Reviews
The Mirror
James O'Brien
“There is so much to like here, and so little to quibble about, that a new superhero franchise has almost certainly been born.
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29/04/2011
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The New Statesman
David Edwards
“The 3D is ace and the effects are spectacular, making this the most thoroughly enjoyable superhero flick since Iron Man.
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22/04/2011
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The Sunday Express
Allan Hunter
“A boisterous, bustling spectacle that attempts to balance the onslaught of special-effects wizardry with some welcome touches of humour and humanity.
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29/04/2011
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The Guardian
Chris Hewitt
“At first glance, all the ingredients for a cheddar convention to rival the likes of Flash Gordon are there ... But Thor is too knowing to stock up on the movie mozzarella. What it is, though, is tremendous fun, and further proof that Marvel Studios knows how to handle its back catalogue.”
03/05/2011
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The Financial Times
Leo Robson
“There is plenty going on, with the result that the film is busy and eventful but also diffuse and under-developed. But next to the recent competition, this film is Shakespearean.”
27/04/2011
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The Independent
Xan Brooks
“I'd hesitate to call this a good film, exactly. It's overlong and all over the place.... But there's something weirdly charming about it just the same. Branagh has knocked his film together with a terrific, freewheeling gusto. It has its tongue in its cheek and the fun is infectious. For all of its flaws, Thor's never a bore.”
19/04/2011
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The Los Angeles Times
Jonathan Romney
“Brisk and unfussy, Thor feels bracingly old-fashioned, like a belated follow-up to the Superman cycle. The 3D feels flat at times, and after a while, you stop noticing it. But the look is distinctive... You can't honestly see why it took someone as heavyweight as Branagh to tackle Thor, but he does it with swagger and good cheer. Think of it as a fancy RSC panto, without the ruffs. ”
01/05/2011
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The Mail on Sunday
Baz Bamigboye
“The first of the big summer blockbuster is Norse nonsense, but great fun.
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29/04/2011
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Scotland on Sunday
Alistair Harkness
“A thunder-stealing charm offensive [from] Branagh and his cast.”
20/04/2011
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Sight & Sound
Mark Adams
“Branagh seems most at ease with Shakespearian-like conflicts ... He embraces the mythology with skill, manages to blend pomp and majesty with more than a little humour and humanity.”
18/04/2011
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The Times
Tim Robey
“In the ever-more-crowded comic-book galaxy, [Thor] may be the dark star we’ve been waiting for.”
28/04/2011
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Time Magazine
Tim Robey
“It’s soul – low down the agenda of Thor’s Marvel stable-mates – that resonates here more than spectacle, and credit for that goes straight to Branagh’s skill with his actors: getting a real performance from the largely untried Hemsworth, a more intent one than Hopkins has delivered anywhere else lately, and a cracking one from Tom Hiddleston”
24/04/2011
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The Times
Tom Huddleston
“Why Kenneth Branagh? He’s never shown a penchant for action, and that isn’t remedied here: while the film’s many noisy punchups are perfectly serviceable, this is a largely anonymous piece of work, lacking any directorial stamp.”
28/04/2011
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The Sunday Times
Kevin Maher
“If this was any other genre it would be rubbish. But as a comic-book blockbuster, which is the big idiot cousin of actual movies, it’s passable.”
30/04/2011
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Total Film
Kevin Maher
“Branagh seems to be hinting at a bolder more satirical movie that Thor might have been in an alternate mainstream universe. As it is, he’ll have to settle for a modestly entertaining comic-book blockbuster. Which isn’t saying much.”
29/04/2011
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Uncut Magazine
Neil Smith
“Eyebrows were raised when the British luvvie [Branagh] behind Henry V and Frankenstein was put in charge of this $150m behemoth ... even the most ardent acolyte will be won over by a film that manages to poke genial fun at the helmet-wearing hammer-wielder ... while still adhering to the same bangs for bucks ratio as the Iron Man and X-Men cycles.”
18/04/2011
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Variety
Michael Bonner
“It’s deathly long, it struggles to be coherent in places and, at times, it’s really just like the last superhero film you saw, but with slightly different costumes … [but] when Thor is banished to Earth, and befriends scientists Natalie Portman and Stellan Skarsgård, Branagh’s film finally reveals its charms.”
27/04/2011
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The Evening Standard
David Sexton
“The film judders from looking like an out-take from Henry V, then like a scene from a western, before veering into reminiscences of Harry Potter, Doctor Who, Arthurian legend and The Lord of the Rings for good measure … [but] good fun for boys.”
28/04/2011
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