This week's adaptation hits a familiar there -- bringing a comic book to the big screen -- and reviews for Thor range from "tasty" to "turkey." (Wait, I think turkey is tasty, so where does that leave me?) It certainly has promise, with director Kenneth Branagh, and actors Anthony Hopkins and Natalie Portman. The latest Marvel superhero to make it to the movies is featured in his early days, before he teams with Iron Man, Hulk and others as The Avengers. Here are excerpts from reviews

-- Chicago Tribune: The last 25 minutes of "Thor" aren't much better than the first. But that hour in between — tasty, funny, robustly acted — more than compensates.

-- New York Times: A howling turkey is at least something to laugh at, and maybe even something to see. But “Thor” is an example of the programmed triumph of commercial calculation over imagination.

-- Los Angeles Times: "Thor" has its strengths, but it is finally something of a mishmash with designs on being more interesting than it manages to be. Part of "Thor's" artistic confusion and lack of unity can be attributed to its having not only two different settings but two completely different tones, which in turn may be partly because of it having no fewer than five credited writers ...

-- USA Today: Under Kenneth Branagh's direction, Thor has eye-popping special effects, strong performances and, perhaps most notably, 3-D technology put to good use. Though the plot has some holes, the dazzling look of the movie and the earth-rattling action sequences fill in those gaps.