In the first instalment about the long-haired, hammer-throwing, ovary-implodingly-biceped Home And Away God, director Kenneth Branagh managed to imbue the tale of Thor with humour, humanity and a damn fine villain by way of the irresistible Tom Hiddleston. Wisely concentrating on the fish-out-of-water tale of the Adonis-like Thor (Chris Hemsworth) grandly and hilariously navigating his way through life on Earth, Branagh seemed to be subtly acknowledging the story’s biggest flaw: Thor’s homeworld of Asgard. The other realm setting felt clumsily rendered, all Skittles bridges and shiny Little Mermaid castles; an acid trip cliché of a fantasy. And as capes swooshed and thrones were sat upon, Tony Stark’s remark in The Avengers cut to the heart of the problem: “Doth Mother know you weareth her drapes?”
However, in Alan Taylor’s sequel, the director is determined to not only flesh out Asgard, but how this realm relates to Earth and other planets, making his creation a sci-fi fantasy more akin to Man of Steel than the grounded heroes-on-Earth tale of Iron Man or even The Avengers Yes, the plot is all an absurd, convoluted, nonsensical sci-fi fanboy fantasy, and like Man of Steel, Thor: The Dark World suffers from its over-reaching, emotion-destroying determination for every disaster to have Universe-destroying effects. Remember when heroes just rescued kittens? And heroes actually had weaknesses? Those were the days.
However, Taylor renders Asgard beautifully – if somewhat predictably – and despite a slightly overlong run time, he keeps the increasingly explosive intergalactic action going at a rip-roaring pace. But the film’s saving grace is the performances. While Natalie Portman again proves to somewhat of a wet blanket, Hemsworth again imbues Thor with an utterly convincing pomp, arrogance, charm and sly humour. And while Eccleston is sadly wasted under layers of prosthetics, the film has another, far superior villain: the incomparable Tom Hiddleston. As Loki, Hiddleston is at once smarmy, evil, malicious, hilarious, tragic, complex – and an absolute scene stealer. His ability to exude such cleverness alongside a lightning fast wit makes him both a menacing and comic highlight.
Endure the sci-fi fantasy nonsense, enjoy the fast-paced action and humour, and exalt the presence of the Hiddleston.