An essay on Thor and Thor the Dark World free essay sample

Thor (2011) and Thor the Dark World (2013) are both films of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, loosely based on the Marvel Comics which in turn were based on the Gods of Nord Mythology. The films depict the love-hate relationship between the brothers Thor, the God of Thunder, and Loki, the God of Mischief, and how their actions reflect on each other. In Thor, the first film of the series, which was directed by Kenneth Branagh, Thor, the protagonist, is about to be crowned kind of Asgard, when his brother Loki, in an act of jealousy and bitterness after finding out he is an adopted child, creates a plan that leads to Thor’s exile in Midgard, aka Earth, and becomes king in his place. In its sequel Thor: The Dark World, which was directed by Alan Taylor, Thor, long released from his exile and Loki, now locked up in Asgardian prison for his previous actions, including his attempt to take over the Earth in The Avengers (2012), have to unite forces to defeat a greater evil and face each other as they deal with their past and present sibling quarrels. Both films focus strongly on themes such as the growth of an identity as villain and hero, responsibility for your actions, the duality of good and evil within the same person and family bonds. Through the various conflicts that happen through the films it is noticeable that the characters define themselves in opposition to each other, as Tom Hiddleston, the actor who portrays Loki in both films, said himself: â€Å"there is no Thor without Loki and no Loki without Thor. † In the beginning of the first film, it is quite clear how both brothers were still naive, each in their own way, not realizing the power and consequences of their own actions to its full. Thor was a reckless, proud boy who would put his wishes and pride as a warrior before strategy and the safety of a kingdom and its people. He also would barely acknowledge his brother’s feelings. Loki, in his turn, was still on the shadow of his brother, hurt by not being the chosen one to the throne and yet not completely decided to do anything so as to fulfill his own wishes. It is through the first film that Thor matures and become truly aware of the people around him and of his responsibilities. It is also possible to notice how Loki gradually gathers confidence in his own actions, as at first he seems timid in telling lies and expressing his feelings, still wearing the mask of a good man before he accepts the turn of events and the whole of his grief towards his brother. While Loki does manipulate Thor to invade Jotunheim, realm of the Frost Giants, enemies of Asgard, he told a guard what Thor would attempt to do so Odin would stop them before they left Asgard and he would seem unworthy of the throne. However, no one was there to stop them. It was clear to see in Loki’s eyes that he was very fearful and thrilled as they faced the Giants, and it seems he was honest when he tried to make Thor give up the fight and go home. When Odin finally arrived, Thor’s vain actions in Jotunheim had unfolded too much for him to have a light punishment, and the very fact he would not abide by his father’s decisions proved him not to be ready for the throne. As a result, Odin exiled him and separated him from Mjolnir, Thor’s hammer, casting a spell in it that would only allow a worthy man to be able to lift it and possess the power of Thor. Even though it was not Loki’s intention, was it not for him Thor would not have gone through such a humbling experience as his exile was and would not have become truly worthy of his own powers. After accepting his condition as only a man he learnt to be grateful to the people who helped him and to apologize to Loki even though he didn’t know what exactly he could have done to make his brother act against him. Meanwhile, through the film Loki finally reveals his true feelings of bitterness towards his family in different scenes: towards his father when he realized he was adopted and accused him of only using him as a tool, and towards Thor when he tells him they’re not brothers and that he actually never wanted a throne, but to be his equal. Through that turn of events it’s quite clear how the siblings are intimately related to each other’s development and behavior, even if indirectly. In Thor: The Dark World, the character’s growth was evident right from the beginning. Even though Loki still justified his actions and talked as if he did not believe he ever did something wrong, he could no longer pretend to be innocent when people publicly threatened to kill him in case he betrayed Thor again, instead he could only laugh off and mock them for their rage. Thor, in turn, had become a much wiser man and was no longer willing to trust his brother, as he states: â€Å"You should know that when we fought each other in the past, I did so with a glimmer of hope that my brother was still in there somewhere. That hope no longer exists to protect you. You betray me, and I will kill you. † Now the characters are no longer struggling with their hate for each other, but with their love. After his every action, Loki finds himself without barely any possibility of redemption in front of his family and gathers even more reasons to feel bitter about them as the only person who cares to speak to him is Frigga, his mother. With such bitterness filling his heart, he claims again that Odin is not his father to her, causing her to question him with the logical assumption that if Odin is not his father, so she is not his mother either. Although it does reach Loki when Frigga says that, he had buried himself so deeply into that mindset that he was too proud to take back his words; instead he simply told her that she was not his mother even though he didn’t mean it. When Thor has to seek Loki’s help and clandestinely leave Asgard, it is the first time the audience sees the brothers acting as such, all the way from Loki trying to annoy his brother with silly jokes and mockery to them actually talking to each other honestly for the first time in years. Such moments led Thor to feel very clearly the difference between his relationship in the past and in the present, causing him to say â€Å"I wish I could trust you†. In spite of Loki’s forceful rejection of his family bonds with Thor and his parents, it was visible that after Thor turned around Loki seemed quite heartbroken by that statement. His only response was to quietly say â€Å"Trust my rage†, for they had the same wish of vengeance for their mother’s death and it seemed he could no longer regain his brother’s trust in himself. However, later when Thor was being defeated in battle, Loki came for his help and killed the monster, in turn getting stabbed in the chest and supposedly sacrificing himself in order to save his brother. Despite Thor’s hopelessness in Loki’s nature scenes before, with one great action his brother was completely redeemed in his eyes. It is agreeable that Loki’s action was indeed, very redeeming, but the way Thor accepted so easily that it was true, with pure intentions, is very clarifying about Thor’s feelings for his brother. He could only accept it so easily because deep inside that was the brother he wished to see in Loki. Throughout the films you can see the characters grow and change, they become both more mature and more aware of their own natures, and they also change the way in which they act towards other people. However, one thing does not change: the emotional bond they have. Even if they may decide they’re not worthy of their trust, they’re not capable of simply forgetting everything they mean to one another simply because they did each other wrong. Instead, in each film they find a different way of dealing with it, a different development in their relationship. The brothers Thor and Loki share a connection so deep and complex that is beyond what some would expect from a super hero film. In the franchise they may consider making a film with one of them alone, but it hasn’t happened so far because of their true co-dependency. Even when Thor was absolutely hopeless about his brother, Loki managed to surprise him and redeem himself in his brother’s eyes by supposedly dying for him. And even when Loki himself meant to completely deny his feelings for his brother, his emotional actions, even if rage-ridden, showed otherwise. Although quite simple, there is one sentence that sums it up, without which a description of their relationship would never be complete: â€Å"There is no Thor without Loki and no Loki without Thor. † Like yin-yang, they’re opposing forces that complete each other. Without one another they would not be who they are, Thor and Loki define themselves respectively as hero and villain in opposition to each other. Their dynamic is very interesting to see in films, for it doesn’t jeopardize the depth of family bonds and makes it very understandable that there is much more to a villain than his evil actions and much more to a hero than just strength. Before anything they’re people, and as people they should be understood before judged.