Mischievous, perversely – review of the series “Loki”

While the first two Marvel series on Disney Plus – WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – took place right after Thanos’ snap, this series takes us on a crazy journey into something we know and new at the same time.

Found

Loki begins exactly where the story of the eponymous trickster ended in Avengers: Endgame . Thor’s brother wakes up facedown in the sand in a land similar to the one known from Dune trailers , surrounded by a squad of black-armored guards who quickly take him to the 1930s-like corridors of the Time Variance Authority (TVA) headquarters. The first episode does a great job introducing us to the concept of protecting the Holy Timeline from unauthorized manipulation, using Loki himself as an intermediary to the audience as everything is explained to him. Unfortunately, I have the impression that the dialogues with the exhibition were strongly modeled on the first season of DCs’ Legends of Tomorrow. In any case, the show can run more or less on its own, rather than having to wade through 20 films first. A good example is that officials at TVA here are using the all-powerful Infinity Stones as regular paperweights.

Hiddleston’s charm

Tom Hiddleston shines on screen as always and shows off his high acting skills when it comes to the mixture of playful arrogance and somewhat of the clown insecurity that make up his character. It raises Loki’s amazement at the existence of power (its agents are able to wipe out all traces of their intrusions into the stream of time) and outrage at being held captive. The hallmark of Marvel’s previous productions on the Disney Plus platform was their self-conscious desire to prove that they have more to show than typical superhero series. Curlswith Hiddleston also looks for extra texture in a relatively easy and therefore effective way. Amidst the tormented officials and claustrophobic labyrinths of the power of time, a funny element of an oppressive office comedy appears. There is also a metafictional thread that managing timelines is akin to building a fantasy story or, more closely related to the show, overseeing a huge empire of comic book entertainment.

Among the new heroes, agent Mobius, played by Owen Wilson, stands out, bringing Loki a new lease of life every time he appears on the screen. Combining Wilson’s characteristic dry speech with a clever script that allows the actor to present himself from a completely new angle, the viewer never gets bored, especially when Loki Hiddleston appears and we get something like a comedy buddy. As a result, the weakest in this six-episode series turns out to be Episode Three, in which we lose our dynamic duo, and instead Loki is led down a branched path with a new companion.

The beginning of news

This idea of ​​isolating yourself from the rest of the Marvel universe isn’t entirely new. That’s part of what made WandaVision so attractive – at least in the beginning. The dissimilarity of the sitcom-inspired world of the show was refreshing, but gradually more and more MCU-like elements crept into Wanda’s head, and thus into the show itself. It was a product that was a strong continuation of the plot of Avengers – Loki is more independent. There are of course references to characters and storylines, but they seem to be secondary. And even if the work reveals its greater purpose in the machinations of the Marvel cinematic universe (introduces the character played by Jonathan Majors, Kang the Conqueror, who is to appear in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumaniain a few years), it is not quite a cliffhanger for events that are yet to come. If you are unfamiliar with Marvel, you probably won’t even realize what’s going on.

In fact, if you’re new to all of this marvelous reality, I’d recommend Loki as the place to start. This is the best that the superhero genre has to offer, without any previous homework being done in the past 20 movies.