Better than the sequels

This film is by far the best of the Thor movies. It captures the grandeur, the magnificence, the magic of Asgard and the Norse gods. Visually it brilliantly realizes Kirby's designs. The first shot of Asgard alone is breathtaking. This is a mystic plane occupied by hundreds of thousands of gods and warriors, where real battles have real stakes and family disputes are grand passion plays writ large. This is friggin opera.
The later nonsense about Asgard just being a planet out in space occupied by a few hundred losers living in a little cartoon fairyland may be fun, but it loses the majesty of this film. That's a shame.