Thor

IMDB
First time viewed: Yes
Current Release: Yes
Watched With: Kim, Paul, Tyler, Josh

Didn't really know what to expect with this one but it was thoroughly enjoyable although it does make me crave for a more epic version that doesn't have to deal with a tie in to the Avengers and spend more time purely in the other realms. Because they look pretty awesomely fantasy epic adventurey which I just love.

That's the thing that jumps out most for me, the production design of Asgard and the other fantasy elements. They are just beautifully realised and make all the time spent of Earth boring.

Chris Hemsworth is damn great. He's quite unexpectedly funny too. And looks great without a shirt, which is the most important thing for any superhero.

I loved the battle with the frost giants but for some reason the final battle on earth didn't do much for me. Not after the power we see unleashed at the start. But they have the best sounding heat ray ever. That thing is badass.

Kenneth Branagh does suit this material quite well, despite what people might think. It's very theatrical and very Shakespearian in drama, what with all the royal family feuding and backstabbing and plots to steal the throne. As expected he overuses his dutch angles. But the action stuff was just fine. Not the best superhero action I've seen, but still really good.

The post-3D conversion works well enough, you'll probably only notice glitches around edges if you go looking for them like I do.

I guess this kicks off the big summer blockbuster season (even though it's winter here) and it looks to be a good one. I'll no doubt end up seeing this again at some stage so I'll leave this as a first impression and get into details next time. But do stay after the credits for the little avengers coda thing. I'm not a big marvel buff so i'm not sure if I'm missing something here, suffice to say it went a bit over my head, but it's still something to mull over in preparation for 2012 superhero madness.