Wow.

Rating: 9/10 (12 November 2013)

First off, I have to say that I went charging into the movie theater not having a clue what this movie was going to be about. I wanted to see it because Thor is my favorite Marvel series, and I didn't have any expectations set besides hoping this Thor would have a lot less romance than the last Thor and that the movie would spend most of its time anywhere but Earth. I was pleasantly surprised. Most of the movie took place on Asgard and other planets. Of course there was romance, but I felt like it had its place and didn't interfere with the plot. Darcy and Ian's little romance was lighthearted enough that it was enjoyable to see. After Jane was taken to Asgard, my biggest fear was that she was going to somehow end up immortal by the end of the movie so she could live with Thor, since Odin had brought up several comments on how Jane's life would be over in a flash compared to Thor's. While the bit about the "the entire universe hangs in the balance" is so old it has mold growing on it, I liked how the movie didn't end right after the Aether was extracted from Jane. To me, this gave more strength towards Thor's character flaw. He created an elaborate plan just to get Jane off of Asgard and even chose to work with Loki, yet he still failed and Loki (seemingly, at the time) paid with his life. I felt that Malekith should have been elaborated on more; he would have been a more interesting character if we knew who he was and why exactly he wanted to commit evil deeds. Besides this, the movie was fantastic. Although Kurse was a bit hard to take seriously because his helmet-thing bore close resemblance to a warthog in my eyes. The music fit well with the scenes, the deaths and Loki's supposed death were emotional enough for me (although I felt like Thor's reaction towards his brother's death was rushed; he and Jane took off after Thor watched Loki die in his arms). Loki's humor was brilliant, although I don't quite understand why we had to keep watching Erik running around nude on the television — we saw it once and I think once got the point across well enough. I thought the funeral scene was beautiful and emotional at the same time, and I can never get enough of Asgard's night sky. I also liked how Heimdall was given more of a part in this movie; he's a cool character who didn't get enough screen time in the original Thor. I also happened to see this movie in 3D and I'm a person who wears glasses and does not own contacts, so I usually resent going to see movies in 3D, but this movie was so worth it and I would actually go to a 3D showing again.