A different direction for the not a God of Thunder

Rating: 6/10 (9 November 2013)

Welcome to a review of Thor 2.
First, I did enjoy this film, I have seen it twice, with two different groups of people, the first being with a group of friends who are long time Marvel fans, both in the comics and in the movies. The second was with the girlfriend. In both experiences the film was enjoyed by me, but sadly I believe it lacked the quality in direction that was shown in the first film, and it is probably due to the loss of the original director.
Yes there is a lot of action in this film, maybe there is technically more in this than in the first film. However, the action from the first film appear to be more memorable as it was correctly paced, with the right balance of humour and action (and plot).
The opinion of this was shared by my Marvel die hard friends, but maybe the opinion of my girlfriend is what the balance was aimed for as she absolutely loved it due to the love story between Thor and Jane being a more central pillar of the story this time around.
So what can I say about the acting. It was very well acted with Loki definitely once again being the star of the show. Thor was well acted and I have grown to love Hemsworth, but sadly Portman did not seem to want to be in this film and it showed. All the scenes involving her, from the scenes in London to the home world of the Dark Elves just felt wrong. This lack of connection meant I could not root for her and Thor and throughout the film I really did want Malekith just to kill her already and create a new story arc for Thor...hopefully with Lady Sif.
The plot was good, not well paced as the original and at some points seemed off. Possibly due to the forced moments of humour inserted but also as if they decided on the plot as they directed the film.
**Spoilers** There was no real explanation on why the loss of the Bifrost lead to the rebellion and wars of the Nine Realms, I guess we are just meant to accept it happening. The plot of the Aether plods a long, slowly revealing itself, but we never see why it causes the end of the world, some small explanation of conversion of everything in dark matter. There are also too many unanswered questions as the fate of the Warriors 4 and Lady Sif following their traitorous act.
MAJOR SPOILER and sadly the plot surrounding Loki usurping the throne from Odin is not fully explained as how it happened, just a cliffhanger for cliffhanger sake, and this is caused due to the poor editing. So at what point did the Asgardian scout arrive? How did the real Loki manage to stab the Kursed, escape and not get stabbed? As far as I am aware an illusion was meant to be insubstantial.
I would regard this as a good film, but considering the standard of Marvel second films I was a little disappointed. Usually Marvel has shown the second to exceed the first. As shown by Spiderman 2, X men 2, Iron Man 2. But sadly this might be the new standard following the slight degradation of the second sequels we have had this year.
Note, stay after the trailers, there are 2 end scenes. Sadly there is no Nick Fury this time, which was disappointing, but one scene is for the lovers out there involving Thor and Jane. But this fan is definitely wanting a Thor and Sif storyline.