Synopsis / Credits: Read on IMBD

Should you watch this movie? Well, of course you should! Have you ever read a Marvel movie review of mine where I don’t recommend watching? That’ll be the day!

Thor is back because, why not? The movie starts with a small introduction of the time of the Dark Elves and how they were defeated by Odin’s father King Bor (Thor’s grandpa) because they were trying to destroy the world with a powerful weapon known as the Aether. Cut to present day and Jane Foster stumbles upon the dormant Aether and the Dark Elves return, once more a menace to the entire Universe. It’ll be up to Thor & Co. to save mankind (and thus the ‘kinds of the other realms) once more!

The same actors from the first installment reprise their roles. To appaise the lust of all Chris Hemsworth’s chest fans, there is a scene where his chiselled musculature is in full display. Not enough display if you ask me, of course. Natalie Portman plays Jane Foster, with Kat Dennings and Stellan Skarsgaard as Darcy and Dr. Erik Selvig respectively. Also back are the Asgardians, Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Renee Russo as Frigga, and Idris Elba (yumm!) as Heimdall. Adoptive Asgardian Loki makes an appearance with his mischievous laugh that will make you fall madly in love with im (oh, Tom Hiddleston, you melt my heart!).

Plot-wise, there is absolutely nothing groundbreaking about this film.. It follows the usual formula of (UNLESS YOU HAVE NEVER WATCHED A SUPERHERO MOVIE, SPOILER ALERT) 1. World at the verge of impending doom, 2. Hero sets out to overcome adversity, 3. Hero realizes things are bad, even worse than expected, 4. Villains call out victory before they actually have it, 4. Hero saves the day, against all odds, may or may not get the girl at the end, but at least there is the hope he will. And there you have it. Special effects are pretty awesome (as one would expect for a movie of this caliber) and the performances are quite good (which one would not expect for a movie of this caliber). Except Natalie Portman’s. Not her fault though, I think this is mainly the way her part was written. Her character had barely any protagonist quality in the movie. She barely has lines (or actions) and she looks like a confused 5 year old . “But Paola, she’s the one that takes the Aether and kind of carries it around”. Think about it, they could’ve used a puppy called Jane to represent her character and the outcome would’ve been the same. They could’ve used a puppy for all I care (it would’ve been adorable, though).

Bechdel Test: Pass
1. It has to have at least two [named] women in it There are 4 named characters, Natalie Portman as Jane Porter, Renee Russo as Frigga, Kat Dennings as Darcy, and Jamie Alexander as Sif. All of them have more than one line.
2. Who talk to each other not extensively, but they actually do talk to each other, most of the dialog between Jane and Darcy
3. About something besides a man This one is a barely pass, since most of the conversations tend to revolve around Thor (can’t blame them though. Ever since watching this movie all my conversations have been about Thor)

Does it matter? It is already a big step that we can see strong women we can empathise with, especially considering omic book adaptations are notorious for the lack of empowered females that wear more than tigh spandex with killer cleavage outfits. It would be nice, however; to have them discuss other aspects of the plot that do not relate to a dreamy dude

I enjoyed this movie very much, I even managed to keep my popcorn well into the the movie, as opposed to have eaten it all during the trailers / ads. And no, it wasn’t a bucket-sized portion!

Paola’s mood after watching this movie: