This truly is a far from great movie but it at least does one thing well and that is bringing entertainment.
The main reason why the first Thor movie was at the same time both loved and hated was because it was a different sort of superhero movie. It was one with a more subtle and grounded approach to it, that was all about its characters and story. It allowed the actors and story to shine, rather than just its special effects and action. If you were one of those persons that didn't like this approach (for the record, I really loved it), then there is some good news for you; this movie is a far more standard superhero flick, that indeed is all about its action and visuals. Not that I'm complaining much since I still felt entertained by all of it but at the same time it also was kind of disappointing to note that everything director Kenneth Branagh had build up with the first movie got abandoned in this one.
I think we as an audience are being spoiled nowadays by these superhero flicks. Some of them keep raising the bar in the genre to such an height that it's becoming harder and harder for these movies to still impress and surprise us with anything. It's even hard to stand out really and they indeed also sort of start to blend together. I also have to say that this is a movie that really isn't standing out with anything but having said that, it at the same time is better than some other recent genre examples, including some of Marvel's other superhero movies but that's all a matter of taste really.
It still suffering as well from the same things lots of sequels suffer from. One is the lack of any new ideas and true creativity and the fact that they mostly just bring back old characters, even if there is no real need and use for them. Seriously, was it necessary for Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Jaimie Alexander, Stellan Skarsgård and Kat Dennings to be in this movie again? I really didn't think so and it even was somewhat annoying how they crammed in all these characters again. Why not introduce some more fresh new characters instead, besides its new villains.
But enough complaining. It's an absolute fact that despite of its simplicity and lack of real creativity and originality, I still was entertained by this movie. It's a movie that's filled with plenty of humor and action, so there is never a boring moment in it. It besides is a good looking movie, with all of its action and settings. The special effects are all pretty impressive and are mostly there to make the action all the more entertaining and spectacular to look at.
The character of Thor is also definitely still one of the better and more entertaining action heroes within the Marvel universe, again perfectly portrayed by Chris Hemsworth. He's a very likable and somewhat gullible, charismatic hero, that knows how to fight as well. And you can never go wrong with some more Loki as well. I love how they keep bringing back this character, even though there have been plenty of opportunities already to get rid of them permanently, in this movie, its predecessor "Thor" and "The Avengers", in which he was the main villain as well. But Loki is simply the kind of villain that you love to hate and is played so perfectly entertaining by Tom Hiddleston and the film-makers know this very well. You feel that any other random villain would have been written out already. It was also good to see Anthony Hopkins and Natalie Portman in this movie again, though like I said before; it would have been nice if the movie focused on introducing some more new and different characters as well.
It's truly far from a great movie but it's simply bringing some quality entertainment to the screen and it never bores, despite of its many clichés, uncreative writing and lack of any truly new things.
7/10
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