Feels a bit rushed, but otherwise a fine movie

Rating: Null/10 (25 August 2013)

Thor was always the hardest to introduce into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While the rest of the Avengers are all human, albeit some with superpowers, Thor, the mythological god of thunder, is anything but. Keeping that in mind, I think this was an excellent adaptation of the comic book superhero that we know and love. It has its flaws, and if you were to write the whole Avengers storyline from a scratch, you'd probably give a character like Thor a miss, but the film makers managed to make it work.
What I like the most about this film is its charm. This stems from the great actor choices, as well as the writing and the dialogues. Chris Hemsworth was a new face for me personally, but I don't think that they could have picked a better Thor. The man has it all, the looks, the attitude, the physical prowess, the charisma. Natalia Portman and Tom Hiddleston are equally great in their roles of Jane Foster and Loki, respectively. The writing, on the other hand, shines through in the dialogues, which are fun to follow and feel real. Hemsworth has some really great lines throughout the entire film, which cause me to laugh out loud no matter how many times I see this film.
In addition, the rest of the cast do excellent job as well, the visuals (especially the design of Asgard) are topnotch and the action scenes are creative and fun to follow.
Unfortunately the movie falters a bit when it comes to the pacing. Most of the first half of the film is spent in Asgard, introducing the world and building up the characters. And while this is all needed and I enjoyed all of it, it causes the time spent on Earth to feel just a little bit rushed, especially the budding romance between Thor and Foster. So perhaps a little more time should have been focused on Earth rather than the various alien worlds, but even as it it, it doesn't ruin the film. There are some things that could have benefited from extra attention (Odin sleep, anyone?), but only the romance really feels like it should have had more time to develop. Otherwise you can buy the fact that the film can only be so long.
Aside from that one flaw, I really think that this is a great film. The characters, the visuals, the plot, they all work and they work well. Marvel can proudly call this one its own and it's a worthy introductory film for the character of Thor.