Thanks for checking out our THOR review.
Genre: Superhero Action
Directed by: Kenneth Branagh
Staring: Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston and Natalie Portman
Released: May 6th, 2011
THE GENERAL IDEA
At the center of the story is the mighty Thor (Chris Hemsworth), a powerful but arrogant warrior whose reckless actions reignite an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth by his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and is forced to live among humans. A beautiful, young scientist, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), has a profound effect on Thor, as she ultimately becomes his first love. It’s while here on Earth that Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth
THE GOOD
This is one FUN movie.
The tie ins are very subtle. They don’t shove them down your throat, but if you know some background they are all pretty obvious at the same time. This felt very smooth as if they learned something from Iron Man 2, where the movie felt more like it was a prologue to The Avengers instead of an Iron Man movie. This does MORE tie ins, and keeps it smooth.
Hemsworth IS Thor. This guy just owns the role and there is no question that they made the right choice. And Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is deliciously mischievious without being the least bit exaggerated or silly. In fact all of the cast is very fitting. Kat Dennings is the comic relief and very carefully steals moments in the movie. Stan Lee makes his Cameo as usual, and its very brief.
Balance is probably the best way I can describe how well this film works. There is a LOT to try and cram into this movie and they do it all without overwhelming the viewer. They tie it into the other movies – Hawkeye/Clint Barton cameo, Banner is half mentioned, Stark is mentioned. And they are also carefyl to point out how Thor is different from the Comics (How they bring up Donald Blake is awesome) right down to just fitting the PLOT in there too! There is a lot of history that is played out well, the plot plays out well and the setting of Earth and Asgard is played out well too.
Just awesome.
And the action is GREAT. The scene where Thor lets loose alongside the Warriors Three is incredible. Fanrall (Joshua Dallas) is my favourite, and Sif is just beautiful and still an effective warrior in her own right.
And of course, every action hero needs a love interest. But for once they play it right. Its there, don’t get me wrong. But its so secondary to what’s going on that
THE BAD
There is a tiny bit with Agent Coulson and Thor that bugs me. In their previous meeting Coulson is grilling Thor about where he got his training etc (which we saw in the trailers) and the next time they meet Thor says “I am your ally” and Coulson just takes that at face value and drops it. Seemed too quick 180 to me.
One thing that is bad is the really dark establishing scenes at the very beginning of the movie. They are a little “too” dark. Visually, not in content. I attended the 3D version, and that really is going to hit those 3D hating “its darker” people hard. I even had to admit there were parts in that part of the film that 3D served no purpose.
And on that, the 3D really didn’t make or break this movie. It was just another tool to make things look extra cool, but I think the breathtaking visuals would work just fine without it too.
OVERALL
A LOT of fun at the theater and I loved the crap out of this movie. If you are a fan of superhero films, I won’t recommend you go see this… I command you to!
Oh, and stay after the credits. As usual with Marvel films.
I give Thor a 9 out of 10
I loved the movie.Natalie Portman looks great.Chris Hemworth is a perfect Thor.The story is great though being a superhero movie Thor is shown as a normal human being in almost 60% of the movie.Tom Hiddleston as Loki steals the show and the biggest asset of the movie.
I liked the movie, but hated the costume design.
I’d have put some dents, some scratches, some CHARACTER in his armor, and made it look like there was a really STORY behind his many years of existence. He looks like he just walked out of the makeup with a brand new costume. Reminds me of George Lucas’ approach to costume, as opposed to say Peter Jackson. Thor needed to be somewhere in the middle.
Saw it a second time last night, this time in regular 3D; first viewing was in 2D. I loved the movied even more the second time around, but I think that’s only because I was able to pick up on some of the movie’s subtleties better the second time around. Rodney hit the nail on the head when he used the word “balanced” to describe the pacing and arrangement of humor and action throughout this film. I hope the studios give Brannagh a shot at directing the sequel, because he and the team he assembled did a masterful job.
The movie was not bad but it was not great either. For a supposedly all powerful God-like Hero, Thor doesn’t feel nor look that powerful in the movie.
Isn’t that true of all Marvel super heroes? I thought DC heroes were the larger and life characters, and Marvel superheroes were still big (hulk) and tough, but just not out right that powerful.
I loved the movie so much that I plan on going to see it again sometime this week.
its definatly one of the much better marvel films and cant wait to see him in the avengers and thor 2.
and it was funny to see the punisher in the film as one of thors asgardian warriors.
Thanks for the nice movie review! I liked that presented both good and bad sides of your experience. I was planning to watch the movie in IMAX 3D, but now thinking maybe regular 2D will suffice.
Thanks to your comments I will see this movie tonight! 3d or not??
Thor was amazing. I’m annoyed with people who are listing it as just a good movie. It is one of the better comic book movies ever made. Especially when we’re talking about the X-men series and Spidermans.
Anyone on the fence about going: Just go and see it!
I think it was a great movie but I would give it a 7 or 8 out of 10. I don’t think it was on par with Iron Man or even Spiderman (minus the third). Hemsworth is the perfect actor to portray Thor and I love the fact that they honored some key elements of Thor such as his ability to use Mjolnir to fly and even paying homage to Donald Blake. Natalie Portman was great too, although I would say casting her adds to any movie, absolutely love her.
The bad I would focus on here would be the extended time in Asgard and lack of action on Earth. Time in Asgard is needed for a backstory for Thor but I wish the majority of action would have taken place on Earth and not in another realm. It may be only my opinion but I like Thor as a member of the Avengers fighting for Earth rather than fighting creatures on foreign grounds. I know it’s hard to not incorporate a CGI homeworld for a movie about a God but I preferred the casual dialog on Earth to some of the action sequences in Asgard.
I’d say 8 out of 10, bumping it to an 8 because of how much I loved the casting of Chris Hemsworth.
-Browntastic
Honestly though, I wish Beta Ray Bill will show up in a future Thor sequel.
I have to agree with your review i went to go see it Friday with some friends it was definitely a fun ride all the way. I am big comics fan
and also command people to see this.
Haha Told you it was great Rodney.
Fecking shocked to see you do such a positive review!!
Not even close to a 9 in my opinion. Enjoyable? Sure. Great, not even.
I completely agree with the opening of the film being a bit dark which kind of spoiled something that I did want to see more of! I was looking forward to a LOTR style war but it was just alot of very close to body action shots which spoiled it for me. They spoke of war so much throughout the film and I was hoping for a bit more than what we actually were given!
Great Review!
(And even though it was cheesy, I really enjoyed the Pet Shop scene)
I Liked it, It was fun and the director pulled off a difficult feat as to merge both worlds without it seem too campy, Loved the remark from the shields agents watching the Warriors Three. “Is there a Renessance festival going on nearby?” LOL Classic. I like that the movie says it, and therefore making the silly seem fine.
Didn’t watch the 3D, didn’t think it was absolutley needed for this film.
The Star NAILED the part of Thor. Loki wasn’t lame at all. Hopkins brought it THIS time around,and the Gatekeeper was cool. My only beef was the Rainbow Bridge. It looked more like ice with disco lights to me. BUT thats nitpicking.
after credits scene lacked some punch (but was effective in carrying the story forward)
Renner IS there!!!!!!!! (dont blink though)
All in all, accepting some of it’s faults were a breeze with this film
and had me smiling the whole way.
Kenneth Branagh “Did his ancestors proud!”
8.8 out of 10 for me guys.
Spoilers….
Re: Agent Palson’s change of heart? I figured he knew he was looking for Thor. Recall that he waived off Hawkeye to give Thor a chance to attempt it. When Thor couldn’t lift the hammer, he figured he was not Thor. When he realized He was indeed Thor, he made nice to recruit him to the Avengers.
That or Nick Fury called him on his cell and filled him in.(off screen)
the one big issue i had with this is that it felt rushed…like they were trying to fit three movies worth of material into one movie so they could get it out in time for avengers. dont get me wrong id still give it a 9 out of 10 but the unrealistically quick changes of heart were annoying.
I decided to just see it in 2D and I was fine without the shitty glasses and ensuing headache that would have followed.
I also loved this movie, the Warriors 3 really stole the show if you ask me. Volstag the Mighty is always a favorite, he is so boisterous and the actor nailed his character IMO. You could make a movie with just the Warriors 3 and Sif and I would pay money to see that.
Two thumbs up from me for me!
I loved this movie for what it was, an introduction to the characters that live in this universe. There are a lot of homages to the comics in this movie and that attention to detail serves a geek like me well. I did not expect to see him spin the hammer like he did straight out of the comics and when he did i gasped in awesomeness.
This is the Thor movie I wanted and Loki stole the movie for me. He was fantastic and sympathetic at the same time and you could see his decent into madness progress culminating at the end.
They nailed thor perfectly and the character had this charm to him, the passing smerks and the lust for battle is the thor i know in my minds eye. Great Job and I am going to see it again this afternoon.
How’s this stack up against some of the other good Marvel movies? Hulk, Iron Man, Iron Man 2? Or other comic book movies in general?
My expectations for this movie are actually sky high… so I’m scared that I’m going to expect something of at least Iron Man 1’s caliber and not going to get it, then walk out disappointed amidst an otherwise very good movie.
My personal ranking of the Marvel films:
Tier 1:
X1
X2
Iron Man 1
Spiderman 2
Tier 2:
X3
Thor
Spiderman 1
Iron Man 2
Blade 1
Tier 3:
Hulk (both)
Blade 2&3
Spiderman 3
FF1
FF2
Wolverine
Tier 4:
Daredevil
Never seen:
Ghost Rider
Punisher (either)
Elektra
I pretty much liked all the films. Even the Tier 3 stuff.
I meant to add “other than Daredevil.”
Here’s mine
Great
X-men 2
Spidey 2
Blade 2
Good
Iron Man 1
Blade 1
X-men 1
Iron Man 2
Mediocre
X-men 3
Spidey 3
Fantastic Four 1
Hulk 1 & 2
Just Bad!!!!
Anything with Punisher in the title
Daredevil
Fantastic Four 2
Ghost Rider
Wolverine
Elektra
Haven’t seen Thor yet but it’ll probably end up in the Good column
I thought it was pretty damn good – just half a notch below great. Marvel is on solid ground and can do no wrong at this point. I really liked how all of the Earth scenes took place in such a tiny area. Heimdyall (however it’s spelled) was awesome, points to Idris Elba for knocking that one out of the park.
I fully agree with you, Rodney. Now bring on Captain America!!!!
God this movie is fully rising on hype and face value. Small scale sized casting in a small lame town with a semi intertwined story that goes no further then names (Gamma Rays). Thor was as good as you can get as a character but fuck frost giants and a lame giant metal flashlight for a boss that lasts all of a few swings. Portman is hot yadda yadda….was it fun sure but was it a 9……hell no! 9 is something you give to the likes of Pulp Fiction , Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Alien, and so on….Thor is a 7 no more no less.
Movies are always a little spongy. If you like it, you’re likely to give it a very high grade — and vice versa.
That said, A New Hope and Empire Strikes back are absolutely off the charts, while the first Indiana Jones, to me, was always grossly overrated. It’s a 7 at best.
Have to disagree with you on that one Ryan. Raiders of the Lost Ark is a classic. It has everything…wonderful characters, great story and action. I’d give it a ten not a seven. Seven is mediocre and Raiders is leaps and bounds beyond that. The temple of Doom is a seven and the Last crusade an 8.5, with it they learned from the mistakes of temple and went back to the formula that they used for Raiders. The 4th Indy is 6.5 but I still loved it just on the fun factor alone.
Blasphemy!
Raiders is the golden (80’s) standard for action adventure.
almost everything else is a carbon copy wanna be.
(storywise)
I will give the Director this…it is far from a bad movie and he is dealing with one hell of an angle to work with (mystical fantasy superhero stuff). I can’t wait for Hawkeye. He really needs a good tactical version of a superhero.
I saw this movie a couple of days ago. I give it 9 out of 10 stars. I have to say this HEMSWORTH IS THOR. I can’t imagine anyone else taking on this role except him. I like the scene where the Mjolnir hammer suddenly disengaged from the ground and flew out to reach Thor’s hand. That was so cool. I’d like to see Beta Ray Bill and Firelord in the sequel or possible sequels. There’s so much to mine from the Thor comics for storylines. Yeah, I’d like to see a “Donald Blake” alter ego in future sequels as well.
Without spoiling…
If you saw the movie, you would see that using Blake is just not going to work. That is one big difference from the comics that they carefully glossed over. Thor has no alter ego.
In the comics, it’s always cool to see Donald Blake, being the doctor that he is, pound his cane to the floor and change into Thor. Wonder if we could see that in future Thor sequels.
I almost pee’d my pants w/ happiness the way they did it. (twice)
And like I said Lawrence… if you saw the movie it’s pretty clear they are never going to do that.
This Thor doesn’t have a secret identity.
If they were going to do an alter ego, I think they would go the Sigurd Jarlson route to poke fun at Superman.
We are starting to see the development of a “middle class” of comic book movies. Before it was either a Dark Knight or a Batman and Robin. Great or total crap. Thor is among the first to play in between. It wasn’t GREAT but it was pretty enjoyable.
Rodney’s take pretty much mirrors my opinion, but I’d probably give it a 7.5 or an 8. Hemsworth was incredible and it was certainly FUN, but not as good as Dark Knight or Iron Man.
I don’t know. I didn’t really like the movie as much as I liked Iron Man, X-Men and so on. It was kinda predictable, everything so stereotypical and just watching it in 3D made me an official 3D hater. I just hate the fact that even though there are 2D screenings as well, they are clearly in the minority and all the big screenings are naturally in 3D. Like you said yourself, the 3D just didn’t fit in the whole film. Watching it in 3D was like compressing an otherwise pretty looking film, making it look smaller, slightly blurrier and overall worse for the sake of a few “cool” effects here and there.
GAH. This makes me angry. I’m so angry that if I want to attend a HP: Deathly Hallows Part 2 premier this summer, I will have to watch it in 3D.
It wasn’t smaller or blurrier. 3D has never looked that way to me. I said there was a shot set of scenes that were too dark. That’s all.
Otherwise the 3D was fine… just nothing mind blowing that “needed” 3D.
Of course with higher ticket prices theaters are going to want more 3D viewings, but 2D isn’t going anywhere just yet. The grand majority of films released are NOT 3D.
I’m not one of the people who adamantly protests 3D because I understand that some people really like it but I personally cannot stand it. I felt so dismayed to find that not one midnight screening in my area was in 2D. As much as I don’t think 3D should be torn away, I do think it would be better if we were at least allowed an OPTION. As much as I loved this movie, I spent the entire time getting a headache and having to squint slightly to deal with it and I’ll agree with Geir that everything just seemed smaller and out of focus. It was a huge dampener on an otherwise amazing movie experience.
Wow, I’m excited to hear the 9. It’s always fun to hear a movie you are hopeful for score well.
Do you folks at the movie blog have a spreadsheet with all the movie scores you’ve given? that would be interesting to see.
Thanks for the review, will be seeing asap.
Thanks for the nicely written review Rodney. Too many critics have been giving tongue in cheek reviews as if this film was beneath them from the beginning. It’s nice to get an honest review about what is good and bad about the movie, that doesn’t poke fun at the subject material or the audience who flocks to the film.
That is weird — I’ve never read so many reviews in which they make fun of the movie, but quite like it. It’s as if they can’t get over the concept of a comic book movie about a god… as if that were somehow weirder than a man who dresses up as a bad, or a human-spider hybrid. /sigh
I think the fact that Thor is less well known than Spiderman has something to do with it, too. You can’t knock the concept of Spiderman because he’s had too many fans… Thor’s a little easier to needlessly bash.
correction
*a man who dresses up as a baT, not a bad. LOL.
You Just Made Me More Hopeful Rodney…Marvel Has A Lot Riding On This Movie and I Plan On Seeing It Twice!!!