Not a patch on the first Thor

Rating: 6/10 (25 February 2014)

Had been looking forward to this film ever since the first was released.
Never read the comics, so basing my like of the first film purely on the direction, humour and lead characters.
But fast forward to this film, and what happened ? Okay, Kenneth Branagh was going to be a hard act to follow - but this film just seemed to go for CGI and forget the script.
Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth both carry off what passes as a script - but despite the films title, and ample chances for big combat scenes, there actually isn't much combat.
A shame, as I'm normally a fan of Christopher Eccleston - but the evil elf character just didn't cut it as a villain.
To my mind, a wasted opportunity for the franchise. With its roots in mythology, the Thor franchise has a rich history of combat and tradition to call upon.
Even when Asgard was being attacked, there really wasn't much combat - most centred around CGI flybys..............and when there was combat, it was almost playground stuff, and usually seemed to end with an attacker throwing a grenade thing at the Asgard defenders.
So not really much use of Thors combat skills - or unfortunately the hammer.
And the end fight wasn't exactly thrilling either. Just Ecclestons elf firing the dark stuff repeatedly at Thor - hardly the stuff of legend that the 'historical' fight sequence would have you believe.
The first Thor film was fun, paced and directed well - this film certainly doesn't manage that.
Ending leaves it open for another instalment. If Marvel go ahead, I hope they look at what people enjoyed in the first film.