A tricky landing on earth for Asgards blonde Avenger

Rating: 5/10 (9 March 2014)

Translating a comic book legend - with a rich back story - to a one shot adventure - which needs to introduce people to the characters and wrap up the action in a manageable space of time - is a tall act. And compared to Iron Man, or the Hulk, or the Fantastic Four, or Spiderman, who all had beginnings - designing suit/biological change - and had to adapt to their powers, Thor was born to be a ruler, he had the power, and with that comes the arrogance. And that seems to be the crux of this popcorn flick. He's the son of the king, he will inherit the throne, yet his father doesn't think he's worthy. While he has a jealous younger brother who thinks he could do a better job, and feels betrayed. It sounds perfect for the classically trained Kenneth Branagh. Yet his choice to place the action on Earth, to remove Thor of Mjolnir, seems to be his way of creating Thors beginning. To build from a petulant boy, into a hero. Yes, it's heavy on special effects. Yes, it does feel like a really long introduction to the sequels. But it's fun for people who haven't come across Marvels version of Thor, and sadly no film can get the full atmosphere decades have built up.