Thor: A better late than never review.

I took Ryan to see "Thor" this week. Yeah I know, what took so long right? But I am happy to report it was worth seeing in the theater, even if we missed all the hullabaloo by seeing it during its premiere.

As I usually do when seeing a big picture at the movie house, I sent LA Filmcutter a text and let him know I was FINALLY seeing "Thor" and then I gave him my immediate reaction when it was over: 'Well that was awesome!' Normally I'll call to discuss the show but I had to run and get Maddy so I Facebook messaged him instead. The following is our Facebook conversation and my/our review of "Thor"...

ALLEN PINNEY
So about Thor...
That was about all I could have wanted out of a Thor movie. I loved it! There are of course nits to pick but not too many.

With the exception of Rene Russo the cast was pretty near perfect. Hemsworth was awesome, Hiddleston was awesome, thought Hopkins was a great fit and Clark Gregg is always a treat.

Asgard was amazing and the opening battle with the frost giants was a pitch perfect intro to Thor, Loki, the Warriors Three and Sif. Ryan and I actually laughed out loud (in a good way) when Thor throws his hammer and then goes off on the frost giants!

Oh, and Kenneth Branagh turns out to be the BEST choice to direct a Thor movie. I thought he handled the humor, the action, the love story, the father/son conflicts, Earth and Asgard all with equal skill. Very Shakespearean yes?

Unlike some critics I thought the scenes on Earth fit just fine in the film. My only nit pick there was the lighting. I would have used warmer, softer lighting I think. If they had lit it a little more like Asgard (not exactly like) the transition between worlds (pardon me; realms) would have been easier on the audience.

Nit pick - Hawkeye/Clint Barton was a throw away cameo that they didn't even need. That part could have been played by any SHIELD sniper.

I enjoyed Patrick Doyle's score as well. Of course I like his Harry Potter music so that could have helped.

As always in an action/superhero movie some of the dialog is dumb, but whatever, just give me more hammer!

I missed him being Dr. Blake and the whole smashing his walking stick into the ground and changing into Thor. But, honestly he hasn't done that since the early 90's I think. AND they did give us a version of it at the end of the Destroyer battle.

Can't wait to see what Loki has in store for the Avengers and to see what the Cosmic Cube is all about in Captain America.

Jeez, I know I'm missing something... What else?

LA FILMCUTTER
Yes, loved the cast and Gregg is always fun to watch...

Agent: "is that one of Stark's?"
Colson: "I don't know, guy never tells me anything."

I completely agree, Kenneth Branagh was definitely the best choice to direct. Asgard is very Shakespearean indeed. He had a wide palette to fill and handled everything beautifully. Yeah, the lighting might have helped the transition from Asgard to Earth. Especially when Thor's friends appeared in the small town. That was my one main glitch, which I got over pretty quickly.

The battle in the open was REALLY fun and REALLY exciting! I loved when Thor threw his hammer and it went right through that creatures head! Nice!! Yes, when he hits the first frost giant, he goes down, then Thor says "next!". HA-HA! We laughed out loud too!

We totally did not need Hawkeye. Seemed kind of forced like they wanted to remind us of the Avengers....again.

Score was great without a doubt.

I seriously wanted to see him as Donald Blake and smashing the cane to become Thor! Wait a minute, what did I miss? A version of it at the end of the Destroyer battle?

What else? Natalie Portman?

The funny thing is...after seeing the movie once I somehow don't feel the need to go back again. I absolutely enjoyed it, but for right now once is enough.

ALLEN PINNEY
YES - when Mjölnir comes flying back to Thor and the lightning comes down and his Asgard costume reforms around him.

I thought Natalie Portman was good too (good looking girl). Liked her Jane Foster and their relationship (even if a little sped up). I think I'd like her in a Draino commercial! LOL!

Ya know, I felt that maybe Marvel wasn't fully invested in this movie. They didn't give it a choice summer release date. It's squeezed in just before Capt. America which is obviously THE Marvel movie of 2011. It does come off as a bit of a light-weight and yeah, I can wait until the DVD release to see it again.

Did you catch J. Michael Straczynski's name in the credits?
If you haven't read it yet check out his Thor with (artist) Olivier Coipel.
Thor, Vol 1

LA FILMCUTTER
Yes, I definitely saw Straczynski's credit. Certainly one of the reasons it was so good! Will have to check out his comic.

Still gonna be a little 'out-there' to have Thor beside Iron Man, etc. in "The Avengers" movie. This did seem like the studio was presenting a teaser (in a sense) for that forthcoming flick.

Sounds like we're going to get some footage (since they've been shooting) at Comic-Con.

ALLEN PINNEY
Yeah I hope so (for your sake)! That'll be cool.

With that the conversation ended and we were on to new things like "X-men: First Class."

And for a score? I give "Thor" a solid B+ and LA Filmcutter rates it 4 out of 5 stars.