The overwhelming problem with Thor 2 is it’s undeniably successful at ticking boxes. It’s got explosions, jokes and Loki galore – but where’s the beef?

To explain, there are just too many characters. With at least six sidekicks battling for screentime, their puns and tomfoolery divert the film’s attentions away from any potential emotion or depth to enter the story or the leads’ performances. Eccleston and Akinnuoye-Agbaje in particular are given scraps to work on as the villains, leaving the film uncomfortably uneven.

Thankfully Hiddleston steals the show and leaves you begging for more, and hopefully his own standalone feature.

There’s a real absence of mystique and depth as hit-and-miss jokes/sidekicks dominate, leaving the viewer pining for the subtler notes from its predecessor – or even from Iron Man 3.

RATING: 3/5

INFORMATION

CAST: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Natalie Portman, Kat Dennings, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Idris Elba, Anthony Hopkins and Stellan Skarsgård

DIRECTOR: Alan Taylor

WRITERS: Christopher L. Yost, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely

SYNOPSIS: Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.