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Thor does a great job of balancing being a geeks love letter and keeping the movie accessible to everyone else. From the mythology and Marvel call backs side of it, you have The Warriors Three and Sif who were cast perfectly, you have nods to Donald Blake, The Rainbow Bridge, etc. Then for everyone else you have plenty of action, a love story, and excellent special effects. The guy playing Thor does an excellent job of conveying a wide range of emotions and I got some genuine laughs out of his wandering around town. There's one line in particualr that I want to spoil so bad but I think it would be better for you to just see it. Really good movie, you'll enjoy it for the popcorn factor alone. Another Marvel home run. 5/5
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| # ? May 6, 2011 20:24 |
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| # ? May 23, 2013 14:11 |
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Great transition to the big screen. This was one of those projects that, as a fan of the character, I was a little worried that it would just become a giant goof. Then the script leaked about a year ago and they seemed REALLY heavy on the Asgard stuff, which seemed like a bold decision to me as, how do you re-created Viking Olympus on the big screen? Well someone somewhere figured out how and it works pretty good. I loved the actors playing Thor, Loki, Baldur and Odin. Everyone else didn't fall behind - the only two minor issues I have are that, first, Thor should be creating and reveling in way more storms/lightning. The only reference to him being a Storm-related God was when he predicted the rain in a throw-away line that nobody noticed. The reason he's the most bad-rear end of that pantheon is that he literally will call down a lightning bolt the size of the Empire State Building when he gets pissed off enough. It happens a little, but not enough to satisfy my craving. The second issue was Ray Stevenson - Titus Pullo should be given way more to do. He wasn't bad, he just wasn't bad-rear end enough compared to some others. The Hawkeye cameo was only very slightly forced. I'm sure most viewers were just left wondering why this particular random stooge had three or four lines. 4.5/5
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| # ? May 7, 2011 01:09 |
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Like every Marvel movie this film's loaded with geek trivia and hints at what to expect in the future. Keep a HAWKEYE out and you'll see what I mean. The over the top acting is exactly what I'd expect out of a Thor film. My one big qualm with this film is that the fights just looked terrible to me. The graphics just weren't there for a great deal of this film, and it gives off a strong blue-screen feel. You can't help but to feel like you're staring at actors on a set with no idea what the scenery around them is like. I'll be blunt in saying this detracts from a film for me. 3.5/5
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| # ? May 7, 2011 03:37 |
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I can't really explain why, but I came into this movie with low expectations. It might have been because I felt Iron Man 2 didn't stand up to the standard set by Iron Man 1. I had also heard that most of the plot would take place in Asgard and I wasn't sure how they'd pull it off without it seeming cheesy or over the top. Of this Summer's superhero movie selection Thor was the one I looked least forward to. That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I felt the pacing was very appropriate. I felt the characters of Odin, Thor, and especially Loki held very true to the source material. As was stated before, the Hawkeye cameo was executed very gracefully and wasn't forced at all. I also agree with the above poster who said that the acting in this film was good even if the writing didn't back it up in all cases. I felt overall the writing was okay. It certainly lacked in points, but I don't feel it was enough to drag the film down as a whole. The nerd in me would have loved to see some more of the "epic Thor" we see in the comics. Maybe they're saving some of that for The Avengers. I will say the first time I saw Thor attacking by swinging the hammer like a big gently caress off propeller gave me goosebumps. If you go see it be sure (as always) to stay after the credits because HOLY poo poo NICK FURY HAS THE COSMIC CUBE I liked this movie a lot. It was a great fun summer film that makes me look very forward to Captain America and the 2012 release of the Avengers. 5/5
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| # ? May 8, 2011 22:43 |
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Saw it with my mommy. It was pretty neat, and I had my typical pre/post Thor comic reaction. It goes like this: woo, thor/WOOOOOO THOOOOOR!!!! Marvel makes good movies now, they have since the first Iron man. Do not watch this movie if you want Citizen Kane or whatever, you will hate it and become British. I do not care that this is a prequel to the Avengers. I do not care. I want a good team movie. 5/5
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| # ? May 9, 2011 00:11 |
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I wanted to like Thor more than I actually did. There is a lot the movie did right and some that I thought it missed. I'll also note that I am acquainted with the character which may play a part in the below critique. First off, the acting is good all around but I couldn't help but feel a lot of it was wasted. Anthony Hopkins is allowed to cut loose which is fun and makes for some of the best parts of the movie. But Portman is mostly wasted as an everygirl on-looker. Her acting isn't bad but it just isn't up to what she could do. She's here more for a probable appearance in The Avengers. Secondly, most of Thor's Asgard friends are forgettable which is a shame since in the comics they are so distinct. The only friends who are given anything outside of "good fighter" characterization is Volstagg and Heimdall. You don't really get anything out of the rest of them other than they fight well, are gods, and are friends with Thor. If they spent a bit more time fleshing them out, it would've gone a long way towards making them more engaging. And that leads to my next point: why should we like the main character? He starts off as a jerk but not in the Tony Stark vein. He's just pompous and arrogant. His story a typical hero's journey but normally the hero has some redeemable quality in the beginning (honest nerd-spiderman, hurt child-batman, dick with a heart of gold-iron man). The movie portrayed Thor a bit weirdly in the beginning which threw off most of the narrative arc. Last point I'll make is that it really seems like you've got two competing stories. The Asgard story and the earthbound story. They cross over awkwardly and probably would've worked better to focus more heavily on one or the other. Instead, it's a bit messy and lacks intensity which for this character is a real shame. All that being said, the universe of Thor is brought to life brilliantly. The visuals are fantastic and for such an over-the-top story to work with, it doesn't come across campy at all. I just wish they gave the narrative arc and characterization as much effect as the visuals. I suppose I wanted more of the character to shine through than actually did. 3/5 out of 5
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| # ? May 10, 2011 20:48 |
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Went in to see this with a friend who is very reticent about comic book movies (she mistakenly saw the G.I.Joe movie years back and was permanently scarred). Short story, incredible movie. This should be the new standard for upcoming comic book movies. There's hardly a dull moment, the visuals are breathtaking and the plot is crayons-and-coloring book simple to follow. Plus if you've never read the comics most of the setting is explained within the first 10 minutes. There is a downside; you can clearly see edition took out plenty of stuff, which is why Thor so quickly changes from a vain and greedy jock into a heroic and selfless jock, as well as Loki's epiphany of ruling 2 realms. Thor's friends, the Syf and the Warrior's Three, make very subtle plot appearances and it wouldn't surprise me if Branagh was forced to reduce their involvement to keep things from spiraling out into a grotesque lord of the rings-lenght feature. Every moment in this film is simple. The Asgard bits are visually stunning, the Jötunheim parts are action-packed and tense, and the earth scenes vary accordingly but mostly supply the romance and comedy, as well as setting up the climax battle. 5/5
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| # ? May 15, 2011 17:25 |
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You might say I was... Thoroughly disappointed.  I wanted out of Thor the same thing I wanted out of the Hulk: to see a superhero smash things. There's a little smashing in the beginning, and a very little at the end, but about 80% of this is just Thor hanging around in Bumfuck, Middleofnowhere. Throw in some loving frost giants and a few scenes of them getting turned to hamburger and call it a day. How hard is it to screw that up? It's not a total loss, just very flat from start to end. The 3D is pointless and hardly utilized. Thor turns out to be an amiable lug who gets used to Earth very quickly and suddenly doesn't want to murder frost giants for no apparent reason. I could buy if he didn't want to do it Loki's way, but seriously? Dude, gently caress the frost giants. I'm not asking for deep personal epiphanies, but why the change of heart at the end? "Uh, people on Earth are okay, thereby, giant frozen murderers who want to kill us are okay too."  And the bar scene had so much potential. Show Mr. "I'm vaguely Scandinavian, maybe" drinking with a Norse god. Give us a bonding moment. Give one of these cardboard cutout supporting characters a personality and maybe, just maybe, show me a loving bar fight with the god thunder to break up the monotony. One last nitpick about the end. When did Loki become an awesome warrior? Loki was always about trickery and magic, but he's going toe to toe with a god who is basically a pro wrestler made of lightning. Would have made for a more interesting fight with Loki outwitting his simpleminded brother, dodging in and out of shadows while trying desperately to avoid the one hammer blow it would have taken to have knocked his head down between his kidneys.  2.5/5 Quiet Feet fucked around with this message at May 23, 2012 around 17:40 |
| # ? May 16, 2011 02:33 |
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The story was fairly weak as were the characters. Also, the rendered segments, although nice in appearance did not transition well with the live action scenes, an element which constantly took me out of the film. I saw this with zero expectations or initiation in the franchise... generally disappointed. 2/5 iSuck fucked around with this message at May 17, 2011 around 04:38 |
| # ? May 17, 2011 03:55 |
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I didn't have any expectations going in having not read much of anything Thor in a long time or seen many trailers. That said, it was a great summer movie. Asgard was extremely well executed as was the first 1/3rd of the movie with fleshing out Thor and Loki. I agree that the scenes on Earth got a bit monotonous, but otherwise it was a blast. The story bogged down in places, but Odin and Loki's complex relationship was actually really well done. 3D definitely could have been better utilized in some of the scenes. Heimdall looked great. 4/5 a shameful boehner fucked around with this message at May 22, 2011 around 08:04 |
| # ? May 22, 2011 08:01 |
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Thor himself is a eminently likeable hero, even in his initial jock phase. Thor and his pals are just wonderfully loving jovial; a refreshing change from the Batman films. Also, whoever thought Elba was miscast as Heimdall will be proved wrong by every scene he is in. Loki is also one of the best villains to yet appear in a comic book movie. His motivations are complex yet perfectly believable. 4/5
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| # ? Jun 5, 2011 15:45 |
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This movie was horribly disappointing. Perhaps if it had been about an hour longer, they could have made an actual movie out of it, with a reason to give a poo poo about any of the characters at all. As it sits, it felt more like an episode of Superfriends than a movie. I went into it knowing essentially nothing about it, other than it being a comic book viking movie. The 3d effects felt tacked on, the characters were flat, the story was barely fleshed out. The dude who played Loki was pretty good, and his character was the best of the bunch, but his motivations were very vague, and his methods even more so. 2/5
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| # ? Jun 12, 2011 20:17 |
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I went into this movie with very low expectations and really my only following of norse Gods was from the old game Dark Age of Camelot. With that said I thought that the Ego-Maniac Thor was hilarious and I wished they would have had more of that in the movie. The special effects were good, and the action and acting was mostly intact. Anthony Hopkins did a great job, as always. However, I saw the 3D version and it fell completely flat in 3D effects. I would say it is worth it to see this movie in a theater, but I wouldn't spend the extra cash for 3D. 4/5
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| # ? Jun 17, 2011 13:45 |
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The set-up of the movie was pretty well done, I thought. It (the beginning of the movie) had a strong direction and clear motives for people to do what they did. Nice and subtle use of Loki's trickery. Then Thor got to Earth, and the movie fell apart. There was nothing to Portman and Thor's relationship at all, aside from Portman thinking Thor was physically attractive. They barely interact, and there's hardly any chemistry when they do. But I guess that's a strong enough bond for the purposes of the plot, but it felt incredibly corny. Thor's gang of thugs had no development at all, they're just some other people that do things. In the second half of the movie, Loki's motivations were swinging around a mile a minute. There was no reason for him to be a bad guy, other than the fact that the movie needed one. He saw that Zeus banished Thor for being disobedient, so Loki wanted to impress Zeus by... doing the exact same thing, but only on a much bigger scale. Why? What was his plan? Impress his father, by 1) preventing something that he (Loki) started, and 2) do the exact thing that got his father pissed off at Thor. Uh ok. The action climax, with Thor and his band of Thugs fighting Destroyer, was incredibly weak. It was obviously taking place in a backlot somewhere, and there were no stakes at all. Thor and Destroyer fighting it out for no reason. The whole thing felt like Zod and his goofy sidekicks tearing apart that little town. Stupid movie, dumb plot, nonsensical motivations, horrible characters. 2/5. It's not 1/5 because, as I said, the opening of the movie was pretty good. Motivations were clear, subtle use of Loki, clear reasoning. It just got so stupid.
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| # ? Sep 15, 2011 00:23 |
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The first time we see Thor, hammer raised to a cheering Asgardian throng, and the track "Sons of Odin" is blaring through the speakers, I realize something Thor fans had often asked "could they or should they even try to make Thor?" is answered when Thor himself roars "Yes!" in response to the cheering crowd. I fell those Asgardians represent Thor fans everywhere. Chris Hemsworth stepped into the role at a massive 220lbs and more than up to the swagger of the God of Thunder. We soon meet the remainder of Thor's family and the great direction of Kenneth Branagh manages to give them personality before a single word is spoken. And thus the movie plays out. The opening sequence is nothing short of amazing. Thor is onscreen and at full power. Defying his father's orders and going headlong into battle as only Thor would dare to do. The hammer choreography could be ripped straight from the comics themselves. The whirling of the hammer is an iconic image of the Thunder God and seeing it on the big screen and more importantly hearing the chop of the air as the hammer passes is a Thor fan's dream. Let alone getting to see Thor, ahead of his peers, taking on all who challenge him. A Thor fan's dream. The Earth sequences are a sharp contrast in every way to what we see of Thor earlier in the film. There are genuinely comedic elements and also a series of events that bring Thor further 'down to earth.' Foster is excellent as a woman who is obviously infatuated by Thor, a super good looking guy who may also be from another world. Her school girl-like crush is transformed to a wide-eyed disbelief when she is there for Thor's triumphant return to glory. If there was ever a time in a movie where a girl would do a fist pump for having picked the right guy, it was right there. Her expression was priceless. Of course the movie is all about that triumphant return and secret plots revealed, so enjoy as they unfold. Loki is second to none as far as villains go. The layers that character has are incredible and you find yourself afterwards wondering if he EVER tells the truth. Loki, God of Mischief, is a devil we'll enjoy getting to know in the films. My only minor complaint is the action at the beginning was very satisfying but the ending battles left me wanting. I'm sure that was on purpose. The open endedness of the comic book world is gracing the big screen. 4/5
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| # ? Sep 23, 2011 10:05 |
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| # ? May 23, 2013 14:11 |
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I looked forward to this film because I like a good, brainless, innocuous, big-budget action flick every now and then. God of Thunder uses a hammer to smash baddies, what could go wrong? Well, pretty much everything save Natalie Portman's pretty face. Mainly, I found Thor unlikeable and pretty worthless as a superhero. The premise is that of Thor's redemption, except his heroics don't mean anything to me since he's the very reason that Earth is in danger. Also, he comes off as being quite dumb and thoroughly undeserving of his powers. Frankly, by movies end, I felt more sympathy for Loki than I ever did for Thor. The only redeeming aspect of this movie is that some parts are so ridiculous I couldn`t help but laugh aloud (Anthony Hopkins being serious in that silly, silly Asgardian uniform, Thor`s explanation of how they travel across "rainbows", Portman's disingenuous gasping when Thor comes to the rescue at the end of the film, and so much more!). 1 because they went through the trouble, and 0.5 for the comedy gold. 1.5/5
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| # ? Jul 23, 2012 16:18 |
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