Apparently there will be a line.
So, I saw Thor 2 last night! Aaaaaand looks like once again I'm going to have to be completely out of step with the things that fandom falls all over itself for. Which -- really does make me sad. I wish like anything I could get obsessed with a fandom other people flip out over, instead of being one of, like, four people on Tumblr who cry over publicity-shy British character actors and the 'ship that's onscreen for all of five minutes.
This isn't to say that I didn't like the movie. I had two tons of fun! There were a lot of things that I liked.
Darcy Lewis, PERFECT HUMAN BEING FOREVER AND EVER AMEN
Thor and Loki fighting like brothers, no really, that annoyed back-and-forth they were doing with each other during the escape sequence was basically the best thing that's ever happened to me
Honest to god, I truly don't think Hiddleston has ever looked more beautiful. Like, he was just gorgeous in freaking every single shot.
The completely generic sub-intern was cute! I totally approve, Darcy, for a good little fling.
FRIGGAAAAAA.
UM, CHRIS EVANS, YOU ARE MY FAVORITE, THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL AND I WAS NOT REMOTELY PREPARED FOR IT AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.
Seeing Asgard fleshed out like that -- I mean, I truly had that out-of-body moment where I was watching the training pit, or the shots through the hidden places, or any of the little bits here and there and thought, I wrote about that. And it looks right!
SWEET BB JOTUNHEIM ICE MONSTER ROMPING THROUGH EMPTY LOTS IN LONDON CHASING BIRDS. (Relatedly, "I am Loki of Jotunheim!" sent chills up my spine.)
Ahahahahaha, ohmygosh, Skarsgards don't give two shits about keeping their pants on.
That living illuminated book that showed the story of the Dark Elves, holy shit that was -- stunning.
Look out, Dark Elf ship, HERE COMES HEIMDALL TO FUCK. YOU. UP.
That ending. LOKI. OF COURSE YOU DID. And overall, I really do have to say that I'm almost more excited for the fic that's going to come out of this movie than the actual movie itself. Someone pointed out that Loki could either run Asgard into the ground as ruler, or he could raise it up to its greatest heights. He understands ruling and rulers. I am super excited to see what fandom does with that.
But overall, there were things that bothered me, and got between me and fully enjoying this movie.
1) All of Loki's lines were -- they felt so off, so jarring. So Whedon-y. I had that problem with The Avengers too, for the most part. Of course, Loki has changed as much as Thor has, and that's part of the point. His time in prison was really poignant, and I think that, honestly, was handled quite well. Especially the moment where Thor knows that Loki's not as together as all that: the reality was so stark. And his conversation with projection-Frigga, I truly can't decide if it was actually her or something he'd conjured, and both are great options.
But -- I knew from the trailer that I was going to have issues with this Loki, with "I like her" and the incredibly modern flipness he uses to convey tricksterdom. And I'm sure you can come up with as many justifications as you like about his time away from Asgard and his bitterness and how his experiences have changed him. But -- I don't know. I think you're also hobbled by the fact that Loki commits genocide for some pretty flimsy reasons, and no one can seem to entirely find the meat under that shakiness.
2) Frigga. I like that she went out like a badass, but I'm still pretty disappointed that they fridged her. I cried, a lot, during the funeral, which was beautiful, but -- I desperately wanted one of the extra scenes to be Frigga and Loki having tea and chortling about how they're both not dead.
(I also really don't care about Anthony Hopkins as Odin. I didn't in the first film either.)
3) Jane Foster is pretty great. I wish she'd stayed angrier at Thor, though. I really wanted her to be more conflicted. It would have cast Thor in Loki's position, as a foil, and that would have been quite satisfying, to me.
4) He's a cheeseball, but I missed Kenneth Branagh's touch and sweep. This felt much more like a film about individuals than about groups and families, and that was something I really loved about the first one. The Warriors Three and Sif mean something to each other and to Thor (and to Loki). (By the way, they had... almost nothing to do, in this movie. Did they even talk to each other, really? Hogun gets out of the way so early, and Sif does this goofy glowering at Jane, and Volstagg isn't funny. And Zachary Levi, I know you were the original choice for Fandral, but Josh Dallas did this great sociopathic-enjoyment-of-battle thing, and he got better makeup, I think.) Jane-Darcy-Erik was a little family, and I missed that too.
And ultimately, I'm not convinced by all of Loki's screaming that he deserves a throne. I'm just not. The story about feeling out of place and wanting to be loved and becoming the monster? That I get, that I feel. It's much more relatable than "I have a birthright!"
So, I think I may wind up only seeing this one the one time. I really did like it, I just didn't heave-my-heart-into-my-throat love it. Someday fandom and I are going to align again, but it is not this day.
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This isn't to say that I didn't like the movie. I had two tons of fun! There were a lot of things that I liked.
But overall, there were things that bothered me, and got between me and fully enjoying this movie.
1) All of Loki's lines were -- they felt so off, so jarring. So Whedon-y. I had that problem with The Avengers too, for the most part. Of course, Loki has changed as much as Thor has, and that's part of the point. His time in prison was really poignant, and I think that, honestly, was handled quite well. Especially the moment where Thor knows that Loki's not as together as all that: the reality was so stark. And his conversation with projection-Frigga, I truly can't decide if it was actually her or something he'd conjured, and both are great options.
But -- I knew from the trailer that I was going to have issues with this Loki, with "I like her" and the incredibly modern flipness he uses to convey tricksterdom. And I'm sure you can come up with as many justifications as you like about his time away from Asgard and his bitterness and how his experiences have changed him. But -- I don't know. I think you're also hobbled by the fact that Loki commits genocide for some pretty flimsy reasons, and no one can seem to entirely find the meat under that shakiness.
2) Frigga. I like that she went out like a badass, but I'm still pretty disappointed that they fridged her. I cried, a lot, during the funeral, which was beautiful, but -- I desperately wanted one of the extra scenes to be Frigga and Loki having tea and chortling about how they're both not dead.
(I also really don't care about Anthony Hopkins as Odin. I didn't in the first film either.)
3) Jane Foster is pretty great. I wish she'd stayed angrier at Thor, though. I really wanted her to be more conflicted. It would have cast Thor in Loki's position, as a foil, and that would have been quite satisfying, to me.
4) He's a cheeseball, but I missed Kenneth Branagh's touch and sweep. This felt much more like a film about individuals than about groups and families, and that was something I really loved about the first one. The Warriors Three and Sif mean something to each other and to Thor (and to Loki). (By the way, they had... almost nothing to do, in this movie. Did they even talk to each other, really? Hogun gets out of the way so early, and Sif does this goofy glowering at Jane, and Volstagg isn't funny. And Zachary Levi, I know you were the original choice for Fandral, but Josh Dallas did this great sociopathic-enjoyment-of-battle thing, and he got better makeup, I think.) Jane-Darcy-Erik was a little family, and I missed that too.
And ultimately, I'm not convinced by all of Loki's screaming that he deserves a throne. I'm just not. The story about feeling out of place and wanting to be loved and becoming the monster? That I get, that I feel. It's much more relatable than "I have a birthright!"
So, I think I may wind up only seeing this one the one time. I really did like it, I just didn't heave-my-heart-into-my-throat love it. Someday fandom and I are going to align again, but it is not this day.
This was originally posted on Dreamwidth, where it has
comments. I would love to hear from you at DW! If you can see this post, you can comment here using OpenID. Thanks!