Thor follows the story of an almighty warrior who is sent to the realm of Earth after being banished from his mysterious realm of Asgard. This is another Marvel movie which is part of my long running Marvel movie marathon. Click here to read other Marvel reviews. 

Thor felt inferior compared to some of the other Marvel movies. It is one of the older movies in the franchise but two of my favourite Marvel movies are equally as old and have aged well. The movie felt very fast-paced, to the point of being frantic. For the first ten to twenty minutes, there wasn't a chance to take a breath from the action. The movie did eventually settle into a slower pace (in fact, the editors tended to overuse slow motion), but the whole movie felt rushed.

The story itself lacked depth and was quite cliche and predictable. If the movie explored certain characters and explained certain events in more detail, that would have been great. Throughout the movie, it was very easy to foresee the writer's next few steps and I can't recall any 'plot twist' moments.

Of course, being a Marvel movie, there was outstanding acting and incredible action. However, unlike other Marvel movies, it didn't strike that perfect balance between action and humour. The element of humour was outweighed by an emphasis on action. Something slightly random but surprisingly positive about the movie was that they kept quoting Star Wars movies. I counted at least three word for word phrases from a Star Wars movie. I don't know why they did this or even if it was intentional but (being a huge Star Wars fan), it certainly made the movie more enjoyable and fun. 

Although Thor isn't the best of the Marvel movies, it is essential viewing for those wanting to watch the franchise. It reveals details which lead into the other movies and provides a backstory for some of the major characters in the series. However, if you are wanting to watch a nice standalone movie, I wouldn't recommend this one.

Thor is a mediocre Marvel movie which spends too much time on action but does segue well into later Marvel projects.

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston

Year released: 2011

My rating: 5.5/10

Review by Tristan Carr

Last edited: 16/05/2021