Okay, well, shit. I've neglected this thread for way too long, but I've just now caught up with The Dark World. I'll post my review for this and try to fill in the rest of my ratings over the next couple of days.
I thought the first Thor did a decent job introducing the character, and successfully the MCU beyond just earth. Plus it featured surprisingly solid performances from all of its cast, with the notable exception of Natalie Portman, who I still can't really buy in this role. The plot was a little forgettable to be honest, but it made up for that with excellent characters and development, and by far the MCU's best villain, so in the end I gave it a pass, on both my first and second watching. Thor 2 did not fare nearly so well when I first saw it. I remember finding it to be mediocre at best, with an underwelming villain, poor characterization, poor special effects, and no character development. Plus the earth bits sucked.
I Actually found myself appreciating it much more the second time around. Firstly, the visuals are far better than I remember them being. A lot of the backdrops were absolutely gorgeous, and they did a great job showing them off. The use of light and shadow in some scenes also blew me away, and some of the shots were impressively creative, especially for a Marvel film. I was also impressed with the soundtrack, which contained quite a number of musical callbacks and recurring themes, which is another thing I don't associate with Marvel films. The action scenes were also surprisingly competent, though that final battle felt a little underbaked considering that the fate of all of time and space was on the line.
One major complaint I have with this movie is the humor. When it comes to humor there is a very fine line between cringey and funny, and while there were a few funny scenes, I feel it fell on the wrong side of that line a bit too often for me. Especially during the final arc. There is a time and a place for goofs and gags, but imo the middle of a battle for the fate of the universe against the murderer of the protagonist's mother and brother is pretty clearly not the place for either.
Though I have to say; Thor casually hanging his hammer on a coat rack has got to be one of the funniest gags in the MCU to date.
Thor - 7.5
Thor: The Dark World - 7
PS: How many times is Loki going the die in this series? Does he get himself killed in Ragnarok, too?
