Thor

Bring on the guy wearing an American Flag!

Lover: Taken from IMDB
“Thor was much much better than I expected. I didn't know if they could pull of the balance between the Norse mythology stuff and the real world Marvel Universe. I should've known better because Marvel knows their characters and knows what we want to see. Spider-Man set a new standard for the superhero film genre back in the day. Iron Man upped the ante. Thor takes the ball and runs with it and places that bar even higher. I look forward to seeing it again and know it will do well enough to be worthy of a sequel because word of mouth is going to be great. Trust me when I say Thor REALLY IS as good as Iron Man and is most worthy to be called one of the greatest adaptations ever.”

One of the greatest might be bit of a long shot, however Thor is surprisingly very good! This reviewer hit the nail on the head as to why but more about that later.

Hater: Taken from IMDB
“Unfortunately it's one of the dumbest things I've seen in years, and is completely full of moronic clichés and the most superficial faux morals. Please do yourself a favour and spend your money on things that are more deserving of it, especially if you've worked hard to earn it. Just in case you want to know what you'll be missing --- * spoiler alert * (though really I'm giving this film a massive compliment by suggesting you could 'spoil' anything in it) Thor's father takes his hammer away and sends him to earth for punishment. While there Thor literally changes overnight from being an arrogant, rash and violent idiot to a wise, humble and pacifist purveyor of all things noble, and the only possible reason for this that's presented in the movie is that he met Natalie Portman and was then told that his father died while he was gone. Once Thor the god of thunder completes this astonishing and instant transformation and sacrifices his life for others, his hammer flies back to him, revives him and he beats the bad guys with it. If you really, really love Marvel movies and viking folklore (to the point where you don't mind these things being made a joke out of) and have 2.5 hours in which you'd otherwise be causing harm to humanity or this planet, go see it. Otherwise you might as well spare yourself from this glorious waste of time and brain cells.”

First and foremost have a go at Marvel for the laughs had at Viking folklore as Thor was their idea. The film is nowhere near as bad as this person is trying to point out and the only point they do have is Thors “change overnight”. The point was always that Thor was a good person beforehand he’s just a bit arrogant and hopefully the character will never lose that. I would say thinking you’ve lost your dad would be extreme enough to change you over night, especially if you think you were part to blame for it? I just don’t know sometimes, if you already have preconceived ideas that you will hate a movie please don’t bother going to see it. This reviewer like most negative reviews of less than 100 words are made up of this sort of people and it’s frustrating to say the least.

What I thought:
When news was announced that Marvel Studios were planning an Avengers movie, I thought; how the hell will they pull off Thor. Just read some of the comics and you’ll know how ridiculous the character can and will be, how could they fit him into this new Iron Man started universe without making him look a bit camp? Well firstly you hire another controversial choice to helm it, Kenneth Branagh’s is not best known for his directing. Arguably better in front of camera than he is behind it, he was a big risk and I have to say I think he’s done it.

Thor may be a little bit wet behind the ears, the running time doesn’t give much room to develop characters or in some peoples point of view; time for characters to change. However its very funny and played out with the kind of charm that worked so well for Iron Man, the action sequences are fast paced and a LOT of fun too. Chris Hemsworth makes the role his own and plays Thor as the arrogant son of Odin he is, it’s only the change in the character that might annoy people but like I’ve pointed out before; I think losing your father can have a pretty fast effect on someone, but you be the judge. It's all a balancing act, keeping the mythical realms of Asgard from being like the Hawkmen from Flash Gordon and tying it in with our wolrd using humour and the "science is magic" line.

Natalie Portman does enough to make Jane Foster likeable and I don’t think we can ask anything more in a film like this. The funniest moments are restricted to Earth bound scene’s with Thor’s fish-out-of-water scenarios that has The Mighty Thor taken down by cars, tasers and injections. Unlike the Avenger-baiting scenes with Shield in Iron Man 2, Thor just has Agent Coulson (The brilliant Clark Gregg) turning up and getting the biggest laughs “Is it one Starks?” The sly little winks to fans are handled brilliantly with mentions of a scientist specialising in gamma radiation, Hawkeyes appearance and of course the now obligatory post credit scene.

All of this makes Thor a brilliant start to the summer season of movies, a writer from Empire put it brilliantly for me “the first and hardest hurdle to The Avengers has been jumped”. I think it sums this movie perfectly and has me counting the days to Captain America.