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It feels like forever ago, but in 2011 we were 2 movies deep in the MCU and with Thor on the horizon, fans eagerly waited to see how the first time adoption on the big screen of the god of thunder would turn out. I was one of those fans , and today I am here to review the first Thor and answer the question, is the first Thor good or was it just hype back then? Let’s get into it. Also, just to preference this, I have been reading comic books almost my entire life and have a great understanding of Thor from a comic book perspective, but I will be looking at the movie through both lenses. From a comic book perspective and a film perspective.
Like everything in life, let’s start off with the good. Thor came out in 2011 and is directed by Kenneth Branagh. It stars the now iconic Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston as Loki and Thor. Hemsworth performance is solid. With him giving a sense of charm but at the same time delinquency and pure joy to character. At the same time, Hemsworth gives Thor a foundation to build upon while portraying all aspects of him very well. Hiddleston’s performance as Loki is also great. The MCU has always gotten flagged for having “weak villains” which in this case is kinda right. Hiddleston is amazing with what he was given to work with. The problem for Loki in this film comes from the writing. While the writing for Thor is great, Loki could of been written a little better. His dialogue is dry but humorous and he comes off kinda cliche villain. Lucky, Hiddleston performance saves the bad writing as a he gives it all here. The chemistry between Loki and Thor in the film is great. You can feel their relationship grow and dwindle throughout the entire thing. As for other notable actors in the film, Natalie Portman plays Jane Foster (Thor’s earth love interest) and Anthony Hopkins plays odin, the father of Thor. Portman suffers from the same problem that Hiddleston’s Loki suffers from, she was great in the roll and did a good job, just some of her lines fell flat.
As accepted from Hopkins, he delivers a great performance playing Thor and Loki’s parental figure. You can feel and connect with him throughout the story. My favorite roll in the movie is Idris Elba’s Heimdall . He does not have a lot of screen time, but the time he does have is chilling and I absolutely loved it. Some of the other positive things are the world building and the action from this movie. If you catch the easter eggs and some of the things talked about, you will see just how much this movie set up back in 2011. It is awesome that it builds out the amazing lore of the Asgardians. The action is the movie is well done. Nothing stellar, but it is well placed and the scene with Thor fighting the destroyer in the town was and still is pretty freaking awesome. Costume design in the movie is also a major plus with most of the costumes(which were already iconic in there own right to comic readers) are great and now have a solid place in the MCU. At this point, you are most likely wondering where the negatives are. Well, I only have one major problem with the movie.
The movie doesn’t take enough chances. In my eyes, the story they play with is safe. For those who do not know, Thor has a amazing lore and a rich history in the comics. I get that it was an origin story and one they needed to tell because not everyone knows it. I just wish that the movie introduced characters like Gorr the god butcher and tease out the cool side of the mythos. But other then that, the movie is solid. If I had to give it a rating from 1-10, I would for sure give it a 8/10. A very solid foundation to build upon and a great superhero movie. Thanks for reading this review and stay tuned for our next review in the road for civil war- Captain America: The first avenger. For all things geek, you are in the right place! Stay motivated, you got this.
-@indianparker
