Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Sophia Di Martino, Owen Wilson, Jonathan Majors, Ke Huy Quan, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Eugene Cordero, Wunmi Mosaku, Tara Strong, Rafael Casal, Kate Dickie, Liz Carr.
To love reading graphic novels or comic books is now socially acceptable, a medium that even finds itself part of a university curriculum, part of cinematic history, and one that the vast majority celebrate being enamoured by the absolute sense of accomplishment of the films and the surprise of how well the television serials have captured the imagination of even the least dedicated of fans and brought cool to what was once derided by teachers and cliques as being a poor substitute of reading.
When an adaption of a graphic novel comes to the screen the sense of scrutiny can be overwhelming, people quite rightly are protective of that which they have perhaps taken flack from their peers and friendships groups, and it takes a monumental gathering to come up with the consensus that what you have observed is not only a spectacle that transcends genre, but puts in place that which is considered a snapshot of what humanity is capable of when art takes precedence over anything else.
The second series of Loki is such a moment, and one of the truths of this comes from the character development of the lead, of Tom Hiddleston’s perception of the reading of what was arguably a fringe player in the comic books, but to which has flourished and flowered in bloom as one the most important personalities in the whole of the MCU.
From wanting to be an angry tyrant, self-centred and with the ultimate in daddy-issues, one to whom is a psychiatrist’s dream of analysis, to the unknown saviour of the Universe, the development is long, but ultimately satisfying and it is to Mr. Hiddleston and the time and care of the script writers that what the fan sees is on par with the intensity of Wanda/Vision and perhaps is one of the true greats of any Marvel adaptation.
As with anything produced in the comic book genre it takes an entire community to bring out the true dynamic and vision that is aimed for, without the actors and creatives working together in harmony, without the main character having a complimentary addition to the screen with actors who supply the emotional and humorous pull; it can fall down and be nothing more than a non-attraction, a filler for the all but the completist to investigate.
With terrific work by superb Sophia Di Martino, Owen Wilson, Jonathan Majors, Ke Huy Quan, and Gugu Mbatha-Raw in their respective roles, and with the immense CGI adding beauty to the screen, Loki’s second series fulfils every wish for those who grew up being bait for ‘serious readers to be taken just as industriously solemn.
Marvel and the MCU at its best, an addition of maximum possibility.
Ian D. Hall