Review: Thor - The Dark World

[jade_dragoness]

Review for Thor: The Dark World

I loved it. Yet the reasons I loved it had almost nothing to do with the plot. It made me laugh, it made me gasp, it made me bounce in my seat from sheer glee. It made me delirious with excitement at getting more canon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Things I Loved/Liked (listed in no particular order):

1. Darcy's intern! And Darcy of course. I love her the way she just bulldozed into Jane's date, not caring a whit of the chaos she was bring with her. Also that brief scene when she was kissing her intern and Jane spoke her name, leading to Darcy startling and dropping him? I had a brief flash of wondering if Jane pulled off that maneuver on her intern at one point in their relationship. And suddenly I found myself shipping Darcy/Jane.

2. Asgard is sooo pretty. So pretty.

3. I really liked that Selvig is having side-effects from having Loki in his brain (the lack of pants and nudity made me LOL so hard) because I like that there are consequences, serious sanity-breaking consequences. Although later, as I thought about it, I became worried for Clint's mental health. What side-effects is he feeling?

4. Steve Rogers' sorta, kinda cameo. *flails with glee*

5. The Loki & Thor show! Hilarious.

6. I really liked Richard! I was actually rather sad for him that here he thought he was developing a connection Jane and she was just using him to get back to Earth. Okay, yes, she needed to get back, but it still made me sad on his behalf. Aw, poor guy.

7. Also I love how the appearance of Thor in New York is so wide-spread that he's instantly recognized.

8. Jane! Her awesome delighted reaction to the Bi-frost ride made me adore her so much. And her brains at understanding the tech while the Asgardians were dismissive made me hiss: “You go, Jane!” in theaters.

Everything Loki

1. Okay, I both love and loathe (for stabbing my Coulson!) Loki. He's so shattered that its fascinating to watch him swimming in his madness. But seeing him in his cell, grieving for his mother made me want to give him a hug (a very quick hug while he'd tied up and can't stab me for it).

2. I love that the scene when he was in the dungeon with Frigga could be interpreted as Frigga visiting via an illusion or Loki conjuring her up. Although, I admit that I believed it really was Frigga because the conversation felt so real, that it wasn't until my roommate asked me if that Frigga had been Loki's illusion that the possibility blew my mind. Especially since Odin distinctly said when Loki was being sentenced that was the last time Loki would see her and I can't see her going against Odin's decrees. On the other hand, Loki's amenities (and books!) had to come at someone's orders as the rest of the prisoners had none. Just the potential ball of hurty awesome which that both options imply...*flails*

3. Loki turning into Steve Rogers in full Captain America costume. Not only was this a glorious cameo, but now it has me wondering at exactly when Loki got to spend so much time with Steve that he was able to mimic him so well. When did Captain America catch Loki's eyes? *rubs hands gleefully at the story potential*

4. I knew Loki wasn't dead, but I hadn't expected that he'd already taken over the throne of Asgard by taking Odin out when Thor showed up.
- Also how sad is it that his crazy brother who'd professed to hating him is more understanding of Thor's desire to be on Earth than his own father. Argh, Odin.

Things I Found Baffling or Didn't Like:

1. The fact that Odin didn't bring the fight to the Dark Elves. I honestly expected him to launch an attack, if only because Asgard was left so vulnerable, and by bring the battle to the bad guy they'd be able to minimize the loss of any non-combatants. Either Odin really has lost his taste for battle after all his years, or the loss of Frigga just took the heart out of him.

2. Were they trying to push Sif into having some feelings for Thor? Because I never got a hint of it before. She always read as more a 'bro' than a potential romantic partner. Clearly, Thor never thought in that direction because he sure wasn't feeling it.

3. How everyone was trying to get Thor to move on. Yes, I understand that Jane is mortal and Thor will outlive her. So let him spend all the time he can with her. Then when he'd mourned and move on, push your agenda for immortal babies or whatever. I was baffled and insulted on behalf of humans.

4. The way Jane became completely superfluous in the Loki & Thor Show. Mind you, I loved the Loki & Thor show, but considering Jane was also present, I wanted her to have a greater presence.

5. Thor flies on a hammer. How in the hell does he know to work tech from a race that hasn't been seen since the time of his grandfather? And yes, I know this is a weird thing to nitpick. *mumbles* I wanted Jane to take over.

Extra Bit:

I know that a lot of people don't like Frigga getting killed off. But it honestly didn't bother me too much. Mostly, because I expected a death of character we'd met early on. Plus the potential of angst and emotional suffering it would bring to Thor and Loki was too delicious. *is cruel*

Also, I find it too bad that I didn't care anything for the baddies or their motivations. Either they were just too inhuman to understand or -the most likely explanation- they were too flat because the writers didn't invest enough time to really grow their characterizations. They could have been swapped out with other villains and I wouldn't have given a damn that's how generic they were.

I'm now bouncing in excitement eagerly awaiting the Captain America movie. Thank goodness I get Agents of SHIELD to tide me over in the long months until that one comes out. It's so freaking awesome to have a TV series to feed my Marvel addiction. *makes happy noises*