Thor
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: May 6, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
57
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 40 Critic Reviews
Positive:
22
Mixed:
14
Negative:
4
Watch Now
Stream On
Buy on
Stream On
Stream On
Stream On
Expand

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
91
Entertainment WeeklyOwen GleibermanMay 4, 2011
It's not art, but it's mighty fun. Read full review
90
MovielineStephanie ZacharekMay 5, 2011
I never would have believed it, but Branagh gets the balance between pageantry and silliness just right. Read full review
83
Portland OregonianMarc MohanMay 5, 2011
Thor meets the elevated expectations for superhero movies today, but doesn't exceed them. There's some sloppy plotting, which always shows a certain disregard for the audience's intelligence. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsMay 5, 2011
It's a film with its own identity, the simple, thrilling story of a handsome god who falls to Earth and reminds everyone what heroes do. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzMay 4, 2011
Humor is the most powerful weapon deployed by director Kenneth Branagh in Thor, his rollicking take on the comic. Read full review
80
EmpireChris Hewitt (1)Apr 26, 2011
Turn off the snark-o-meter, and this is a return to form for Marvel, introducing a new hero we'll be happy to see again in, oh, about a year or so. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterMegan LehmannApr 26, 2011
Chris Hemsworth gives a breakout performance as fallen Norse god. Read full review
75
ReelViewsJames BerardinelliMay 6, 2011
Perhaps the best thing that can be said about Thor is that it doesn't feel like a cookie-cutter superhero comic book origin story. Read full review
75
USA TodayClaudia PuigMay 5, 2011
Though he looks every inch a brawny Norse god, Hemsworth is not just a hunk. His charisma and charming grin go a long way toward making Thor engaging. Read full review
75
Rolling StonePeter TraversMay 5, 2011
Hemsworth, an Aussie actor with a vocal command to match his heaving brawn, doesn't just play the role, he owns it. I'm expecting both sexes will feel his impact. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsMay 5, 2011
The last 25 minutes of Thor aren't much better than the first. But that hour in between - tasty, funny, robustly acted - more than compensates. Read full review
75
Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanMay 5, 2011
His (Branagh) Thor has more complex characters than the usual "Transformers"-style melee; though that may not be what the readers of Marvel comics now want, it satisfied me most of the time. Read full review
75
Miami HeraldRene RodriguezMay 4, 2011
There is nothing in this surprisingly funny, exciting film that feels like homework, and Branagh even dares to end the film on, if not quite a cliffhanger, then a daring "To Be Continued" note. Read full review
75
Orlando SentinelRoger MooreMay 4, 2011
Has a lot of that winking wit we've come to expect from our post-"Spider Man" Marvel movies. It has a hunky, self-mocking young star, solid support from a couple of Oscar winners and the slick sheen that state-of-the-art effects can give you. Read full review
70
New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinMay 9, 2011
Equal parts trippy, tacky, and monumental, the blend surprisingly agreeable, a happy change from all those aggressively down-to-earth superhero flicks like "Iron Man." Read full review
70
SalonAndrew O'HehirMay 5, 2011
Branagh's completely at home in this kind of inflated family drama, of course, and the three guys yell, sulk and brood in their ridiculous costumes to fine effect. Read full review
70
TimeRichard CorlissMay 5, 2011
At its best moments, Thor weaves a spot of magic from the complex science of $150-million fantasy-film technology. Read full review
70
VarietyRichard KuipersApr 26, 2011
Thor delivers the goods so long as butt is being kicked and family conflict is playing out in celestial dimensions, but is less thrilling during the Norse warrior god's rather brief banishment on Earth. Read full review
67
Tampa Bay TimesSteve PersallMay 4, 2011
All that director Kenneth Branagh must do with Thor is not mess it up, and he succeeds. But that isn't enough. The results aren't as exhilarating as the first "Iron Man," but Downey can't play every superhero. Read full review
63
New York PostKyle SmithMay 6, 2011
There's plenty of smash, thunder and brawl for the kids. But in taking a bit of Hulk and a bit of Superman while re-imagining Excalibur as a hammer, Thor amounts to putting new horns on old ideas. And the screenplay sounds like the lyrics of Spinal Tap. Read full review
63
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsMay 5, 2011
With its references to other properties in the Marvel universe and to classic tales of redemption, this no-surprises summer movie might appeal to those who've been bitten by radioactive spiders or the Shakespeare bug. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy BurrMay 5, 2011
For a holding maneuver, Thor itself turns out to be diverting enough - not close to a sharp-edged romp like "Iron Man" but not the B-movie roadshow some of us were expecting. Read full review
60
NPRBob MondelloMay 6, 2011
The dude with the blond mane and bulging biceps clearly owns that hammer. And when the screenplay gives him something besides arrogance to work with, he owns the movie too. Read full review
60
Boxoffice MagazineTodd GilchristMay 3, 2011
Unfortunately, the committee-designed script never finds a consistent balance between building characters, delivering action and pushing the story forward. Read full review
58
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerMay 6, 2011
I prefer the goofier approach, which is why, even though Hemsworth isn't going to be cast in "King Lear" anytime soon, he's the best thing about Thor. Read full review
50
The New YorkerAnthony LaneMay 12, 2011
The year's most divided movie to date; everything that happens in the higher realms, vaguely derived from Nordic legend, is posturing nonsense, whereas the scenes down here are managed, for the most part, with dexterity and wit. [16 May 2011, p. 133]
50
Chicago ReaderJ.R. JonesMay 11, 2011
This is eminently missable, though the mosaic design of Asgard, Thor's mythical realm, is pretty cool. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleAmy BiancolliMay 5, 2011
A crappy 3-D conversion job mars this otherwise competent, energetic and cheerfully hambone Marvel adaptation from director Kenneth Branagh.
50
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanMay 5, 2011
The effects are effective. The humor is humorous and just self-referential enough to let you know the film doesn't take itself too seriously. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Rick GroenMay 5, 2011
Alas, the news is mixed: Thor ain't much of a movie but it's a great career move. Both movie and move belong to director Kenneth Branagh. Read full review
50
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranMay 5, 2011
Thor has its strengths, but it is finally something of a mishmash with designs on being more interesting than it manages to be. Read full review
50
The New York TimesA.O. ScottMay 5, 2011
The absolute and unbroken mediocrity of Thor is evidence of its success. This movie is not distinctively bad, it is axiomatically bad. And THAT is depressing. A howling turkey is at least something to laugh at, and maybe even something to see. But Thor is an example of the programmed triumph of commercial calculation over imagination. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerDavid HiltbrandMay 5, 2011
Hemsworth looks a good deal more like NFL receiver Jeremy Shockey than he does the immortal Avenger. Read full review
50
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovMay 5, 2011
All told, though, Thor suffers from "Iron Man 2" syndrome: too much backstory, too many subplots and character introductions, and not nearly enough full-frontal nudity from Natalie Portman, who frankly is given very little to work with here. Read full review
40
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierMay 5, 2011
No matter how the filmmakers move Heaven and Earth, this comic-book adaptation looks cool but contains very little thunder. The fault is a script by a five-headed beast which contains fateful missteps. Read full review
40
Time OutDavid FearMay 3, 2011
Thor accomplishes its essential goal and little else, which is to introduce the mighty warrior to the Marvel screen universe. Read full review
38
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger EbertJul 29, 2011
The standards for comic book superhero movies have been established by "Superman," "The Dark Knight," "Spider-Man 2" and "Iron Man." In that company "Thor" is pitiful. Consider even the comparable villains (Lex Luthor, the Joker, Doc Ock and Obadiah Stane). Memories of all four come instantly to mind. Will you be thinking of Loki six minutes after this movie is over? Read full review
30
Village VoiceEric HynesMay 4, 2011
An astonishingly awkward marriage of ancient Norse mythology and 21st-century nonsense, Thor, directed by Kenneth Branagh, works too hard at simply functioning to assert why it, or we, should bother. Read full review
20
SlateDana StevensMay 5, 2011
All the rest of Thor's 113 minutes felt so synthetic and overfamiliar that those brief flashes of spontaneity stood out like Morse code messages from another, better movie. Read full review
10
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternMay 5, 2011
Like Thor's hammer, this ersatz epic bludgeons its victims into submission. What's more, it requires them to stare at the source of their punishment through 3-D glasses. Read full review
More From This Movie

57 Critic Reviews

7.0 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL