I can see why some people thought it was too broad. Because it probably was, a smidge.
I don’t quite get why people thought it was so wow, but it was fun. Which is something which should never be underestimated or undervalued.
Spoilers begin underneath
I would probably have restructured it slightly, with less time on planet weird so that Skurge got more screentime for his last stand.
Karl Urban is great in the time he does get. Because he makes it quite clear that Skurge is a loser, rather than evil, and that he's in over his head. Without any dialogue. This use of Skurge also fits in with the overall theme of the Thor films - we all make mistakes, the important thing is to try to fix them, rather than pretend you didn't make them (or you know, bury them and paint over them with a giant mural).
Thematic consistency, I like it.
The new stuff also makes sense of things from the first film, like why Odin flipped out when he thought Thor was being too blasé about war with the Frost Giants. To have one child go kill crazy is unfortunate, to have two smacks of carelessness.
I love that Thor has learnt enough to push Loki’s buttons back. That scene in the elevator is some of the best work Hiddleston has done as Loki, because he conveys how worried Loki is that this is it and Thor has finally had enough of him and it upsets him.
That's the thing. Loki would do anything for Thor if Thor made it clear how much he loves him, while Thor just doesn't get it because of course he loves his little brother. Even if they occasionally stab each other.
I know it was deliberate, but I didn’t like how every serious scene was immediately undercut with a silly bit.
I would also have saved “Immigrant Song” for the last fight only.
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I had been pre-warned that Matt Damon would appear, possibly so that I didn’t grab L and go “OMG, is that Matt Damon?!” It didn’t stop me from giggling and then going “OMG is that Sam Neill?!” Of course Odin is Loki, you’d think someone else that wasn’t Heimdall would have twigged roughly when the statue was made with horns!
I see that Doctor Strange has taken over his rightful role as explainer of mystic weirdness from Selvig. Which makes more sense than Selvig knowing about mystic weirdness in Age of Ultron.
I did love Doctor Strange inconveniencing Thor and then Thor being gloriously petty back. Particularly Thor’s smile of “sorry, not sorry”.
I know they killed off the Warriors Three to make Hela look dangerous but there must have been a better way. Then again, I am probably out of step with everyone else in missing them and the usual Earthers.
That being said, notice that Hogun, on his own, did nearly as much damage as Thor and Loki did in their first confrontation with Hela. Warriors Three represent.
I do love that Thor now has sub-plans for that moment when Loki betrays him. The boy is not as stupid as he looks or pretends to be. I’m also reasonably sure that Loki stole both the tesseract and any other shiny things present in the treasury, because he’s a power magpie in human form.
I also love that Valkyrie is every bit as fight mad as the rest of the Asgardians. I believe Thor when he says that he wanted to be a Valkyrie when he was little. I just get this vision of him running around pretending to be a Valkyrie, Odin going “someone’s going to have to tell him,” and Frigga going “nah, what’s the harm.” Loki is, of course, the one to tell him in the end.
I am trying to decide if Cate Blanchett can do *that* with her voice naturally or if she just has a voice SFX pedal on hand at all times. I want to believe she has a natural reverb setting.
Heimdall is the most polite rescuer ever - “sorry about the violence while I was rescuing you”.
I get why there was almost nothing of the gladiators’ revolt, but I would have liked to have seen a bit of it anyway.
Somehow, Chris Hemsworth looks ever more attractive the more damage he takes. That is voodoo, either from the actor or the director.
I know the scene where Bruce chooses to Hulk out is a counterpoint to the one where Black Widow forces him to, but I think Natasha did the least worst thing there so I am, once again, not the intended audience. It also shows the problem with any Hulk solo film. A goodly chunk of the audience are waiting for the bit where Bruce loses and becomes the Hulk despite himself.
I do love that Thor’s plans involve him doing the risky bit, and total trust in Loki, because he knows that Loki can be trusted, as long as you don’t give him time to think. I wish we’d got the hug that came roughly three nano-seconds after Thor realised that Loki was staying.
The loudest laugh I gave was when the Grandmaster landed amidst the people he’d held under. I live in hope he got his the same way the Beast Rabban got his.
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In other important news, I’d like to give a shout out to EJ at the BFI IMAX. He deserves any Nandos that he got from the blue forms.
Also, just an FYI, if you position yourself just right, the subway tunnels running from the BFI IMAX to Victoria have fantastic acoustics if you’re singing along with Robert Plant. It’s possible that I don’t need the help on the volume though ;)
Well that was embarrassing for the Northern hemisphere. None of them, with the exception of Ireland, who were stuffed by being in one of the 3 team pools, can complain given their performances. I realise that it's a minority sport in the countries that have not qualified from the groups but there's a difference between losing and losing horribly!
In the community view, despite how interconnected Australia, New Zealand, Tonga and Samoa are, they all appear as separate communities.