Hmm? Oh, yes. I am in fact combining these two movies into one review. I'm doing that because they are very similar in many respects (considering they both hinge around Thor's little journey of self discovery) and they both sit right next to each other in my personal ranking, with the first movie just winning out over the sequel. So chill, Maurice. Everything is fine, and I'm not just a colossally lazy person. Promise.
Ah, so. The Thor Twins. I'm overall a pretty big fan of both of these movies, probably because (Wanda Maximoff aside because that's not a fair comparison) Thor is my favorite superhero in the MCU at the moment. As a side note, who's stoked for Captain Marvel? Everyone, right? Right? I mean, if you're not you really need to start getting stoked. Because that's coming and it sure as heck better be epic.
Right. Thor. He's currently my favorite (non-Wanda) Avenger, due to both his immense power and jealousy-inspiring hair. He's also got a pretty fantastic (and mostly unintentional) sense of humor, and Chris Hemsworth is just such a charming guy. All around, he's a fun character to watch, and as a character he manages to elevate a couple of forgettable action movies into the realms of being generally a heap of fun.
Beyond that the movies are both well made. The writing isn't staggering, and both films rely on Thor's journey toward responsibility to provide basically all the character work. To be fair, he does start each movie in a different place on his own personal character arc, and that's nice. I'm hoping that his upcoming solo film finishes that arc off and feels like the ending to a trilogy, because yeah, that's really not something that happens that often in Hollywood. So while neither movie does anything particularly amazing, they're fun to watch, inoffensive, absolutely gorgeous to look at action movies that focus around a simple but consistent character arc for a character that's inherently entertaining.
They're very rewatchable, as well, thanks in large part to Thor not being the only entertaining character around. He's the only one with character development of any sort (though Loki does get some love in the first movie), but certainly he's not the only one who's fun to watch. Jane and the Scientists are a fun group, and work well to both ground Thor and his powers in a reality the rest of us can relate to. The Lady Sif and Freya both have some great moments of gender-stereotype-defying awesomeness. Odin and Heimdall are both one-note characters that become interesting simply because Anthony Hopkins and Idris Elba are both able to make them seem like stone-cold bad-a's you really should be dying to see in action. And Loki is... Loki. Just, overall, the greatest villain in the MCU.
There are mistakes, for sure. The plots are both kinda thin, there's a lot of character growth that's possible but just isn't really explored. Some of the action sequences descend into camp, and there's some plot holes. But after all of that, the movies are still incredibly entertaining. The humor makes the camp seem intentional, the gorgeous world design distracts nicely from several major plot holes, and the fact that Thor has a character arc at all puts them a step above most summer action blockbusters. Turns out, that's all most people were really wanting.
Now, you're probably wondering why my list puts The Dark World one step below Thor. After all, it's got that amazing scene with Loki, and that fantastic scene with a giant rock! Not to mention an amazing score by Brian Tyler, who just about always knocks it out of the park. Well, it's for a couple of reasons. First, Patrick Doyle's soundtrack from Thor is pretty much on par with Brian Tyler's from the sequel. Second, while Loki is in the second movie, he's not the villain. Loki as the villain in your movie is automatically a win.
If we're really honest, though, I happily watch either of these movies when given the chance. Like any set of twins, you probably won't get their parents to say which they like better. Probably.
Ah, so. The Thor Twins. I'm overall a pretty big fan of both of these movies, probably because (Wanda Maximoff aside because that's not a fair comparison) Thor is my favorite superhero in the MCU at the moment. As a side note, who's stoked for Captain Marvel? Everyone, right? Right? I mean, if you're not you really need to start getting stoked. Because that's coming and it sure as heck better be epic.
Right. Thor. He's currently my favorite (non-Wanda) Avenger, due to both his immense power and jealousy-inspiring hair. He's also got a pretty fantastic (and mostly unintentional) sense of humor, and Chris Hemsworth is just such a charming guy. All around, he's a fun character to watch, and as a character he manages to elevate a couple of forgettable action movies into the realms of being generally a heap of fun.
Beyond that the movies are both well made. The writing isn't staggering, and both films rely on Thor's journey toward responsibility to provide basically all the character work. To be fair, he does start each movie in a different place on his own personal character arc, and that's nice. I'm hoping that his upcoming solo film finishes that arc off and feels like the ending to a trilogy, because yeah, that's really not something that happens that often in Hollywood. So while neither movie does anything particularly amazing, they're fun to watch, inoffensive, absolutely gorgeous to look at action movies that focus around a simple but consistent character arc for a character that's inherently entertaining.
They're very rewatchable, as well, thanks in large part to Thor not being the only entertaining character around. He's the only one with character development of any sort (though Loki does get some love in the first movie), but certainly he's not the only one who's fun to watch. Jane and the Scientists are a fun group, and work well to both ground Thor and his powers in a reality the rest of us can relate to. The Lady Sif and Freya both have some great moments of gender-stereotype-defying awesomeness. Odin and Heimdall are both one-note characters that become interesting simply because Anthony Hopkins and Idris Elba are both able to make them seem like stone-cold bad-a's you really should be dying to see in action. And Loki is... Loki. Just, overall, the greatest villain in the MCU.
There are mistakes, for sure. The plots are both kinda thin, there's a lot of character growth that's possible but just isn't really explored. Some of the action sequences descend into camp, and there's some plot holes. But after all of that, the movies are still incredibly entertaining. The humor makes the camp seem intentional, the gorgeous world design distracts nicely from several major plot holes, and the fact that Thor has a character arc at all puts them a step above most summer action blockbusters. Turns out, that's all most people were really wanting.
Now, you're probably wondering why my list puts The Dark World one step below Thor. After all, it's got that amazing scene with Loki, and that fantastic scene with a giant rock! Not to mention an amazing score by Brian Tyler, who just about always knocks it out of the park. Well, it's for a couple of reasons. First, Patrick Doyle's soundtrack from Thor is pretty much on par with Brian Tyler's from the sequel. Second, while Loki is in the second movie, he's not the villain. Loki as the villain in your movie is automatically a win.
If we're really honest, though, I happily watch either of these movies when given the chance. Like any set of twins, you probably won't get their parents to say which they like better. Probably.
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