5. Thor, 2011.
Directed by Kenneth Branagh.
Starring Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Stellan Skarsgård (Erik Selvig), Colm Feore (King Laufey), Ray Stevenson (Volstagg), Idris Elba (Heimdall), Kat Dennings (Darcy Lewis), Rene Russo (Frigga), Anthony Hopkins (Odin), Jaimie Alexander (Sif), Joshua Dallas (Fandral), Tadanobu Asano (Hogun), Clark Gregg (Agent Phil Coulson), Jeremy Renner (Clint Barton/Hawkeye) and Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury).
One of the first films to be given the greenlight by Marvel Studios back in 2006 (having been in development at various studios dating back to 1991, under Spider-Man director Sam Raimi), Thor was originally set to be directed by Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, X-Men: First Class), although ultimately it was Kenneth Branagh who was given the task of taking the first steps into the cosmic side of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Delivering an origin story for Chris Hemsworth’s God of Thunder and Tom Hiddleston’s God of Mischief, Thor was the highest-grossing superhero movie of 2011, earning just shy of $450 million. The film just managed to nudge out Iron Man 3 to claim a spot in the top five, however our voting saw a considerable gap between this and the next four films…
Read our reviews of Thor here, here and here.
Originally published August 13, 2014. Updated April 12, 2018.
