Thor (2011)

Overall: B+

Cast: A+

Plot: C+

Special Effects/Stunts: A+

Similarity to Comic: A
Director: Kenneth Branagh
Comic Company: Marvel
Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman
Rating: PG-13 

See the IMDB page
See the Rotten Tomatoes page

To be honest, Thor was not one of my favorite superheroes growing up, this movie really won me over though.  It's not one of the more realistic superhero films, but what it lacks in realism it makes up for with great effects and the perfect cast.  And as in any superhero film that isn't very realistic, it's usually a sign that the director followed the comic book well.

The Good: The CGI and special effects were really really good, like "Avatar" status but in a good movie.  Asgard was stunning, and the effects as they were beamed to Earth through a giant rainbow cannon were pretty cool.  Once on Earth, though not as spectacular, the action sequences were good and so were the explosions, but it wasn't anything that hasn't been done before.  The fight scenes consisted of Thor smashing crap with his hammer, which was cool. This movie was also really funny, which isn't uncommon in the Marvel movies, yet always seems to come as a nice surprise.  This movie was funnier than most other Marvel movies though, probably the director's way of counteracting the surrealism so the audience doesn't get too hung up on it.

The cast is what really made this movie; it would have BOMBED if they didn't have these actors.  Chris Hemsworth played his role perfectly; I have absolutely no criticisms in his work, and was very surprised that such a performance came from a relatively unknown actor.  The way he carried himself throughout the entire movie with that confident swagger and his bad-ass voice really made an impression.  Natalie Portman was hot as usual but in a quirky, almost geeky kind of way, she didn't play a bombshell but rather that girl in your science class you want to ask to prom.  Kat Dennings and Stellan Skarsgard supported Portman well and Anthony Hopkins finally appeared to play someone other than Hannibal Lecter.  Thor's crew of heroes all did well and Tom Hiddleston did a good job as Loki although I would have preferred him to be a little less whiny.

The Bad: This movie was a little too science fictiony for my taste, and though it was well done, I kept losing focus trying to think of how they're going to tie Thor back into the Avengers movie.  It was more realistic than Hellboy though, which isn't saying much.  My other big beef with this movie was the 3D.  I know it's the "in" thing right now, but does everything need to be in 3D?  All the intense action sequences started to hurt my eyes after awhile just because there was so much going on with the 3D, maybe it's just me, but this is one movie that should stay in only two realms, oh wait sorry, I meant dimensions.

Now this is slightly nit picky, but I thought Agent Coulson was a really cool character until this movie.  He was cleaver, funny, and always had short little lines that hinted at him being a smart ass.  In Thor though he's a tool.  He yells the whole movie and isn't nice to anyone, not to mention he wasn't funny at all.

The Interesting: I liked how the plot of this movie was different from other superhero movies, they got away from the "person has accident and discovers super powers" template and really tried to do something different.  They landed right in Spider-Man 2 territory though, since Thor's powers were taken from him and he spent half the movie trying to get them back.  It was done well, but I don't think it was as original as they thought.

At the end of the movie I was still confused as to how they are going to tie Thor back into the Avengers, since he is seemingly stranded in Asgard.  I'm sure they'll either find some brilliant way to bring him back to Earth, or they'll just write some cheap line into the script and he'll just show up or something.

Conclusion: No matter how they bring Thor back for the next movie I'm glad he's going to be a part of it, he's a fun superhero to watch and one that definitely deserves to be mainstreamed.  If you want to see what would happen when a science fiction movie and an action movie have a little movie baby, Thor won't let you down.