Thor - I Say Thee 'Yay!'

Thor was always my least favourite of Marvel's original big gun characters when I was growing up. If the Marvel universe was full of man-in-the-street superheroes with feet of clay that its readership could relate to in a way we could never relate to an alien from Krypton or a millionaire playboy vigilante, Thor was always the odd one out. A God of Thunder? We didn't trip over too many of those on our way to the comic shop in Huddersfield.

I grew to appreciate Thor's adventures in later years through the work of Walt Simonson, and recently J. Michael Straczynski, but though my fingers were crossed - and I've always had the utmost respect for Ken Branagh - I still daren't hold out too much hope for Thor the movie. It just seemed like one of those concepts that wouldn't translate well to the cinema screen. When they cast a virtual unknown in the lead, my worries grew. Hopkins as Odin? I feared a thick slice of Brian Blessed-style ham. Natalie Portman? I say thee nay!

Then again, I have this theory that it's better to go into a comic book movie expecting the worst. And if I'd gone into Thor expecting Spider-Man II (the zenith of superhero films), I would have been disappointed. Slightly disappointed. As it was, I went in expecting Iron Man II (at best) or Ghost Rider (at worst)... and I came away more than satisfied.

Thor isn't perfect. The early Asgardian scenes are a little cold - and not just because of the Frost Giants - though they do soon become far more gripping and essential. The tonal shifts between Asgard and Earth could have been smoother. The Warriors Three were a little more cartoon than I'd have liked (and Volstagg should have been much bigger - not sure why they chose to cast The Punisher in that role, other than to add Ray Stevenson to the list of actors who've now played more than one Marvel character). But these are minor niggles compared to the things I was really worried about, most of which left me pleasantly surprised.

Chris Hemsworth was Thor. There was never any question. For an actor whose most famous role to date was as Captain Kirk's doomed dad, he's just acted his way into a career - and not just as an action movie hero. He more than held his own against both Hopkins (thankfully reigning in the ham and delivering a measured performance) and Tom Hiddleston's Loki (who otherwise would have stolen the movie). The real surprise for me though was Natalie Portman - in a key role, she is both the heart and the humanity of the film. Her best performance since Leon.

The fx were special, particularly Asgard and a more menacing Destroyer robot than even the one shown in the comics. Of course I saw Thor in 2D, the way movies were meant to be seen, so I can't even complain about the rubbish 3D other reviewers are carping about. Of the supporting cast, Idris Elba naturally shines as a wise and stoic Heimdall while Stellan Skarsgård brings multi-layered class to Erik Selvig (particularly in the post-credits Avengers set-up). I've seen a number of people whinging about the "pointless" Jeremy Renner / Hawkeye cameo, but I loved it. It didn't stick out so much as to distract anyone unfamiliar with the character, but Clint Barton fans like me must surely have been cheering. The token Stan Lee appearance always raises a cheer, but though I also caught JMS as the first New Mexican trying to life Mjolnir from the rock, I missed rumoured cameos from Walt & Louise Simonson. Should have been paying more attention.

Geek stuff aside, Thor is fun popcorn nonsense that should impress regular audiences as well as comic book fans. I hope it does well, and that Marvel bring Branagh back for the sequel. First though, Captain America... and the Avengers.