No worries! I've seen all those movies. Just better safe than sorry

We've had a bit of a drop-off here with scores, so please share your ratings of the last few MCU movies, if you haven't already!

I have an issue here, I don't own Thor 2. And searching for it on Sky or TV, wasn't to be.

This is the first one I'm going on memory. I last saw it like 8 months ago and I'd say it was mediocre but not because of Thor and Loki or the villain. It was the Natalie Portman stuff, the 'romance' of the girl character and the whole science thing.

Lack of Balder and Enchantress... still.

This is the first true film as well where the bogging down too and first where it was highlighted that the Infinity Gems are not gems. What confused me too is that according to MCUs own Asgard is in space yet these 'realms' could could link. It was kinda confusing.

However, all this is made up for by great interaction between Thor and Loki and their love for Frigga, that side of things and Loki's trickery is really well done and shows how good of a character he is.

6/10

While obviously edited, Thor: The Dark World is airing on FX on Tuesday at 7:30pm and Wednesday at 5:00pm (I assume EST) if you’re interested.

As for the “realms” I was just discussing this with Veknoid earlier in the week. I was confused if a realm meant a “universe” and if Midgard contained all of ours vs. other realms which seems to be one planet. Per the MCU wiki, the nine realms refer specifically to the planets only that are connected, Earth and Asgard being two of them. Asgard still confuses me because instead of a planet it seems to be a floating city in space. So who knows?

Picked up Thor 2 at the library today. I don't really remember it well.

I do recall liking the banter between Thor and Loki -- that brotherly rivalry remains one of the most salient emotional touchstones of the entire MCU -- and the Portal fight at the end. The rest is kind of a blur.

UK based I'm afraid, but thanks.

From what they say and how they show it, it's in space and their bifrost connects them. In the comics it's simple, they are literal realms, dimensions even just next to each other. But alas, a problem with converting the MU and claiming it's science based and not magic.

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?

OK, so Thor 2. When I first saw this I thought it was slightly better than the first Thor, but I've changed my mind. It's worse, and probably the worst of the entire MCU.

The first act -- everything up to Jane infecting herself with the Carnage symbiote -- is perhaps the worst single act in 18 Marvel movies. From the voice-over narration to the goofy costumes Christopher Eccleston and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje are stuffed into to the cheesy LOTR knock-off battle, to the raid on Vanaheim -- which looks and plays like something out of Hercules: The Legendary Journeys -- to EVERYTHING with Jane and Darcy and their suburban hijinks, is just awful.

Once Thor brings Jane back to Asgard things pick up a bit. We get more family drama, buoyed by really nice performances from Hopkins, Hiddleston, and most especially Russo -- who desperately needed a couple more scenes before the fatal attack. Speaking of the attack, it's pretty good. You can feel the desperation and chaos of the battle. The funeral sequence that follows is good too.

The Thor-Loki road trip stuff is the best in the movie, but it's far too short. Loki is by a wide margin the more interesting, engaging character here, and only in proximity to him does Thor become provocative himself. Loki's "death" robs the film of its most important asset.

Then we get back to Earth -- yay -- for the climactic action scene. I will say the merging of realms and the portals that connect them make for some visually interesting and surprising moments. I would have liked more of this. Maybe the jet fighters that stumble into Vanaheim run into winged beasts, or Thor and Malekith chase each other through portal after portal -- something like the brilliant chase sequence through the subconscious in Being John Malkovich. It would also be nice if I cared about anyone or anything.

I'll probably say it again when we get to Ragnarok, but that movie's decision to essentially jettison everything that makes Thor Thor was the right play.

4/10

Gonna steal Doc's idea here and rank the movies so far.

GREAT
1) Iron Man

GOOD
2) The Avengers
3) Iron Man 3

DECENT
4) Black Panther
5) Captain America
6) The Incredible Hulk

MEDIOCRE
7) Iron Man 2

POOR
8) Thor
9) Thor: The Dark World

I first saw Thor: The Dark World in the theatre. I went in with pretty low expectations. I thought Thor had been slightly below average and was coming off my disappointment in Iron Man 3 in the wake of the excitement of The Avengers. I actually almost considered skipping it and seeing it when it was released on DVD later. But Agents of SHIELD plugged a tie-in episode, so I caved and went to go see it. Perhaps it was those low expectations that helped, because I remember enjoying it. It was not as stiff as the first film. All the characters had a more relaxed, and natural feel to them. Hiddleston continued to shine in the post-Avengers portrayal and he really steals the show in the second half. I was surprised to see a lot of negative comments in earlier posts. I rewatched this film at least once in the run-up to Avengers: Age of Ultron and it didn’t really change my perspective. We’ll see now. See you on the other side!