Busy, rushed and a little Generic but still a very winning and fun film as Lightning strikes twice, even if not in the same place!

Rating: Null/10 (30 October 2013)

Saw this at a midnight premiere in the UK.
Thor, like Iron Man, is a Marvel comics stalwart who is now world famous largely thanks to the recent movie series. The first instalment was a very unusual comic book film, being part Earthbound fish out of water comedy and part intimate family drama in the lofty heights of Asgaard, a labour of love from distinguished Shakespearian Kenneth Brannagh, whose main purpose was to introduce most of the key players and plot drives for the upcoming "Avengers" movie. That has now come, been seen and conquered, so now comes the second stand alone.
Without another movie to set up, and without Brannagh at the helm, it is a more conventional sort of "superhero" movie, with a nefarious enemy at the head of a literally faceless army and huge blade shaped spaceships intent on universal Armageddon via a newly introduced super McGuffin weapon that must be stopped at the last second, etc. It does however boast (A) lots of spectacular action, and more importantly (B) all the original cast returning, now old friends riding on the love they've earned in the previous 2 movies.
The story concerns the "Dark Elves", who existed before the known Universe of the tree of life was created and who want things back to how they used to be (dark) before these pesky "light" beings came about. (That is their only motivation) Defeated eons ago by Asgard, their super weapon, the Aether, a red hued dark matter polip, was buried somewhere where it could never be found: the London borough of Greenwich, Earth! And who but Thor's love interest and most annoying physicist ever Jane Foster (Portman) with her wisecracking sidekick Darcy (Kat Dennings) and her own personal male understudy in tow should stumble upon it during their inter-dimensional research? The stuff is causing weird phenomena to happen, since the 9 realms are entering into their 5,000 year "alignment", the only time the Aether can be used to destroy all, and the stuff enters Portman Venom style and makes her its doomed human host. Thor (Hemsworth) who meanwhile has been leading the clean-up of the 9 realms (Asgaard is still the universe's policeman) is alerted and takes the opportunity to whisk the love of his life back to Asgaard so she can get treated. Father Odin (Hopkins) who is not too hot on him having a mere "human" bride anyway refuses to have her in the city, and with good reason since it provokes an attack from the newly resurgent dark elves led by their leader Malakeith (Christopher Eccleston) using the old "get yourself captured then attack from within" strategy and soon Asgaard is ablaze in a Star Wars style space fighter battle between Elf blade ships and Asgaardian fighters (which look like little Viking ships with wings!) and an assault on the palace which inflicts many casualties, and slaying in battle Odin's beloved wife Frigg (Rene Russo) Driven mad by rage, Odin plans to use Jane to tempt the elves back so he can wipe them all out. Thor on the other hand, now voice of reason (1st movie 360 degrees) and not wanting to lose his beloved, conspires with guardian Heimdall (Elba) and his 4 companions (Alexander, Stevenson, Levi and Asanabou) to launch an elaborate jail break that springs both Jane and the now imprisoned Loki (Hiddleston), himself in despair for the loss of his beloved foster mother, to get the Aether out of Jane and stop the dark elves using the alignment. What follows is another fighter battle through Asgaard, lots of post-Avengers Thor and Loki bonding and bickering, the springing of the now mentally unstable post-Avengers Dr Erik Selvig (Skaarsgard) from a mental institution, and a series of increasingly confusing and downright surreal encounters with Malakeith and the elves as they fall through various dimensions and time zones, ending up with the Elf ship embedded in Greenwich's famous naval academy and museum where the last battle for life as we know it takes place, with all players, Human and Asgaardian on the ball.
As you might gather from that précis, there is a lot of plot here that happens very fast, perhaps too fast. There is also lots of sci-fi action involving exotic fighter dogfights and laser battles between medieval fashioned armies in classical architecture that makes one feel he is watching a "Star Wars" prequel a lot of the time (especially with Portman around). However the film manages to include the two winning elements of Thor 1, the unique dramatic character interplay between the tortured Asgaardian elite and perfectly timed comedy, mostly thanks to the Dennings-Skaarsgard-Portman crowd but with Thor, now no longer a stranger on Earth, being perhaps too at ease in Midgard, such as when he hangs up his hammer on a coat stand, or follows 007 in taking our London Underground during a mission.
The direction by Game of Thrones director Alan Taylor is fine, and the acting all round is superb. One feels sorry though for Eccleston, who is meant to be the big villain but is mostly one note and generic, and not only has half his face blown off midway to become "Harvey two-elf" for no real reason but also seems to have lost a lot of his screen time too. The London locations (especially Greenwich) are again fun for us Londoners, after 007 and FnF set their latest adventures here.
If there are drawbacks, it is that it is too busy, perhaps too rushed, too generic and has too many things jostling for space. But it is a fun film, exciting, dramatic and full of post "Avengers" events.
PS- Hang around for the 2 post credits scenes at the end.