To cut things short: What easily could have been a huge disaster (a Marvel film about one of its lesser known super heroes, who is a Nordic God) by being pompous and silly, actually turns out to be one of the best films of the genre.

The movie's biggest asset, apart from the outstanding cast, is the fact that it refuses to take itself too seriously. There are more great laughs in this than in most comedies of the last five years, the audience even was clapping with laughter several times. Still, the film easily succeeds in his tragic sections as well, making it a family drama of Shakespearean dimensions, for which Director Kenneth Branagh turns out to be the perfect man for the job after all.

What he is delivering is an incredibly entertaining mix that works on all fronts. There is great CGI, mythic worlds, Marvel cameos that set up The Avengers, great action sequences. In short, the movie delivers everything you could have hoped for and more: it gives you characters you'd love to revisit. The movie makes you care for an initially arrogant, self-righteous and invincible God who is turned around perfectly by Chris Hemsworth. Tom Hiddleston creates one of the best comic movie villains to date with his Loki.

Make sure to stay through the end credits, not only for an excellent Foo Fighters song, because the post-credits scene already gives us a pretty good idea what the Avengers will have to deal with next year. I can't wait for Thor to meet Tony Stark. Avengers assemble!

8,5 out of 10 rainbow bridges.