THOR, either owing to the Thunder God’s venerated mythological heritage or—more mundane—because post-production wrapped earlier, took cuts in front of Captain America: First Avenger in 2011 to debut as the 4th Marvel extravaganza. Mere mortals approved.

Up there, way far away. Just before ascending to the throne, impetuous Thor (Chris Hemsworth) launches an ill-advised attack on an ancient enemy; that action results in father and ruler Odin (Anthony Hopkins) banishing the upstart from their sky kingdom of Asgard. His power taken, his ‘tool’ useless—talk about a cruel subtext!—Thor is dumped onto Earth, where his human form (albeit impressively buffed) is discovered in New Mexico by astrophysicist ‘Jane Foster’ (Natalie Portman). Meantime, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents find Mjolnir, Thor’s hammer, and his jealous, scheming brother ‘Loki’ (Tom Hiddleston), seizing power up in Asgard, means to make sure errant Thor stays on Earth (or under it), where he doesn’t belong but yet may end up being some use—to S.H.I.E.L.D. and therefore humanity. And a barrage of sequels.

Directed with hammer to the metal by king & legend vetted Kenneth Branagh, written with a neat blend of tongue-in-cheek (crucial for something so outlandish) and respect for inherent age-old drama (fathers & sons, right & wrong, girl meets boy—er, deity), this 114 minute wham-bam is fine popcorn fare, done in grandiose style (one hundred and fifty million Earth bucks), with expected wowza effects when the Norse hits the fanbase. Credit the writing to Ashley Edward Miller, Zack Stentz and Don Payne. That glistening bridge that leads to the Gate in the stars? Way cool. Face the Gods and kneel: if you’re too old to lose the fun of being a boy, or so pretentiously serious to suffer the occasional pulse-testing lark, you may as well call it a day and marry the sofa.

Hemsworth, 27, was thusly propelled into the star-worshipping galaxy (and fee raises unto the heavens); he makes a likably sturdy hero, flawed but honest, fierce but kind. Portman is charming and accessible, Hiddleston dynamic as the irritated sibling, and Hopkins offers easy assurance in the type of deliver-with-Henry V-force role that in more-olden days would’ve been assigned to Laurence Olivier. *

The myth-meets-men (and ladies fair) adventuring commanded $181,000,000 in North America (#10 in ’11), with $268,300,000 elsewhere (#15 globally), ensuring—after the passable passage of Captain America: The First Avenger—that various cast members would follow S.H.I.E.L.D.’s summon into a universe of entanglements, commencing the following year with the all-out rump-kick of The Avengers.

Feeling the might: Stellan Skarsgard, Kat Dennings (funny), Clark Gregg, Colm Feore, Ray Stevenson (much missed), Idris Elba, Jaimie Alexander, Rene Russo (Mrs. Odin aka ‘Frigga’), Josh Dallas, Tadanobu Asano and Stuart Townsend. Samuel L. Jackson and Jeremy Renner show up briefly. 114 minutes, well done.

* Hopkins: “It’s a superhero movie, but with a bit of Shakespeare thrown in.” Connery was retired, McKellen occupied with Hobbits and X-Men, Neeson with mopping up hoodlums.

Co-writer Miller: ” You want to feel Thor’s rage when he rages. You want to see him fight like hell, and take as much as he dishes out — maybe more. You want to have a visceral reaction to the guy, and what happens to him. You don’t want his adventures to be clean and antiseptic… You want to feel every bone crunching moment of every fight. And when he unleashes the storm, you want to feel like you’re seeing the power of a GOD at work.”  Don’t be coy, boy: just tell us what you really think.