[Warning: minor spoilers ahead]
After the success of Iron Man 3 (it’s currently the highest grossing film of 2013), there isn’t much Marvel can do wrong when it comes to films starring the Avengers. So when the much anticipated second instalment of Thor was announced, fans like myself were excited to see what the Norse Demi-God and his brother Loki (the villain from 2012’s Avengers Assemble) had been up to since the events of New York. And fans were not disappointed.
For those of you who haven’t seen the first Thor movie, I would recommend watching it first just because it is a great movie. For those of you who don’t have the time, all you need to know is that it’s based on Norse mythology and mainly set in the kingdom of Asgard. We are introduced to Thor as an arrogant – but extremely good looking – Demi-God who defied his father in order to go into battle with the monstrous frost giants. This, of course, goes horribly wrong and he is banished to Earth until he is worthy to possess the mythical Mjölnir (his hammer). There he meets Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), an astrophysicist investigating mysterious patterns in New Mexico (which are being caused by Mjölnir’s arrival), her mentor, Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) and her intern, Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings). The government organisation S.H.I.E.L.D then get involved and Thor’s (adopted) brother Loki plots to get rid of Thor once and for all.
Thor 2 kicks off with a quick history in Norse mythology, introducing the new characters and weapons seamlessly and allowing anyone who hadn’t seen the previous Avengers films to become comfortable in a matter of minutes. Then follows an update on Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and her life since the first Thor film, where she was introduced as a love interest to the main character. You can’t help but be awed by her badass scientist character who is now based in London and is desperately trying to find Thor after their separation in the last film. We then switch to the kingdom of Asgard, and find Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is also pining over his lost love and ignoring Odin’s wishes for him to forget about Jane and move on.
Enter the Dark Elves, led by the evil Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) who seeks revenge on Asgard after they defeated his army and hid the mysterious Aether (similar to the Tesseract from the previous Thor film) where the Dark Elves would not be able to find it. Until now, of course. From thereon, the audience are treated to amazing special effects, astounding acting and awesome action scenes.
One thing that really makes Thor 2 great is the humour involved. There is a particularly endearing scene where Thor arrives at Jane’s apartment in London and hangs Mjölnir up on the clothes hook. There’s also hilarious cameos and a lot of sassy banter between Loki and Thor, which really captures bickering siblings quite well. Another high point of the film is the look of it. By that I mean the visual effects are stunning, particularly for the Aether and Asgard. The make-up and costumes are also incredible, especially for the Dark Elves. Christopher Eccleston is almost unrecognisable with his elfish ears and icy blue eyes. The Asgardian clothes are also spectacular, and definitely draw you into the fantastical kingdom.
Overall, I would definitely recommend you watch this film as it’s suitable for many different tastes; you could take your significant other or your parents and both would enjoy it.
