Sequel curse sets in

Rating: 5/10 (4 April 2014)

Some powerful force that was hidden by the Asgardians ages ago is discovered by some kids in England. Jane shows up and is infected by the force. Thor takes her to Asgard and Odin finally reveals what all this is about. The evil Elves who want this force invade Asgard and close all exit portals trapping the gods. By using this force, the Aether, they can destroy the universe and let nothingness rule. That forces Thor and his sidekicks to join forces with the imprisoned Loki. But can they trust Loki? Long CGI carnage ensues between the Asgardians and the Elves, Loki, Thor and the main villain. It's no mystery who wins the battle. We get several instances of Asgardian politics- Thor's insecurity of being the ruler, Loki's ambition, and Odin's wisdom. At the end we're left with...questions to be answered by part 3 I guess.
Thor I was beautiful, captivating, fascinating, visually and story-wise. Thor II just falls flat. Almost entirely without charm, it teaches us nothing new about the Norse world. Relationships don't matter here all that much and Loki gets slapped by some girl. It took 3 writers to come up with this weak story that's just there to justify hundreds of millions wasted in dull CGI battles. And what better way to ruin a good thing than by hiring a director with near zero experience in movies and hand him the (formerly) strongest of the superhero franchises so far. Thor II is disappointment. These movies have gone into industrial mode, are being cranked out by the dozen now without regard to quality, anyone who's got time is hired to direct. A shame, but typical greedy cynical Hollywood behavior. Hopefully someone who actually cares will take control of Thor III before they start hiring rappers and Bruce Willis to act, try to sell us some lame soundtrack, and let Thor become a copy of Transformers 8.