Movie Rating: 4 out of 10
Extras Rating: 7 out of 10
Starring:
David Blair as Loki
Elizabeth Diennet as Sif
Daniel Thorn as Thor
Special Features:
An Exclusive Look Back With Writer Robert Rodi And Artist Esad Ribic
Behind the Scenes of “Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers”
Trailer
Other Info:
Widescreen
Running Time: 72 Minutes
The Details:
The following is the official description of the film:
“The great halls of Asgard have fallen silent since a new king has overtaken the throne. His name is Loki, son of almighty Odin, brother to the Thunder God, Thor. Once a powerful trickster, the God of Mischief, Loki now rules a grand kingdom with little regard for its subjects. His only thoughts are focused inward, toward the origins of his own pain and suffering. To quell his torment and to gain the respect he feels he so rightfully deserves, Loki must now execute the prisoner chained deep within the dungeons of Asgard, the one man who has ever shown him love. His own brother.
Adapted from the acclaimed miniseries Loki, from Robert Rodi and Esad Ribic, ‘Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers’ takes a powerful look inside the minds of two legendary nemeses, shedding light, like never before, on the depths of Thor and Loki’s hatred, and love, for one another”
“Marvel Knights: Thor & Loki – Blood Brothers” is not rated.
Mini-Review:
I’ve got to say that I’m not a big fan of these motion comics. I prefer a traditional static comic (I’ll take print or digital) or a cartoon. This is somewhere in-between and it doesn’t really work for me. They took the artwork from Robert Rodi and Esad Ribic’s 2004 comic “Loki” and clipped it out and animated it. In other scenes they actually created CG 3D versions of the characters and had them move around in scenes. The motion is simply too limited and ultimately I’d prefer it to be 100% animated or in its original format.
My distaste for motion comics aside, I have to say I can’t figure out why they chose to animate the “Loki” series. It has nice artwork, but it is really dull. It is four 20 minute segments featuring Loki conquering Asgard and then lamenting over the fact that he has defeated his enemies and that he’s always destined to battle Thor. There’s little action in it and it is written in Shakespearean dialogue. I get what the creators were going for, but upon execution it just doesn’t work great. I don’t understand why out of all the Thor series they had to choose from, they chose this. They obviously want to capitalize on the success of the “Thor” movie, but this doesn’t effectively do that.
I watched “Marvel Knights: Thor & Loki – Blood Brothers” with my kids and after about 10 minutes they asked, “Where is Thor?” They soon wandered off, utterly bored. This is one case where I agreed with them.
I’d only recommend “Marvel Knights: Thor & Loki – Blood Brothers” to diehard fans of Thor and anyone that really loved the “Loki” miniseries from Marvel Knights. Those fans will most enjoy it and most forgive its faults. Everyone else should just stick with the “Thor” movie.
There are two bonus features on this DVD. The first features Robert Rodi and Esad Ribic talking about the development of their comic. The second features the animators of the motion comic talking about their process. It is interesting to see how they made it and learn about the thoughts behind the comic, but it’s ultimately more interesting than the movie itself.
