Okay, so out of all the Marvel Phase One films, Avengers included, Thor is DEFINITELY my favorite. Sure, it's not as large-scale as The Avengers, but the beauty of this movie is that it doesn't NEED to be -- it succeeds tremendously with what it has. At the center of it all is a pitch-perfect performance by Chris Hemsworth, who brings Thor epically to life. The supporting cast all does solid work, too. Tom Hiddleston as Loki has certainly been Marvel's best on-screen villain so far. Another thing I love about this movie is how deftly it weaves together fantasy and science fiction elements, and that lends the action an extra dose of awesomeness, if you ask me. Plus, even…

The God of Thunder (Chris Hemsworth) is banished to Earth to live as a powerless human in payment for his arrogance, where he befriends mortals (Natalie Portman, Stellan Skarsgard, and Kat Dennings) and comes to the notice of SHIELD, unaware of the cataclysmic political situation playing itself out back on his homeworld of Asgard.

This is a rousing adventure and a very successful adaptation of the comic book. Hemsworth has the size, the arrogance, and the charm that his role requires. Anthony Hopkins is imposing as Odin and Tom Hiddleston makes a surprisingly sympathetic Loki. The complex relationship between the father and his two sons is one of the film's greatest strengths. Unfortunately, the earthly segments are the weakest. Even…

Straight away Chris Hemsworth as Thor annoyed me with his arrogance and almost hammy portrayal as the Thunder God, son of Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and brother to Loki (Tom Hiddleston). But after a blistering and fantastical opener showcasing the might of the Gods, I soon understood I had to find Thor arrogant, cocky and hammy as this leads to why his character is banished to Earth.

It's a great return to the fantastical, comic-book world of Marvel that the modern films tend to blend too much into reality. It was nice to see a Marvel film really spend time to focus on these elements of mystical powers, legend and sprawling worlds, all created really well with the CGI.

Natalie Portman…

Alvorens het superheldencollectief 'The avengers' het volgend jaar ongetwijfeld zal doen stuiven aan de box office, is het eerst de beurt aan de Noorse dondergod Thor om zijn granieten schoudergestel te zalven. Regisseur van dienst is de Britse cineast Kenneth Branagh, die zich eerder liet opmerken met een resem gesmaakte Shakespeare-verfilmingen, al maakt het in casu 'Thor' bitter weinig uit wie er in het regiestoeltje zit. De Marvel-stripverfilmingen zijn immers generisch box-office-snoepgoed die onderling inwisselbaar zijn en dat is met de capriolen van onze mythologische dondervriend niet anders.

Net als de resem comic-verfilmingen die de voorbije jaren de bioscoopkassa's enterden, biedt 'Thor' wat ervan te verwachten valt: een fotogenieke superheld met vikingcarrure (zie zijn albasten torso glimmen!), een bij de…

Of the Marvel Studio films Thor is the one I dig the most. For a comic book movie the action doesn't knock my socks off and if anything the CGI is a little bit too much for these eyes.

So why four stars? Simply because at it's heart Thor has great comedic beats and a lot of heart. Chris Hemsworth is charismatic as the lead and Anthony Hopkins and Tom Hiddleston add gravitas to the film. Even Natalie Portman manages to avoid any major Portmanisms.

I think my favourite things about the film are the father & son(s) relationship, the fact that it's set in a small town à la Superman 2 (and recently used to lesser effect in Iron Man…