I'm seeing this at the weekend. Really enjoyed the first film's fish-out-of-water concept, so I'm looking forward to seeing the larger scale of the sequel. More Loki brilliance is always welcome. There are two post-credit scenes as well.
I saw this last night. Really enjoyed it, surprised at how many laughs were in it. A genius cameo that no one expected and post credit scenes were good. Although someone might have to give me some more info about the first one as the wiki page is massive.
Saw this yesterday and really enjoyed it. Some of the humour was very ambitious in parts - I'm struggling to think of another film which takes so many risks with what should be a very serious or dramatic moment by throwing in a sight gag or two. Not only did they expand the scale of the film, but they also really embraced the sci-fi aspect. That bodes well for Guardians of the Galaxy. The finale was the perfect antidote to Man of Steel's CGI-fest. The pace and running time was nice as well, though I've read that some stuff had been left on the cutting room floor and perhaps mistakenly so. There were some things which were under-developed, but overall the film is a great example of how much fun Marvel are having with these characters. Between this and Iron Man 3, Phase 2 really feels different to Phase 1 and that can only be a good thing. Roll on Captain America.
Some more thoughts with major plot spoilers included:
- It might have been stretching the comedy a little too far given that that the fate of the universe was hanging in the balance at that moment, but seeing Thor on the tube was fantastic. I also liked it when he visited Foster's apartment and hung up his hammer like an umbrella. Captain America's cameo also got a big laugh in my cinema.
- Apparently some Malekith material was cut out. I can see why, since the relationship between Loki and Thor is the main attraction once the film reaches the mid-way point. But it seemed like there was an obvious bone of contention between Malekith and Thor's family, given how Thor's grandfather defeated him, and this was under-served aside from the quick killing of Frigga.
- The Asguardians seem a bit silly insisting on hand-to-hand or swords-and-shields combat when they face opponents who wield laser guns and nifty grenades.
- There were hints of a love triangle with Sif which were quickly abandoned. First of all, is Thor mad for picking Foster over Sif? Secondly, I wouldn't mind seeing Sif and the Warriors Three in Avengers 2/3. If Marvel are looking for more female heroes, she seems like someone who could be easily slotted in.
- The banter between Thor and Loki as they're escaping Asgard on the ship was terrific. Tom Hiddleston clearly relishes the role, and I'm glad they resisted the temptation to kill him off or turn him into a reluctant anti-hero.
- Super cliffhanger for either the next Thor film or Avengers 2. Is Odin incapacitated or dead? Frankly, Hopkins didn't do much for me this time around, so I wouldn't mind if he was out of the picture. But Loki has effectively won. And when Thor eventually discovers this and removes him from the throne, will Loki kill off Jane Foster as payback? It would make sense for the characters and it would remove the Foster character which also fell a bit flat in this film. It says a lot when Kat Denning's sidekick character gets her own sidekick, and both tended to be more entertaining than Portman for the most part.