Origin stories are a no-brainer for introducing comic book heroes to the straight crowd of mainstream commercial cinema, so I was unsurprised that Thor focused on making the connection from Valhalla to Earth, and introducing a backstory as to why a god would hang out with mortals.

Thor Poster

It skips on the old comic origins of Thor having his memories of godhood removed and placed in the body of a handicapped scientist, for the sexier story of having Thor pissed off that his powers were taken, but otherwise being in his own body, one still quite capable of fucking people up.

I know it’s stupid to nitpick some things about a comic book movie, but lets get my gripes out of the way right now. The costumes were an attempt to sexy up classic designs, but they came across as a bit plastic looking, along with some of the other props. S.H.I.E.L.D. is portrayed as iron-fisted and comes across as unreasonable and ignorant, and it is intentional, as one of the characters refers to them as being ‘jack-booted’, but I can’t help but think that in the current American political climate, driven by PATRIOT Act injustices similar to what S.H.I.E.L.D. was guilty of here, that they could have been softened up a bit. Maybe that’s a plus, it depends on your point of view.

But it does other things absolutely right. Hemsworth is a great Thor. He’s physically and esthetically right for the part. None of the Asgardians display much in the way of Nordic accents though. Anthony Hopkins as Odin seemed just right. The special effects are flashy and loud, make good use of screen real-estate and convey the source material well.

As I said, it skips from my favorite origin story, but that said, it managed to keep the spirit of the comics close, while still being accessible to the general public. The action scenes are exciting, and there are some hilarious slapstick moments early on. As expected, Loki plays a large part, but almost any mention of his actions could be spoiler intensive since he is such a huge part of the plot, so I’ll leave it up to you to find out.

Yes, that last line is subtle speak for go watch the damn movie. It’s good! It’s not the best comic book movie, but it’s FAR from the worst (lookin’ at YOU Punisher:War Zone) it’s a fun action movie that strays from guns and grenades to emphasize melee beatdowns and that of course is the whole point. And Stan Lee’s required cameo is absolutely hilarious.

7/10