"Whoever wields this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor."
"Thor" was always a Marvel character whom I never imagined making it to the big screen; and as soon as it was bound to happen due to a film about "The Avengers" being green-lit, I felt it wasn't going to be as grand as other Marvel films such as "Iron Man", "Spider-Man", and "X-Men". It also didn't help that I wasn't very familiar with the actor choice to play "Thor" (Chris Hemsworth), however, I started to gain some confidence for the project when I started to see names such as Natalie Portman ("Black Swan", "V For Vendetta"), Kat Dennings ("Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist"), and of course, the great Anthony Hopkins, being added to the cast.
As soon as the first-look images surfaced, followed by the initial trailer, it started to look quite appealing to me, and it gradually became the 2nd comic-book film of 2011 that I was most looking forward to ("X-Men: First Class" is 1st). It ended up pretty much meeting my expectations. I was entertained, I felt the emotional aspects, I laughed & appreciated the comic relief, and I enjoyed it overall. The running time is stated as 114 minutes (1 hour, 54 minutes), but I honestly didn't feel the length whatsoever, which is definitely a good thing. It wasn't as great as the first two "Spider-Man" films or "Iron Man" (but then again, those are tough films to top!), but it's definitely the best Marvel film since the first "Iron Man". The acting was very solid, with Chris Hemsworth surprisingly taking the honors as the best performance in the film (breakout performance, for sure). I also felt the chemistry & romance between "Thor" and "Jane Foster" was amazing, beautiful, sweet and quite possibly the best thing about the film. (the clicking between the two felt rushed, but the chemistry was so strong that it didn't end up mattering). The action was plentiful, the special effects were incredible, the dialogue was good, and the flow was perfect. I also enjoyed the references to Iron Man and Hawkeye (who are both appearing in "The Avengers").
"Thor" is the third of four characters who are being introduced in their own films before the release of "The Avengers", and so far, the first three have been really good to great. "Thor" is definitely one of the best Hollywood films of the year so far, and will easily remain so. It's very good entertainment, I definitely recommend it; and I'm already looking forward to its sequel and, of course, "The Avengers". :)
Score: 4/5
