Thor 2 takes a big leaf from Avengers: action, a very thin sci-fi McGuffin plot, a movie anyone under the age of 16 would love to bits. Oh, and the ladies get more than their fair share of Chris Hemsworth's sculpted torso. Yet when the movie is done and finished - as soon as you walk out of the cinema - you may just forget the entire thing.
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Tone-wise, the film is different from the first Thor, which was like a Shakespearian drama.The first Thor balanced its humour with a character study that saw Thor move from brat-to-noble-hero. It tried to define what a real hero is.
Unfortunately, with Thor 2, now that Thor is a fully realized character it seems the writers decide to regress Odin ( the one who is suppose to be all wise and powerful). They give us a half baked plot about crazy elves who want to take the world into darkness. Yeah, this ain't Lord of the Rings where the elves are the goody-two-shoes, these elves look good but bare grudges and only two actually communicate whilst the rest are just minions.
The jokes in the movie try to keep the movie afloat - something that the Avengers movie did. There are even two clever funny cameos that comic book fans will enjoy.
The action is peppered throughout the movie but when you know nothing is going to happen to the hero, it takes away from the thrill. Hemsworth and Natalie Portman walk through their performances or maybe it's due to the fact that the script does not demand much of them.
Tom Hiddleston sizzles as Loki. He seems to enjoy playing the villain with the perfect one liners. The film has a lot of missing drama when Loki and Thor are not at each others' throats. Brothers who love and hate each other.
I think after the third one, there won't be anything to more from the a stand alone Thor movie.
Directed by Game of Thrones alumni Alan Taylor, I was hoping for some more mid-evilness and some risqué moments but this being a mouse production (aka Disney), using Marvel as their conduits, everything is kept very kiddie friendly and kiddie safe.
The only major change in Thor is Idris Elba's character who's given more lines this time around - probably a nod to his rising star in Hollywood. We leave Stateside to spend more time in England but it's more a location change than something that adds to the story.
So if you love movies where you have to park your brains at the door and not have to reflect on anything or ponder on any great theme while you watch a giant blond hair dude skop-and-donner his way through 2/3 of the film, then Thor 2 is for you.
It feels like a lot of sugars with nothing really good for you. This could be one great criticism of Superhero films - not all of them have substance and I wonder how long this bubble will grow before it bursts. How many forgettable comic books movies will we have to endure just to get one good Dark Knight Rises, Spiderman 2 or X-Men 2? Time will tell.
P.S there are two post credits sequence: one tying into the upcoming Guardian of the Galaxy mid way through the credits and the other right at the end of the credits is strictly for the ladies.