Review Detail

The best Thor movie, period.
Pluses: The narrative shift works so well that I can't help but think there must've been some earlier draft of the script where this was intended as the real start. It lends a different nuance and context to all the scenes that come after, so that half the movie plays a bit differently, and better for it! For the most part, the edits were fantastic and seamless unless I nitpick about style.

Minuses: I will say that I tried to view the film as if I had never even seen a trailer for it... even still, I had little doubt that "Thor"/Donald was supernaturally heroic from the start. I just don't think it's possible to frame this as if there's much doubt about him for an audience. The restructuring is better anyway though, so really this is just a quibble over the title more than anything. I only mention it because it's listed as a central goal in the description. The other central goal is to add more depth to Thor and Loki, so I feel I should bring up two really important deleted scenes on the Deluxe DVD or BD that are not here. There is a deleted scene with Frigga chewing Odin out for banishing Thor, and one where Frigga awards Loki the crown, much to his surprise. Not only do these scenes make the Thor/Loki family drama even more relatable, they show that Loki honestly wasn't trying to get the crown at first. It also helps explain him sitting on the throne (instead of Frigga) so it doesn't come out of nowhere in the next scene. I don't want to criticize the film for what it isn't, but without those scenes, it feels like this isn't the best possible version of the film yet.

Honestly, this is already one of my favorite edits ever, though. I really liked the first Thor film as-is, but this just improves it in so many ways. It better fleshes out the characters and restructures the narrative to ease us in to god-world. It's an edit that honors what's already good in a film, and then builds on it. Well done.