One of the most inspired superhero movies to come out in recent years.

Rating: 8/10 (9 May 2011)

Since the Summer movie season is officially upon us, I'm very glad that it has started off with a bang with the release of the latest superhero movie Thor. Forgive me if I sound somewhat geeky during my review, because I just happened to really, really like this movie.
It stars Chris Hemsworth as the powerful, but arrogant god of thunder Thor, a man who resides in the fantastic realm of Asgard ruled by his father, Odin (Played by Anthony Hopkins), who always seems to favor Thor over his more subdued brother Loki (Played with wry subtlety by Tom Hiddleston). After going against his father's wishes and unleashing a brief attack on an enemy colony (Including a virtually unrecognizable Colm Feore in fantastic makeup), he is banished from Asgard and sent to earth, where he's discovered by a team of scientists lead by the persistent Jane Foster (Played convincingly by Natalie Portman), and with her help seeks to reclaim his sacred hammer which holds his power, and return to his home.
If you're familiar with his previous directorial pedigree, you'd swear that an action film based on a Marvel comic centered on Norse mythology would be the last project Shakespearean thespian Kenneth Branagh would be attached to, but thank God for this man. This movie is every bit as much a breath of fresh air as 2008's Iron Man.
As you would expect, the film is exciting and quite funny, but what I find most fascinating is how Branagh establishes his own take on the superhero genre through his pacing and the direction of his cast. It's a bit hammy to be certain, but in a rather delightful way, because you can detect the doses of Shakespearean undertones that he infuses into the film. His cast is terrific, they're fully fleshed out, and they never take the film more seriously than it needs to be.
The movie is also impeccably designed, boasting fantastic sets and costumes, marvelous visual effects, and inventive sound design by Richard King, fresh off an Oscar win for Inception, and hopefully on his way to another nomination.
It is worth noting that the romance subplot is not always great, and there's a couple lines that unnecessarily provide further levity than need be, but I must commend Branagh for committing to this project, and for creating a movie that is entirely sure of itself, and entirely entertaining. Just be sure to stay for a special scene at the very end of the credits if seeing Jeremy Renner in a brief cameo as Hawkeye isn't enough to brace you for the upcoming Avengers feature in 2012.
I give Thor *** out of ****