A while back, I reviewed the teaser trailer for Thor: The Dark World, and I was considerably underwhelmed. I feel a lot better about this trailer, but it hasn’t really done much to allay some of my grievances—such as Jane Foster being a damsel in distress and not having a clear antagonist outside of dark evilness.
However, this trailer also delves into something else that I don’t so much as hate as I am greatly amused by: Thor and companions trusting Loki who is clearly not trustworthy. This is a common problem in the comic books. Everyone, despite what Loki’s done in the past and despite how much they hate and distrust him, still decide to go through with plans that absolutely require them to not be betrayed by Loki. And every time, it never ends well. And so the comics keep going through this loop, where the story has to keep coming up with reasons for all the characters to not just kill Loki—and even include him in their heroic missions—and be done with it.
As mentioned for the last trailer, the plot this time around is as such:
Set one year after The Avengers, Thor battles to save all the Nine Realms from a mysterious enemy older than the universe itself. However, a primeval race led by Malekith, who is out for revenge, intends to plunge the universe into darkness. Confronted by an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot overcome, Thor must reunite with Jane Foster and set out on a dangerous journey that will force him to make the ultimate sacrifice.
Alright, I still don’t really know what Malekith’s goal is, and neither trailer even seems to want to expand on who he is for the sake of non-comic-book-reading audiences, but at least this trailer is a little more clear on Loki’s involvement. The previous trailer didn’t show Loki until the very end, probably to get a rise out of all his fans, whereas this trailer features him a lot—but I still don’t know why Loki’s being involved at all, and we’ll probably have to wait until the movie’s release to get a clear answer on that. Unfortunately, the impression I have thus far is that in the movie Thor’s taking after his comic counterpart and making some really dumb decisions.
This conversation happens in the trailer:
Heimdall: We face an enemy known only to a few.
Thor: Known only to one.
Now, either Heimdall just lied, or Thor’s making a really stupid decision, and even Loki calls him a fool for it. If there is anyone else—anyone at all, which there seems to be, according that conversation—that person will probably be a lot more trustworthy than Loki, and Thor should enlist his help instead. I admit that I love Thor, but let’s face it, he really has never been the brightest Avenger. I love Loki too, and I’m glad he’s in this movie, but come on.
As an aside, Frigga seems particularly badass here. It’s a pleasant change.
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I wonder if Thor is trying to give Loki a chance to redeem himself. He’s supposed to have learned his lesson about rushing into battle so I’m hoping his poor decision-making is out of a desire to reform his brother. Then again, love can make people do stupid things so maybe he’s just not thinking because his girlfriend is in danger.
Speaking of Jane, that was a hell of a slap. I hope she turns out to be more than a damsel-in-distress and a source of conflict for the Odison family.
Thor might be trying to help Loki redeem himself. In the comics, he almost always seems willing and open to the idea, even though he knows he shouldn’t be. And despite every horrible thing Loki puts him and the other characters through, he still loves Loki, so that is normally where his poor decision making comes from.
And yeah, I have never really liked Jane Foster, especially in the movies. I hope her role will be more than damsel-in-distress, but at the same time, I doubt it. In the original comics, all she was was a damsel and a driving wedge between Odin and Thor. The first movie was an improvement, but her character arc still revolved around Thor.
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