"I'll take one of those large enough to ride"

Rating: 8/10 (19 May 2011)

Well, you don't need me to tell you Marvel movies have been on pretty good form lately. The Iron Man Movies were successful, and the new X-Men looks promising.As for Thor? Hammer Throwing goodness! Now, this movie is just pure entertainment. From an ancient battle on earth, to the towering city of Asguard, Thor has some very impressive background settings.The film is strongly inspired by a mixture of Roman and Viking civilisations, creating Asguard and Thor's species the Asguardian's. It is an interesting mix of alien and historic cultures, and compare's our culture to one of strict rules and responsibilities.
The storyline is simple, but will keep you entertained. It is understandable if fans will see the ending as a bit of an anti-climax,but the main bulk of the film is a good mix of comedy and action, although it does have a few flaws when it comes to a slightly cheesy and unrealistic romance between Thor and Natalie Portman's character Jane. Speaking of which, I felt Natalie Portman had a slight absence of dialogue and her character seemed more like a background character rather than a secondary protagonist.
Chris Hemsworth and Antony Hopkins both had outstanding performances (Hopkins goes without saying) and if the story fails, the relationship between Thor and Odin will surely keep you watching.
With some nice references linking the film within the same world of Iron Man, and an ending that begins to set up Thor's relationship with Shield, I look forward to his return in the Avengers.
Fan of Marvel or not, this is good old fashioned summer blockbusting.