THOR: The Dark World (Now with spoilers)
demonbear
Posts: 159
EDIT FROM DAVID- LATER IN THIS DISCUSSION THERE WILL START TO BE POSTS WITH SPOILERS. HAVE AT IT
i saw it last Wednesday. it was great seeing Asgard again (more, this time around!). this time, the movie had a more epic feel to it compared to the previous one. it was also more fun than i thought it would be, although some of the jokes seemed a bit forced. overall, it was a FUN movie that was pretty much self-contained the way IM3 was in that it acknowledged what happened in Avengers but didn't hammer you over the head with it (pun not intended) & quickly moved past that reference.
there were some great scenes, ESPECIALLY with Loki, including one that reminded me why i love this cinematic universe and how all these ties together. (yup, it's THAT scene where him & Thor are walking down the hallway, debating trust issues and such.)
the effects were good. i didn't see it in 3D or IMAX so i don't know how the conversion turned out, but generally i don't see these things in 3D anyway. i get that Asgard isn't supposed to be all medieval swords-and-sorcery like, say, Game of Thrones, but i guess i would rather it be less Star Wars-y in some parts. (i know i'm not explaining it well enough, but hopefully you'll get what i mean when you see the movie.)
the cast was good too, overall. Hiddleston was awesome, as always, adding a bit more nuances to portrayal of Loki, but hey! he already made a fan of me from the first movie and the Avengers. Thor, Odin, Heimdall, yeah... the Warriors Three had their moments... and Sif!! that Jaimie Alexander is gorgeous but comes off as a kick-ass woman too, as she should be. pretty much every named role or character had their moments, but it never distracted from who the main story was about. oh, for people who had issues with too-perky and sassy Darcy in the first movie...? sorry, they dialed her down only just a wee bit, so she is STILL annoying...ly cute (for those who like that!) ;)
what else? i still want to see it again just so i can find things to nitpick (haha!) but mainly because i just really enjoyed the film (it's probably now in my top 3 of the Marvel cinematic universe, next to Avengers & Iron Man). My wife (who's not nearly the comics geek that i am) liked it too, and she was able to follow along quite nicely. granted, this was no overly complicated plot, but nothing stuck out as being a head-scratcher, like some of the comic book movies out there.
lastly, the end/mid-credits scene will make you wish it was next year already! ;) it's almost as good as a shawarma...
i saw it last Wednesday. it was great seeing Asgard again (more, this time around!). this time, the movie had a more epic feel to it compared to the previous one. it was also more fun than i thought it would be, although some of the jokes seemed a bit forced. overall, it was a FUN movie that was pretty much self-contained the way IM3 was in that it acknowledged what happened in Avengers but didn't hammer you over the head with it (pun not intended) & quickly moved past that reference.
there were some great scenes, ESPECIALLY with Loki, including one that reminded me why i love this cinematic universe and how all these ties together. (yup, it's THAT scene where him & Thor are walking down the hallway, debating trust issues and such.)
the effects were good. i didn't see it in 3D or IMAX so i don't know how the conversion turned out, but generally i don't see these things in 3D anyway. i get that Asgard isn't supposed to be all medieval swords-and-sorcery like, say, Game of Thrones, but i guess i would rather it be less Star Wars-y in some parts. (i know i'm not explaining it well enough, but hopefully you'll get what i mean when you see the movie.)
the cast was good too, overall. Hiddleston was awesome, as always, adding a bit more nuances to portrayal of Loki, but hey! he already made a fan of me from the first movie and the Avengers. Thor, Odin, Heimdall, yeah... the Warriors Three had their moments... and Sif!! that Jaimie Alexander is gorgeous but comes off as a kick-ass woman too, as she should be. pretty much every named role or character had their moments, but it never distracted from who the main story was about. oh, for people who had issues with too-perky and sassy Darcy in the first movie...? sorry, they dialed her down only just a wee bit, so she is STILL annoying...ly cute (for those who like that!) ;)
what else? i still want to see it again just so i can find things to nitpick (haha!) but mainly because i just really enjoyed the film (it's probably now in my top 3 of the Marvel cinematic universe, next to Avengers & Iron Man). My wife (who's not nearly the comics geek that i am) liked it too, and she was able to follow along quite nicely. granted, this was no overly complicated plot, but nothing stuck out as being a head-scratcher, like some of the comic book movies out there.
lastly, the end/mid-credits scene will make you wish it was next year already! ;) it's almost as good as a shawarma...
Comments
3/16 PLATE! What, you didn't have any 1/4 laying around? That could have been made with 12 Ga. Then the separate hammer pieces could have been formed on a hand brake. Much cleaner/straighter lines.
My only complaint was that I wished it was longer. I have gotten used to my over 2 hour super hero films and kind of dig the longer ride. Anyway this was superb.
Enjoyed what I saw, but, sadly, nodded off in the middle. Mostly because of the late showing and my currently-overfull schedule.
Gonna have to see it again.
Yes, @demonbear, "that" scene was wonderful, and the all-nerd audience at my showing went berserk.
And I agree that all the "pew pew"-ing was a bit jarring, though it did help underscore the conceit that the Asgardians are not divine, merely very high-tech.
***** SPOILERS ******
***** SPOILERS ******
(Gulp…) Okay, clearly I am in the minority here. lol
While I loved the first THOR movie, and I love any scenes with the can-do-no-wrong Hemsworth and Hiddleston, and while I didn't think THOR: THE DARK WORLD was awful… I sure as heck didn't think this movie was "great," either.
One big flaw for me was Malekith. I thought the way he was presented here was so boring, so 2-dimensional. Why bother casting the great Christopher Eccleston? Any actor in the world could have turned in the exact same performance, thanks to the burdensome makeup and eye effects, plus uninspired dialogue and motivation for his character.
I also had big problems with Jane Foster. Granted, for me, even in the comics, the Thor/Jane romance has never been of the same calibre as Clark/Lois or Peter/MJ… but I'm sorry, this movie version of Jane just bugs the crap out of me, lol. I didn't mind her as much in the first movie. But here? - when Jane stupidly stumbles into her troubles to start the film, then looks ridiculously inept compared to the awesome Sif, then becomes "scrappy pappy Jane, our heroine!" and plays with some dials on an iPad to save our macho hero Thor who shouldn't need saving? - that just bugged me. I don't buy Natalie Portman as the world's greatest physicist anymore than I buy her as the one woman in all the 9 realms who could capture Thor's heart. No way! Jaimie Alexander's Sif is 10 times as awesome and WAY more deserving of Thor's love and respect.
That being said… the Thor/Loki interplay was still worth the price of admission, alone :) :) :) I so love those actors, and so love how they bring added facets to their already wonderful characters from the comics. And the 2nd half of this movie (from Frigga's cool fight scene / death / beautiful funeral and onward) played much, much better to me and much more fun than the 1st draggy half. So at least I left the theater on a somewhat more positive note. But yeah. I give this sequel just a "B."
As for the mid-credits bonus scene, yes, I am also intrigued: if we saw the Infinity Gauntlet WITH Infinity gem stones in Odin's trophy room in the first THOR movie, then why is the Marvel Cinematic Universe suddenly referring to the Aether and the Tesseract/Cosmic Cube as Infinity "gems?"
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
It wasn't bad, but I would have liked it to be more Lord of the Rings and less Star Wars prequel. I went in being excited by the idea that this movie would spend more time off of Earth, but they somehow made a lot of the scenes on Asgard a little dull. And I would have gladly traded every bit of Whatsisname the Dark Elf for more Loki. Every Loki moment was gold.
During all those fights with the dark elves, I kept thinking, 'Asgard really needs to get in their flying boats and GO GET SOME OF THOSE FIVE THOUSAND YEAR OLD LASER RIFLES!' Didn't they pick some up after Bor and his people won the war? They seemed to keep bringing swords to a gun and grenade fight.
Some other good things- I was glad that Heimdall got to kick some ass. The climax with all the portals was fun. There were some genuine laughs. As far as this years Marvel movies, I liked Iron Man 3 a lot better, but this was pretty good.
And while the idea that these various movie McGuffins (the Tesseract, the Aether) are Infinity Gems, it is a little funny that each of them, especially the Aether, are presented as being so super-powerful and potentially universe ending that I am not sure what the point of getting six of them is. To destroy the universe six times over? We'll see.
The style of the Collector scene reinforces my belief that GotG will either be brilliant, or a complete, head-scratching mess. I will give them this: they seem to be making big choices.
If laser rifles are so great, how come we won?
Laser rifles are for {derogatory term for elves, with unfortunate Midgardian connotations}.
"Pew-pew! Pew-pew!" Peeeeee-yew!
Laser CANNONS, could be cool though.
[Asgardian Mindset Mode Disengaged]
But then Odin could shoot a laser from his staff. But it seems like he and Thor are the only ones with weapons that have any range.
It wasn't a big distraction from the movie, but I found myself chuckling at just how terrible of a job being a typical Asgardian is- not only do you have to stand around with a sword and spear being second guy from the left for five thousand years, but they also issued you a spear in a universe full of laser guns. Heck, a hunter from Earth might be able to take an Asgardian if he was up in a tree.
I guess it was supposed to make them seem more badass, but to me it felt a little like they were halfway between two choices.
One of the things that I always loved, and this is going to seem off topic but hang with me, about He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was that Castle Greyskull had a computer in it. And a laser cannon. The pew pew noise and a couple of re-used vehicle engine noise sound effects were, I admit jarring initially but after the whole thing was done I liked the choice. I appreciate the old A. C. Clark line, "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic". This Thor was everything I liked about playing pretend as a kid. Army men and monsters and space ships and barbarians were all shoved together in my imagination. It was fun. This movie felt like that in the best possible way.
Jane Foster is a waste of Natalie Portman's talent. She frequently looks too giggly moon eyed girl but that was less of an issue that the first go around. I did laugh at a scene where I thought, "boy, Padme sure like one handed guys!".
Tom Hiddleston is brilliant. Funny, mad, heartbroken, joyous and most of all mischievous. A nuanced performance that could make this movie The Loki Show in the same way that the second Nolan movie could be called The Joker Show.
Chris Himsworth is a much better actor than he was 5 years ago and the movie benefits from that a great deal.
Somebody realized they had Idris Elba in this franchise and decided to give him a moment or two to shine.
I thought Chris Eccleston was fantastic! This was not a maniacal scene chewing over the top villain. This was a slow-burn deadly rage. And I like the technology of the Dark Elves it actually reminded me of Buckaroo Banzai's black and red lectoids. I guess what I mean is there appears to be thought through and there is an idea of how this technology works even though it is never mentioned on screen. It makes for a nice texture to the film.
One nit-pick would be. When the fecal matter hit the whirling blades in London...no Shield? MI13? Nobody? Thought they could scramble a little faster than that. Would've been funny to have The army show up after the battle is done and shrug and shuffle off. Thor's got it. Never mind.
This was Avengers level good.
Oh and regarding that closing scene? Homina Wha!?
But the collector part was awesome!!!
JP
M