In Thor, we get our first glimpse into the Fantastical elements of the MCU. Other worlds connected with ours, inhabitants possessing super human strength, magic, charms/talismans/artifacts. And let’s not forget the Hammer in the stone.-

I can see the wisdom in Marvel introducing the more science driven characters first (Tony Stark, Bruce Banner) before delving into the mythical realms. In fact, there Are some mythical stuff in the MCU that I personally could do without.

That being said, I found this rewatch of Thor to be pretty enjoyable. The casting is incredibly well done. I only have one casting flaw, which I will get to. But this movie is a good demonstration of Marvel combining established actors with relatively (at the time) little known actors, and getting it right most of the time.

Chris Hemsworth is Thor to me. I thought he nailed it in this. I’ve liked him ever since he stole the show in the opening scenes of Star Trek 2009.

Anthony Hopkins, can’t go wrong there.
Same for Rene Russo, although I would have liked to see more of her.

Tom Hiddleston already wins as best MCU villain so far, just by virtue of appearing in the post credits scene, thus avoiding the fate of being another MCU villain killed off after one film.

Wish Idris Elba had more of a role, but is essentially a cameo, much like Rene Russo. The warriors 3+1 looked pretty cool, could have been used even more.

Ok, let’s talk Natalie Portman. I think she is great. Just not in this. Give me Black Swan and Annihilation and V for Vendetta, even Queen Amidala. But she just didn’t seem to fit this role as Jane. I didn’t see chemistry between her and Thor. she couldn’t seem to decide between competent scientist or school girl with a crush, and ended up failing at both IMO. In the days since watching this, I’ve been wracking my brain as to who would be a better replacement, but without seeing a screen test with Hemsworth, i can’t really give an answer. Just someone who would have chemistry with him, giving him a reason to return to earth in the future. Also someone who could be under contract easily enough to be able to appear in the rest of the MCU movies, much like Pepper Potts.

Skarsgard was good enough. Same with the 2 Broke girls intern.

I remember seeming to dislike the “on earth” scenes. However this time, the only criticism I had was the robot attack. It was like they used all the budget on Asgard and Ice Planet CGI, which looked stunning, so they had to use photoshop and cheap explosives for that robot fight.

All in all, a good mix of humor and action, a brief introduction to Hawkeye, a post credit Tesseract, and the revelation that Loki isn’t dead or lost or whatever. You give me a convincing female lead, and this has the potential to be on par with Iron Man.

I’d give it a 7 out of 10.

Current MCU rankings
1. Iron Man
2. Thor
3. Iron Man 2
4. The Incredible Hulk

Next up, Captain America - The First Avenger (2011)