Thor - 8/10
All my concerns were thrown out of the window once I finally saw this. It just delivers in every way. First off, the casting. All of the performances are strong, but the most impressive were both Hemsworth as Thor and Hiddelston as Loki. Both played their characters pretty much perfectly. Like Robert Downey Jr. is Iron Man, Chris Hemsworth is Thor. He exceeded my expectations. Even when he was a cocky bastard I still liked him. Then once he became humbled and selfless you love him. Hiddelston plays such a difficult role. You'll know what I'm talking about when you see it, but he delivers sucha nuanced performance that's spot on.
To my delight, the Earth scenes are just as great as the Asgard scenes; the Earth scene provide the right kind of humor. The fish out of water angle works in the best ways. Hemsworth just delivers in all the areas while Skaarsgard, Portman and Dennings all provide their weight. Idris Elba also gives a badass performance as Heimdall. And for the first time in many years, Anthony Hopkins is actually performing. And only Branagh could get that out of him. Branagh and co. made all the right decisions in the approach of Thor. And the supporting cast played a bigger role than I thought they would. So props to him for that. He's the right guy. The sets, costumes, everything was a sight to behold. Like the Bifrost. His resume really caters to this character. His direction surprises us. With the incredible action, visuals, and humor.
The pacing felt fine. I've only seen it once but I didn't feel like it was rushed. Al the scenes that changed Thor were substantial enough to get the point across. It flowed quite nicely. I think the only complain about the pacing is that I wish we saw more, because it was so damn good.
Marvel is on a roll so far. Now I can see Thor in the Avengers. I can't wait for Cap now, but that doesn't mean I'm done with this. I do want to see it again.
