Thor

"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. Branagh ultimately succeeded in everything he touched. The actors are all fantastic (Tom Hiddleston unexpectedly shines), the dramatic storyline doesn't give a moment of rest, the action is flawless, and the romantic subtext is not just a subtext. In short, it is a captivating comic book adaptation that confidently presents a treacherous subject in a Marvel light, and it intensifies the desire for The Avengers to an almost breathless maximum." (05/04/2011)

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. (05/08/2011)

By the whiskers of Odin, that was superb. Despite its fantasy atmosphere, Thor doesn’t disturb the Marvel universe as much as I had feared. On the contrary, now I have the feeling that it would be worse without him. And the mass of references (beautifully complementing the action) form an excellent foundation for the story and prepare the ground for the biggest event of next summer. Chris Hemsworth is excellent, and considering he isn’t well-known, he did an excellent job, carrying the entire movie on his shoulders without needing his hand to be held by the better-known stars who paradoxically are given much less room. Astrophysicist Natalie is here basically just so that the main protagonist someone to fall in love with and Hopkins to cast our hero out of his home. What I liked was that Branagh exploited the spectacular world of Asgard to the maximum. Midgard (alias New Mexico) serves just as a bridge to the Avengers, but for this story it’s important only to teach Thor (big and powerful) to obey orders. All in all, this is an excellent story just a drop short of perfection. A very little drop. (04/30/2011)

Perhaps my disappointment with this is caused by excessive expectations based on decent to enthusiastic responses, but even though I was only expecting a fun summer blockbuster, I was surprised at how intellectually shallow and easily forgettable this is. The only positive aspect is Kenneth Branagh's perspective, as he was well aware of the stupidity he was directing and didn't take it too seriously. On the other hand, there is too much genre baggage and pathos in it for my taste. I really didn't expect that I would enjoy Snyder's Watchmen more... Overall impression: 40%, influenced positively by the enchanting Natalie Portman. (10/06/2011)

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? (04/27/2011)