I enjoyed the first Thor film; it was not perfect but I never in my lifetime ever expected to see a Thor film, especially not a good one. And while I agree with your criticisms of the first film, I still really enjoyed it.

I liked the sequel even more.

The first Thor film wasted having Rene Russo cast as Frigga, she really had nothing to do. She still wasn't in this movie a ton, but in life and death she was shown to really be the glue in the house of Odin. I liked that she was shown as powerful enough to take out Malekith as well; I don't get hung up on power levels of characters, but I like when female characters can hold their own.

I also liked the subtle way they showed that Loki must have learned his illusion casting from Frigga, as she has the same energy signature to her illusions. And on that front, I absolutely loved the scene where Loki looks all-together in the prison, when Thor tells him to lift the illusion (a nice tip of the helm to "Will you ever stop falling for that?" in Avengers) and we see that Loki has destroyed his cell and is distraught at the loss of Frigga, a death he inadvertently holds responsibility for.

On the strong women front, I was hoping to see a little more Sif than we did, even though we saw her more than in the first film. I'm a big fan of her character, defying her society's norms to be a fierce warrior rather than embracing the traditional roles Asgardian women do.

I had read an interview where Hemsworth and Hiddleston talked about really making clear Thor and Loki are brothers, and I think they really nailed that. In the first film, even Avengers, they seemed to be siblings in title only, but after doing a couple of films together these guys have great chemistry and it really shone through.

As mentioned, the Chris Evans cameo was hilarious.

As Eccleston remains my favourite Doctor, I was looking forward to his portrayal of Malekith. He did well with what he was given, which wasn't much; I expected a little more personality from Malekith. If you want a no-nonsense villain who wants to destroy the universe then bring out Surtur, Malekith should have a little more personality.

I still could do without the character of Darcy, I find her really annoying. And I do hate the tendency of some of these superhero films to throw in a random swear word; it takes me right out of the story and it also makes me think I have to delay showing the film to my son when he's older now.

I loved, LOVED, that Jane was essential in stopping Malekith in the end. Pepper's save of Iron Man felt a little forced in Iron Man 3, this felt a lot more natural. It would be nice to have the Warriors Three and Sif be essential in the final battle one of these movies though.

I knew Loki hadn't been killed in Svartalfheim, but I didn't expect the reveal he was masquerading as Odin either, hope this means we are getting a Thor 3 (as it has been confirmed Loki is not in Avengers 2).

Finally, I admitted to geeking out during the first credits scene when I realized they are setting up the Infinity Gauntlet. The group I was with is not as comics savvy as me, if at all, so I had to explain the significance of the scene to them. I can't imagine something of that magnitude will be done in a Guardians film, so I suspect that is the end game of Avengers 3 or a Guardians/Avengers film(?).

I really enjoyed this film, and at the moment it is definitely one of my favourite Marvel films. It does get hard to rate and rank them because really, Marvel Studios has yet to put out a BAD film.

~Hat~

Consequence was a major theme in this film. It's a good job, too, since Loki really got off awfully lightly for the mass murder he provoked and even committed in Avengers. Even getting smacked down by the Hulk wasn't punishment enough. Thor 2 shook Loki in ways neither of his previous engagements did.




Apparently folks are all signed up for Thor 3, with Hemsworth pre-signed for Avengers 2 and 3 also. And while I'm happt to see Loki being an effective villain, I'd really have preferred Hela as the adversary in the next Asgardian movie.




Scuttlebutt is that Guardians also features an "infinity stone" - and that's what's being guarded. But that still leaves three items to go.




It's been annouced that episode 8 or 9 of Agents of SHIELD follows on directly from the end of Thor 2 (although none of the movie cast appears).

I'd like to see Surtur myself, but Hela would be nice too. They could easily work her in though, especially as she's Loki's daughter.







Yes, I expect that that finding the rest of the Gems will unfold over the course of a few more films. What is your take on which Gems the Tesseract and the Aether were?







Yes, I'll miss it live due to a board meeting but will catch it online afterwards. The series isn't really grabbing me but I'm forcing myself to stick with it, as I am expecting it to be an example of a weaker first season followed by a much stronger second.

I'm more excited about the Netflix mini-series announced, especially since some of those characters lend themselves far better to a mini-series than a movie.

~Hat~

Hemsworth seems very happy making Thor movies, so I say go through all of them one by one.




Kevin Feige has identified the Tessaract as the Space Gem. General opinion has pegged the Aether as the Reality Gem, but I'm not aware of any official confirmation. We have seen an object that looks suspiciously like the Infinity Gauntlet in the Asgardian vault in Thor 1.