Thor starts with a bang, literally, and then turns into a different movie for half an hour. It's crazy to think that the whole whirlwind scene with Darcy, Erik Selvig and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman, of Lonely Island fame) chasing around an atmospheric anomaly and hitting Chris Hemsworth with their van all happens in about three and a half minutes.

We jump from that frantic first scene to long drawn out exposition on the history of Asgard, Midgard and the war with the frost giants, and get sweeping vistas showcasing the gleaming, gold-plated world of Asgard. Where Iron Man 2 is hyper-efficient in its march through plot points and character introductions, Thor is more economical as it parcels out its story in long uneven stretches.

_{Source: KlingAI}

Much has been said about the accuracy of the depiction of Asgard here, and how true it is to Kirby’s original drawings, but honestly, it looks more like the concept of a city than a functioning civilization. Aside from the coronation scene (which seems to be the only Asgard scene they bothered to hire extras for), Asgard is strangely empty. Vast halls echo with the footsteps of a handful of actors in elaborate costumes, and not much else.

Thankfully, the movie picks back up again once Thor is banished to Earth after reigniting the ancient war, and is stripped of his powers and his epic hammer, "Myeuh-muh". It’s easy to forget how sharp Hemsworth's comedic timing is, even this early. The New Mexico section of the film is driven almost entirely by the chemistry between Hemsworth and the trio of Portman, Stellan Skarsgård, and Kat Dennings, and I can't help but giggle my way through pretty much every conversation every time I watch it.

Skarsgård and Dennings, as Erik and Darcy, are the kind of supporting characters Marvel Phase 1 excelled at: quick sketches that feel lived-in and unexpectedly funny. Dennings steals scenes with her dry delivery (“I am not dying for six college credits”, "Yeah, we can tell you're hammered"), while Skarsgård’s put-upon straight man routine plays perfectly against the chaos. And Hemsworth's exchange with the pet store guy is still one of the best in MCU history.

_{Source: Thor (2011)}

We also get what might be my favorite Stan Lee cameo of the entire MCU. At the impromptu gathering where locals are trying to lift Thor’s hammer, Stan rigs it to the back of his pickup truck with chains. When the truck bed tears clean off, he leans out the window and tosses off a cheeky, “Did it work?”

That easy humor carries over into the S.H.I.E.L.D. subplot, with Clark Gregg’s Agent Coulson emerging as the MVP of the shared universe. Gregg plays Coulson with a dry, deadpan competence that makes even the most bureaucratic scenes crackle. His interactions with the New Mexico crew as he politely impounds their research and locks down their site somehow make him seem endearing and likable, as opposed to the jackbooted thug Selvig proclaims him to be.

This is of course the 'little problem in the southwest' that he left Tony to deal with in Iron Man 2, and it's the sort of connective tissue that made Phase 1 sing. Not too overbearing, but plainly obvious that everything is happening in the same world. This is also the first film to feature Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye. His cameo is brief but memorable: perched with a bow, snarking about whether to shoot Thor or not. Sharp-eyed viewers will also catch Maximiliano Hernández as S.H.I.E.L.D agent Jasper Sitwell, who will pop up again later in the series.

_{Source: Thor (2011)}

Back in Asgard, the family drama unfolds in long, operatic beats. This is where Kenneth Branagh’s Shakespearean background shows up most clearly. Before Thor, Branagh was best known for adapting and starring in a run of lavish, energetic Shakespeare films: Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, and a full-text, four-hour Hamlet shot in sweeping 70mm. Marvel brought him in to lend some weight to their space gods, and it works, sort of. Branagh masterfully stages Thor and Loki’s sibling rivalry, and Thor’s strained relationship with Odin (Anthony Hopkins), with all the grandeur of a royal court drama. I just don't know that that's what I want out of a superhero movie.

It’s worth noting here that by their fourth film, Marvel is quietly building a pattern: strained father figures loom large over every story. Iron Man is shadowed by the complicated legacy of Howard Stark; The Incredible Hulk hinges on Bruce Banner’s adversarial relationship with General Ross, whose overbearing control of his daughter Betty drives much of his hostility toward Banner; and now in Thor, Odin not only berates Thor into exile but also keeps Loki in the dark about his frost giant origins for most of his life. The MCU, at this point, is as much about difficult dads as it is about superheroes.

Tom Hiddleston’s Loki is, of course, the real legacy of Thor. His blend of wounded pride, sharp intelligence, and obvious emotional damage elevates every scene he’s in. It’s easy to see why the character instantly resonated with audiences. Loki isn’t just a sneering villain; he’s a neglected son who discovers, mid-movie, that he’s not even biologically related to the family he’s been trying to impress. His motivations make sense, even when he’s toppling realms and unleashing interdimensional monsters. Hiddleston plays him with just enough charm that you’re almost rooting for him or at least hoping he sticks around. Which, of course, he does.

_{Source: Thor (2011)}

This was also obviously a breakout role for Chris Hemsworth, and he very nearly didn’t get it. His younger brother Liam was a finalist for the part, but Chris ultimately won out. Liam would later get a consolation prize playing an actor playing Thor in Ragnarok, opposite Surprise Matt Damon.

Thor is a strange film in hindsight. It’s uneven, and its pacing is choppy, but it’s foundational. Without this film, there’s no gateway to the cosmic side of the MCU. The Destroyer, the Bifrost, and the hints of the Nine Realms quietly normalize the idea that magic, aliens, and gods can exist in the same world as Tony Stark’s arc reactor. The post-credits scene, with Selvig being recruited by Fury to study the Tesseract, further cements the path to The Avengers.

Box office-wise, Thor was a solid success. With a budget of around $150 million, it grossed roughly $449 million worldwide. Not the runaway phenomenon of Iron Man, but proof that even Marvel’s stranger corners could find an audience. It set the stage, quite literally, for bigger, bolder cosmic stories even if Asgard itself felt a little empty in the process.

_{Source: Thor (2011)}

Potent Quotables

"This mortal form has grown weak. I need sustenance!"

"You would defy the command of Loki, your king, break every oath you have taken as warriors, and commit treason to bring Thor back?"
"Yes."
"Good."

"You made my men, some of the most highly trained professionals in the world, look like a bunch of minimum wage mall cops. That's hurtful."

"Do you want me to take him down, or would you rather send in more guys for him to beat up?"

"Does he need CPR? 'Cause I totally know CPR."

My Personal Ranking

As I continue to go through all the movies over the next several weeks, I'll keep a running tally of where they fit in my personal spectrum of best and worst of all the MCU offerings. Feel free to throw your own list in the comments below!

Next up: Captain America: The First Avenger, where Chris Evans’ face is pasted onto a hilariously undersized body just long enough to make his later super-soldier transformation feel inevitable.