Thunder? More smoke and mirrors

Rating: 5/10 (13 September 2011)

Plain and simple - when the humans show up the movie dies a slow death.
It's a superhero movie so you know what the plot is. Hero comes to Earth to help humans. They're basically riffing Superman to the Nth degree here. But on to the important stuff...
What the heck is Natalie Portman doing in this movie. I mean that in two ways. First why is she even in the movie? Second, what did she do other than stand there and let her hair be blown around by the off screen wind machines? It felt like all of her scenes were filmed in one day and she looks so bored in all of them. Chris Hemsworth was fine as Thor and Hopkins played a good Odin, but it was the human characters that kill this one.
At least Branagh threw in Skarsgard for the Swede inside joke. But as usual Stellan Skarsgard is totally wasted. After Insomnia I was just in awe of what the man is truly capable of and here in the states they always use him as a window curtain.
I didn't mind the first act all that much, but for a movie about the GOD OF THUNDER, it comes off surprisingly meek.