Thor (and anticipation for The Avengers)

Thor is a 2011 American superhero film based on the comic book character of the same name published by Marvel Comics. It is the fourth film released as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film was directed by Kenneth Branagh, written by Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz and Don Payne, and stars Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins and Stellan Skarsgård. The film tells the story of Thor, a god who is exiled from his homeland of Asgard to Earth. While there, he forms a relationship with Jane Foster, a scientist. However, Thor must stop his brother Loki, who intends to become the new king of Asgard.

Sam Raimi first developed the concept of a film adaptation of Thor in 2001, but soon abandoned the project, leaving it in "development hell" for several years. During this time, the rights were picked up by various film studios until Marvel Studios signed Mark Protosevich to develop the project in 2006, and Paramount Pictures bought the film rights. Matthew Vaughn was originally assigned to direct the film for a tentative 2010 release. However, after Vaughn was released from his holding deal in 2008, Branagh was approached and the film's release was rescheduled into 2011. The main characters were cast in 2009, and principal photography took place in California and New Mexico from January to May 2010. The film was converted to 3D in post-production.
Thor was released on April 21, 2011 in Australia and on May 6, 2011 in the United States. The film became a financial and critical success, grossing over $448 million worldwide and "Certified Fresh" by the review-aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes. The DVD and Blu-ray sets were released on September 13, 2011. A sequel, set for a November 15, 2013, release, is in development. [Wikipedia]

Storyline:
In A.D. 965, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), king of Asgard, wages war against the Frost Giants of Jotunheim and their leader Laufey (Colm Feore), to prevent them from conquering the nine realms, starting with Earth. The Asgardian warriors defeat the Frost Giants and seize the source of their power, the Casket of Ancient Winters.
In the present, Odin's son Thor (Chris Hemsworth) prepares to ascend to the throne of Asgard, but is interrupted when Frost Giants attempt to retrieve the Casket. Against Odin's order, Thor travels to Jotunheim to confront Laufey, accompanied by his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), childhood friend Sif (Jaimie Alexander) and the Warriors Three: Volstagg (Ray Stevenson), Fandral (Joshua Dallas) and Hogun (Tadanobu Asano). A battle ensues until Odin intervenes to save the Asgardians, destroying the fragile truce between the two races. For Thor's arrogance, Odin strips his son of his godly power and exiles him to Earth as a mortal, accompanied by his hammer Mjolnir (the source of his power) now protected by an enchantment to allow only the worthy to wield it.
Thor lands in New Mexico, where astrophysicist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), her assistant Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) and mentor Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård), find him. The local populace finds Mjolnir, which S.H.I.E.L.D. agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) soon commandeers before forcibly acquiring Jane's data about the wormhole that delivered Thor to Earth. [Wikipedia]

This movie was pretty condensed, even if it was only 6min short of two hours long. It was nothing like Thor's story according to the animated show "The Avengers", but I guess that's fine, they only had two hours.
However, changing the things they did makes it harder for Thor to join the Avenger's team when that movie comes out (he destroyed the rainbow bridge). I'm not sure I understand that part, as the Capt. America and Iron Man movies transition real well into the Avenger's plot line.
Then there is this deal with Loki. It looks like he died here, but in the trailers for The Avengers.....there he is! Of course, he can transport himself places, right? How can one who teleports die by a fall? Right. So that makes some sense, I guess. I can't wait for The Avengers to come out, then it will all make sense, lol. How about you?

Also, I don't know if I liked Jane Foster better as a medic or a scientist, but I think Portman played her decently well.

What's it rated: PG-13 for some drinking and violence, etc.
What do I rate it: I thought it was going to be the whole history, but I guess the Avengers are kinda part of that history, so I'll give it an 8 out of 10.
Would I watch it again? Yes, but not more than twice over, lol.

P.S. New Layout! Do you like it?