Thor

It’s clear to me now why a Shakespeare filmmaker like Kenneth Branagh went for this. All the scenes from Asgard seem like great theatre, with interesting characters, great fatality, betrayal, envy and jealousy. Asgard, with its megalomaniacal architecture and all its pomposity, was the most entertaining part, and the episode from Earth, thanks to the good actors, was also enjoyable, although I can't shake the impression that more unintentional humour could have been extracted from "Thor wondering among men like a bull in a china shop". Chris Hemsworth is likeable in every way, Hopkins finally after a long time in a role that suits him best; these classy characters, that's his thing. Overall an enjoyable 2 hours and I wouldn't mind a sequel. (08/05/2011)

I would give everything in the world for a trip to Asgard. What the camera (and special effects) showcase in conjunction with the epic soundtrack surpasses everything I have seen in a long time, and each shot showing me a piece of Thor's homeland almost moves me with its grandeur. Kenneth Branagh ultimately succeeded in everything he touched. The actors are all fantastic (Tom Hiddleston unexpectedly shines), the dramatic storyline doesn't give you a moment of rest, the action is flawless, and the romantic subtext is more than just subtext. In short, this is a captivating comic book adaptation that confidently presents a treacherous subject in a Marvel light, and it intensifies your anticipation for The Avengers to an almost breathless maximum. (04/05/2011)

Branagh is a tremendous guy; he knows full well that not even a popcorn relax movie can be purely action for action’s sake, but that it needs emotions through (almost Shakespeare-like) destiny, (almost Shakespeare-like) tongue-in-cheek humor (the above applies only to the original, undubbed version - dubbing can easily bury any attempt at humor) and also some acting talent in the cast... Simply everything necessary to make sure that this wouldn’t turn into an effective “American-style" brainwasher, but into a regular, although still popcorn movie with all the trimmings. And not only does Thor manage this throughout, but the relaxed impression remains with you even after you leave the movie theatre, which is unusual today. You could not get more out of the naive comic book story (which hijacks Norse myths and legends) that it’s based on. The only thing that isn’t clear to me with respect to future plans is why the last fall didn’t take place with the opposite guard? (27/04/2011)

After embarrassing trailers and 3D conversion, I avoided watching Thor in the movie theater. Now, in retrospect, I feel that was a mistake because Branagh has delivered a terrific comic book movie that bucks the fashionable trend of machine psychoanalyses of the heroic mind, and instead has a sympathetic man land on Earth who tackles everything with a disarming combination of unearthly naivety and muscularity. The characters are as flat as ever, but the actors are excellent, it moves along nicely, and it's full of humor (or Asgard) and proper pomposity. A sequel, please! (29/08/2011)

If it wasn't part of the MCU, I would have missed out on it. The comic book adventures of this thunder god aren't my cup of tea either, so I'm not even disappointed. Yet I'm almost surprised that the acting trio of Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgård, and Kat Dennings was weak. Kenneth Branagh also used to be a much more definite safe bet. But I've already started watching it, so I'll survive every episode this one time. (04/05/2015)