Doctor Who as a dark elf! Ha ha ha ha! Good hair though. Top hair.

Ahem.

Like the first Thor film, what makes the beginning a bit of a chore is all the mythology. At least in this one, it was pretty minimal. Then we get Loki-Odin chat (which seems somewhat stilted, not a lot of great lines there). Then battle! Then what seems like a really bored Anthony Hopkins having to have a fatherly chat. I wonder if he was all, FFS, the first one wasn’t supposed to work as a film. Why am I here? Why did I sign for the sequels. Why do I have to wear this stupid patch and stupid hair.

Also they whole twist to have Sif suddenly be a love interest feels a bit hacked in. And then just like that, irrelevant to the rest of the story. From what I can remember, irrelevant for the rest of the films. WHYYYYYY PUT IT INNNN.

Then Chris O’Dowd being adorable. Aww. Good casting choice. Return of Darcy! Yes! But then why is Selvig running around naked at Stonehenge? This shit is all over the place.

Also: inconsistency. Doesn’t Heimdall see everything? Does Asgard have no security of who gets to cross the rainbow bridge? How does he let Mr. Weird Dark Elf dude through?  Why does it take him so long to see the other big ship thing? HE CAN SEE ALL THE WORLDS ALIGNING, THAT SEEMS SOMEWHAT TRIVIAL IN COMPARISON. At least in the previous films it took Loki to get people to pass through to Asgard. I have no idea how Asgard has lated so long if it’s so easy to get inside it.

Omg, though super sad, how fucking bad ass is Frigga? She is pretty skilled with a sword but also just super brave. How beautiful is that whole funeral scene? *Sniff.*

Omg! How did I miss that Chuck (Zachary Levi) was in this the first time around? Maybe because he’s blond and Asgardian.

I do so enjoy the escaping Asgard scenes. The cut shots between the planning and the execution of that plan. Mostly because everyone threatens Loki with death and there were several good lines. “Kill me? I think there will be a line.”  “Well done. You’ve just decapitated your grandfather.”

I think what is quite enjoyable about the whole sequence after, is that Loki is completely consistent with his manipulative, angry demeanour. Helping Thor confront Malekith (even saving Jane! Jane!), saving Thor from the big weird Dark Elf. But then completely escaping by being duplicitous and letting Thor think he’s dead. It’s delightful.

The thing is, the entire end sequence is great. It’s so batshit crazy. Just like this type of film needs to be. It’s epic! Dark vs Light! I wish there was just a better way to get to all the interesting nonsense without the beginning nonsense seeming so silly. Maybe its impossible. Maybe it needs less Asgard? I guess we’ll see what I think on the second viewing of Ragnarok.

BUT THEN THE WORST THING EVER. CHARING CROSS IS NOT THREE STOPS FROM GREENWICH. UGH. THIS IS A TRAVESTY. THERE’S MILLIONS OF PEOPLE IN THIS CITY, DON’T YOU THINK WE WOULD NOTICE?

I think, in balance though (except for the tube issue0, it was alright. It’s got annoying inconsistent bits (like, just have some internal logic to your universe, script writers) but it brings it around at the end. I think some of the CGI is a bit ropey (and everything is so flippin’ dark). But I enjoyed all of the Thor-Loki scenes, they help explain their complex relationship. And the absurdity of the convergence to be able to flip around people and stuff. Silly, but FINE. I’ll go with it.

Anyway. Silly. Okay. Roll on to the next one.