. Just sit back with your coke and popcorn and let it wash all over you.
It's so good, I've watched it twice.