The summer movie season kicked off a little early this year, with the debut of "Thor." Sure, it's a little early, but the flick has been smashing up the box office for the past few weeks, taking in a total of $382.8 million worldwide.

It's probably because the superhero genre is a very lucrative one, and summer movie crowds will come early and often to get a glimpse at Marvel's next, well... marvel. Throw in special appearances by other members of the superhero supergroup The Avengers, and you've got box office gold. It certainly doesn't hurt that star Chris Hemsworth appears to be the second coming of Brad Pitt (from his hairier era), and leading lady Natalie Portman is still riding Oscar buzz from her winning performance in "Black Swan."

Well, it certainly can't be the 3D.

"Thor" is a bit of a mess when it comes to 3D. It wasn't shot in 3D, and it totally shows. Coming off like a bit of a money-grab, the 3D takes away from the film's special effects -- which are basically the entire movie. At times, the 3D goes in and out, and adds very little overall depth. During the film, I took my glasses off repeatedly, and often wondered if I wandered into the 2D theater. There's something there, but it's so slight. However, it does manage to darken the film's overall image, as well as dampen some of the sharpness out of the film. That's a shame, since there are a lot of teeny, tiny details in the movie.

As a film, "Thor" is fair. A few people have said that "Thor" is on the same level of "Iron Man," but they are so very wrong. "Thor" is good looking and he makes with the smash-smash nicely, but that's pretty much the depth of the guy's character. If you want some smashing, he's your man and if he does it shirtless, well… that's even better.

"Thor" has plenty of other problems, too. The film wastes a slew of mega-stars, including Anthony Hopkins, Rene Russo, Kat Dennings and Stellan Skarsgård. Much of the Asgard action is like something out of "Flash Gordon" -- and not in a good way. Loki is a wussy villian, and the whole love story between Thor and Portman's Jane was completely unbelievable and unsatisfying. The film does manage to work in some fun current references ("This is going on Facebook."), and movie fans will appreciate the introduction before "The Avengers" film hits on May 4, 2012. However, as a solo film, "Thor" isn't all that smashing. It's a decent, mindless way to blow time until "Captain America: The First Avenger" hits theaters. Just don't bother with the 3D.