LOKI Review Thread (Reviews for the first 2 of 6 episodes, 96% RT)

MadLaughter · Jun 8, 2021

Loki Review: After a Talky-Talky Start, Disney+’s Third Marvel Series Is a Super Fun ‘Time Detectives’ Two-Hander

REVIEW: Disney+'s 'Loki' series has a talky-talky first hour, but then makes way for an entertaining 'time detectives' two-hander.

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Once the premise for the series is in place, things get very fun, as Loki channels his mischievous brilliance into splendid detective work and he and Mobius engage in some timey-wimey theory testing, all building to a tantalizing, two-pronged reveal — one capping each hour — that opens up all kinds of possibilities for the rest of the six-episode season.

Loki

Tom Hiddleston's Marvel villain gets his own Disney+ series. Read the Empire review.

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Then again, sometimes one ally is all you need. Wilson remains a profoundly likeable screen presence, and his easy charm and compassion only sharpens Hiddleston's spikiness and self-loathing as Loki. We've rarely been able to spend so much time with Loki, and it's enormously satisfying to see Hiddleston bring him to life without his impossibly golden-boy brother to measure himself against. Seeing the trickster facing the same immense grief that almost crushed Thor in Infinity War is instructive; he does have feelings, even if he tries to forget that fact.

‘Loki’ Gives Tom Hiddleston’s Antihero the Spotlight, but Sticks to Marvel’s Superhero Basics: TV Review

Marvel's new Disney Plus series 'Loki,' starring Tom Hiddleston, looks a bit different, but mostly sticks to the MCU's superhero basics.

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Only two episodes of "Loki" were screened for critics, making it hard to know exactly how successful the 6-episode season might be in shaping its own identity within the onscreen Marvel universe. Of these first two episodes, however, the second was far more engaging. The pilot has such an extraordinary amount of ground to cover that director Kate Herron only gets a couple opportunities to find humor in between the exposition, and Hiddleston can barely get into the pithy groove that made Loki such a standout in the first place. The second, at least, can have a bit more fun.

Our Spoiler-Free Review of 'Loki,' a Show That Is Already a Triumph

If Disney+ and Marvel Studios' latest standalone effort 'Loki' continues the momentum of its first two episodes, we are in for a treat—and a show that defies genre and expectations.

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Kudos are owed to the writers and the talented cast, but director Kate Herron (Sex Education) and the creative teams have also played a vital role in bringing us the triumphant show on offer. The sets, backdrops, costumes, and props are gorgeous and evocative, down to the tiniest details like ballpoint pens, bells to ring on a desk, and anachronistic computer monitors, weapons, and gadgets. The cinematography is stunning. The TVA's digs are a blend of what looks like a 1960s-era office intermingled with incredible future tech, and you can't stop wanting to look at absolutely everything onscreen. The special effects are flawless and seamless, putting many of the Marvel movies to shame, and ensuring that we're never jarred out of this new reality with something that looks too much like a green screen.

‘Loki’ Review: Marvel’s Latest Needs a Little Less Conversation and a Lot More Mischief

The Disney+ limited series starring Tom Hiddleston as the God of Mischief is far less fun than it has every right to be.

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"Loki" plays with straws. It loves straws. The latest MCU entry for Disney+ dumps a bevy of colored straws, bendy straws, crazy straws, and all the compostable, biodegradable, and otherwise non-turtle-killing straws onto the table from moment No. 1, and invites everyone to start twisting them together. Straws aren't beside the point, they are the point. On the one hand, the sheer bravado behind this choice — to thoroughly detail the hows and whens of time travel — fits snugly with the arrogance inherent to our eponymous God of Mischief. On the other, Loki would hate being forced to affix each tubular drinking aide to the next, in a very particular order, for hours and hours on end, which is much closer to what watching "Loki" feels like.

'Loki' Proves That a Great Villain Is Always the Hero of His Own (Weird, Wild, Wonderful) Story — Review

Tom Hiddleston is once again stellar as the titular star of the new Disney+ series 'Loki.'

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As visually rich as this world is (full credit to Autumn Durald Arkapaw's cinematography and Kasra Farahani's production design for bringing the TVA to life in a full and complete way), it'd just be cool empty rooms without the cast. Hiddleston's been playing Loki for a decade now and his ability to embody every mercurial aspect of the character is now as sharp as the knives favored by the God of Mischief. But head writer Michael Waldron and director Kate Herron don't let him coast on the past, with the first two episodes pushing both actor and character to new extremes and crises that also represent some of the most philosophically challenging material ever presented within the context of an MCU property.

‘Loki’ TV Review: The God of Mischief is Out of Time

Marvel’s new Disney+ series features a lot of fun dialogue and twists.

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Which is fun! Before he was a beloved fan favorite, Loki was an outstanding heel; cocky, power-hungry, and also incompetent enough to frequently get his comeuppance. Headlining his own show for the first time, Loki gets captured by the "Time Variance Authority," a mysterious group charged with protecting the "sacred timeline" from any sort of disruption or alteration. His guide through his new life at the TVA is a mid-level agent named Mobius. Played by the laconic, easygoing Owen Wilson, he's the perfect foil for Hiddleston's heated Shakespearean drama. In just two episodes (that's all that was provided to critics by Disney before the show's premiere), the friction between Loki and Mobius produced more mismatched buddy laughs than Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes did in all six hours of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Where Loki is lacking, at least to start, is in the action department. The vast majority of the first two episodes takes place inside the cramped and cluttered rooms of the TVA, as Loki is tried for his crimes against the Sacred Timeline (i.e. the main Marvel universe) and then recruited to help track down a mysterious criminal who is wreaking havoc around the timestream. Whether it was always planned as a claustrophobic experience set entirely in a series of dimly lit rooms or that's what it became to make it easier to shoot during the pandemic, its vibe definitely captures the stuffy, quarantined zeitgeist of the last 18 months. That alone might make some people a little itchy.

Disney+’s ‘Loki’: TV Review

The latest Marvel series pairs Tom Hiddleston's God of Mischief with Owen Wilson as a droll agent of timeline control.

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After two episodes, Loki is at a tipping point. Having set everything up to an exhausting degree, things could be lined up to get really entertaining — if not zany in a Rick and Morty way, perhaps fun in some of the timeline rupture-of-the-week ways The CW's Legends of Tomorrow has enjoyed with a similar premise and much less seriousness. The show has barely begun to take advantage of Mosaku and Mbatha-Raw as anything more than frustrated authority figures or to find enough outlets for veteran scene-stealer Eugene Cordero, positioned for a breakout as comic relief in an already amusing show.

Or Loki might just be a lot of Hiddleston and Wilson talking, which might still be engaging for six episodes, but will surely require Marvel course correction, once the audience murmuring begins.

'Loki' Premiere Review - A Clunky Start

The series premiere of 'Loki' on Disney+ definitely shows promise, but doesn't perfectly deliver on its fascinating concept.

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A lot of Loki's strength comes from its lead characters. Despite the aforementioned stumbles in the first episode, Hiddleston is (as always) delightful to watch as Loki. Seeing him caught off guard and taken out of his element gives the character new appeal, and the godly con-man is sure to have some twists in mind in the future. Alongside him is the most consistently entertaining performance in the show, Agent Mobius. While Wilson plays him as a sympathetic but stretched thin agent, there's clearly more under the surface, with only a bit of it being hinted at in these first two episodes, and wielding charisma reminiscent of Clark Gregg's Agent Coulson before him, Mobius is sure to become a fan favorite. The rest of the cast doesn't get a lot of chances to shine in these episodes, but there's room for them to do so in the future, particularly with how the second episode leaves off.

By the end of the first two episodes, Loki definitely shows promise, but doesn't perfectly deliver on its fascinating concept. Be that as it may, it features fun characters, a unique central plot, and fascinating worldbuilding, and while the premiere may be disappointing to some viewers, later episodes will hopefully regain their attention.

‘Loki’ Entertains, Deconstructs Loki, And Explains The Multiverse

The new Disney+ series ‘Loki’ sets to deconstruct the character of Loki while also explaining the rules of the upcoming multiverse.

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But, at least so far, it seems the purpose of this show is to explain to people what a multiverse is. And, you know what, if I were hell-bent on bringing the multiverse to the MCU (I would not be, but, again, they do not ask me; I know, weird, right?) I would for sure make a series like Loki. Where rules could be established going forward in what seems like will be, let's say, some unruly future plots. Look, I get it, after Thanos what do you do? Galactus? Yeah, maybe? But isn't Galactus's end goal about the same as Thanos? In that in the end a lot of people die? (I know the difference, I do not need tweets explaining the difference between the two.) But, cinematically, to up the ante, yeah, I get why the multiverse is appealing. We are going to see some weird stuff. Involving actors and characters we never thought we'd see again. I hope it works! But, I dunno, it just all seems like a lot.

Loki Review: Hiddleston Isn't Holding Back In Slowburn Marvel Mystery

Hiddleston's God of Mischief takes center stage.

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Loki already has a lot of things working in its favor, but if there is one major standout, it is Hiddleston himself. By this point, the actor has been playing Loki for 10 years, and he wears the part like a glove. Loki wouldn't still be around if it weren't for Hiddleston's effortless charm, and this series has already granted him multiple opportunities to bring new shades to a character who could've been one-note in someone else's hands. As his frequent scene partner, Wilson is in top form. The MCU might've found its newest dream duo in Wilson and Hiddleston, as their banter and evolving work relationship gradually comes to be the heart of Loki. Additional supporting players like Mosaku and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Judge Renslayer have similarly slipped into their characters with ease, though they haven't yet been granted as much playing time as Hiddleston and Wilson have with their characters.

Judging a television series off of two episodes is a tricky task, particularly when it comes to one that is bound to take several dramatic turns. Loki's more cerebral approach might throw off some viewers, but its central mystery and exploration of the God of Mischief himself will surely entice even more. After years spent in Thor's shadow, Loki is finally moving into the spotlight, and it's one that is shaping up to be just as unpredictable as he is. Chaotic, fun, and deeply intriguing, Loki is a solid MCU entry. The next six weeks are going to be very interesting.

Loki's First Two Episodes Are An Answer To Fans' Prayers | Digital Trends

Marvel's Loki series finally gives the Asgardian trickster his own solo adventure, and the first two episodes make up for a decade of anticipation.

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All of these hints about what's to come are fine, but is Loki as good as fans are hoping?

Obviously, the answer will vary from one person to the next, but when it comes to meeting expectations, Loki delivers — and then some. The first two episodes of the series wisely let Hiddleston occupy as much of the spotlight as possible, and his Asgardian mischief-maker smirks and schemes his way through the show's introductory act with reckless abandon.

With each of Loki's numerous appearances in MCU films, the calls for an opportunity to see him go solo have become louder. Loki is the realization of that potential, and it's more than satisfying, even after more than a decade of anticipation.

Loki Is a Fascinatingly Funny Take on Marvel's Greatest Anti-Hero

The latest Disney+ Marvel show, Loki, takes Tom Hiddleston's Asgardian trickster god and thrusts him into a slick and funny time-bending new adventure. At its heart, it is fascinated with asking us to redefine just who Loki really is—to us and to himself.

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It's also, by and large, just quite fun. There are moments of drama in the first episode, and plenty of intriguing-set up to drive the most dedicated of Marvel fans to their mental whiteboards theorizing who's who, what's what, and just when Mephisto could show up (sorry on the latter front, but it seems a bit unlikely). But Loki is primarily driven by a manic, buddy-cop rapport between our titular anti-hero and Owen Wilson's mysterious Agent Mobius M. Mobius—a TVA agent who is equal parts a company diehard and also a bit of a cool vagabond. He lackadaisically strolls about the TVA's halls like he kind of owns the place, and Wilson is in fine form, a fitting foil to Loki's peculiar new role as a master manipulator suddenly out of control. As it pushes and pulls between Loki's ever-present desire to bite his thumb at authority and his attempts to prove himself to this man he's just met that he's capable of being a... loosely good person, their partnership is electric and comical in all the right ways. It's an energy that expands delightfully when you throw in the more no-nonsense agents of the TVA into the mix, like Gugu Mbatha-Raw's (Doctor Who, Fast Color) mysterious Judge Ravonna Renslayer, or Wunmi Mosaku's (Lovecraft Country) zealous and self-serious Hunter-B15, who push Loki to rely on things other than his charm and tricks simply through the sheer force of will that they have no time for his bullshit.

Loki episode 1 + 2 review: The best Marvel show yet is here

Give the trickster his due: Loki episode 1 + 2 are amazing

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In fact, these first two episodes are so fantastic that I'm ready to say that this will be the best Marvel show yet — and I loved WandaVision. The Loki TV series thrives in so many more ways that I'm absolutely in love with the show so far. I'm even happy to note that it's yet another series that Disney is releasing week by week. A show this good? You don't binge all at once. Here's why.

'Loki' is a cheeky, confident time-crime caper

Mischievous scamp.

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Like Loki himself, Loki the series is a little cocksure, reliant on this fan favorite to carry the story like so many Marvel properties do. But also like Loki, they're not wrong. The show's eccentric charm makes up for what it might otherwise lack in direction, because the ride is already too fun.

'Loki' review: 4 reasons it's Marvel's best Disney+ show so far

Rejoice, feeble humans. 'Loki' is finally here! Here's why Marvel's new streaming series is worth checking out.

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For starters, I'll just echo what everyone else is saying: Owen Wilson and Tom Hiddleston are incredible together. With that out of the way, what stands out the most about Loki is how aggressively it deconstructs Loki as a character.

WandaVision and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier gave us a chance to finally get to know characters who previously existed only on the sidelines. Loki, on the other hand, is taking a character we already know a lot about and challenging the things that define him.

Falchion · Jun 8, 2021

Seems like Tom's performance is great which is expected. This is my most anticipated of all the Marvel shows so I'm pumped.

Deleted member 35509 · Jun 8, 2021

Cant wait! Good reviews mostly too.

MadLaughter · Jun 8, 2021

Falchion said:
Seems like Tom's performance is great which is expected. This is my most anticipated of all the Marvel shows so I'm pumped.

Totally. Also almost every review I looked at had a paragraph/section dedicated to saying how great Owen Wilson is in this.

Violence Jack · Jun 8, 2021

So Disney's version of Doctor Who?

I didn't know this was only 6 episodes. But I expected it to be good either way.

MadLaughter · Jun 8, 2021

Violence Jack said:
So Disney's version of Doctor Who?

I didn't know this was only 6 episodes. But I expected it to be good either way.

On the upside, the episodes are long. Reported runtimes are 51 and 54 minutes for the first two episodes.

Maple · Jun 8, 2021

How many episodes are being released tomorrow?

MadLaughter · Jun 8, 2021

Maple said:
How many episodes are being released tomorrow?

Just the first one. Weekly after that. It sounds like the first episode is a lot of setup, freeing up the second episode to have a bit more fun.

MadLaughter · Jun 8, 2021

From the singer of the smash bros theme, AKA the only review that matters

HeySeuss · Jun 8, 2021

Any spoilers before I read this? You didn't mention any in the title

Gawge · Jun 8, 2021

I'm heartened by reviews which say this is good whilst acknowledging that Falcon was bad (okay, not bad but lacklustre), so it's not just lapping up any Disney show.

MadLaughter · Jun 8, 2021

HeySeuss said:
Any spoilers before I read this? You didn't mention any in the title

Nothing huge, especially since it's only the first two episodes, and I tried to pick paragraphs that weren't too spoilery. But I mostly skimmed the reviews by reading the opening sentences to each paragraph to find the ones that talked about the quality over the show rather than the story beats, so I can't make any promises. My best advice: be careful.

HeySeuss · Jun 8, 2021

MadLaughter said:
Nothing huge, especially since it's only the first two episodes, and I tried to pick paragraphs that weren't too spoilery. But I mostly skimmed the reviews by reading the opening sentences to each paragraph to find the ones that talked about the quality over the show rather than the story beats, so I can't make any promises. My best advice: be careful.

Sounds good. Thanks!

Midramble · Jun 8, 2021

I've been waiting for so long

HustleBun · Jun 8, 2021

Folks who were disappointed that WandaVision and F&tWS were more character focused instead of setting up future MCU world-building- Loki is the show you were looking for. Every review seems to indicate that the show is extremely focused on teaching the viewer about the multiverse and the consequences of time travel, possibly even addressing the impact of Endgame.

I'm also tickled that there are nods to Hitchhiker's Guide and Doctor Who in there.

Gawge said:
I'm heartened by reviews which say this is good whilst acknowledging that Falcon was bad (okay, not bad but lacklustre), so it's not just lapping up any Disney show.

Falcon & The Winter Soldier wasn't the Winter Soldier/Civil War follow-up that I expected nor was it as surprising and engaging was WandaVision, but it certainly wasn't bad. It actually succeeded in doing something the previous MCU films struggled to: endearing audiences to Sam Wilson and proving that he is the natural candidate for Captain America. The villains were very poor and quite boring but the character development with Bucky and Sam was excellent. It was also really lovely to see my non-white friends appreciating how the show handled conversations around race.

I still wish the overall show was better. I can't help but wonder if COVID-19 and the rumored changes to the Flag Smashers plot hurt the momentum of the overall story. Sharon Carter's inclusion also felt extremely half-baked.

TheGamingNewsGuy · Jun 8, 2021

Violence Jack said:
So Disney's version of Doctor Who?

I didn't know this was only 6 episodes. But I expected it to be good either way.

If anything it reminds me of the Master Big Finish Stories based on what pepole are saying

HustleBun · Jun 8, 2021

Violence Jack said:
So Disney's version of Doctor Who?

I didn't know this was only 6 episodes. But I expected it to be good either way.

TheGamingNewsGuy said:
If anything it reminds me of the Master Big Finish Stories based on what pepole are saying

Hitchhiker's Guide apparently. That's the common reference point I keep hearing.

Richiek · Jun 8, 2021

This looks to be the best of the D+ MCU shows so far. I cannot wait.

Violence Jack said:
So Disney's version of Doctor Who?

I didn't know this was only 6 episodes. But I expected it to be good either way.

Loki has been renewed for a second season.

MadLaughter · Jun 8, 2021

Busaiku · Jun 8, 2021

Are 2 episodes premiering tomorrow?

Nisaba · Jun 8, 2021

These reviews sound really promising!

I'm totally down for a show that takes time to do some detailed world-building while also being an excellent vehicle to develop an interesting character in Loki. Best of both worlds!! <3

I'm also really glad to hear how great Owen Wilson is in this, the buddy banter between Loki and Mobius sounds fun lol.

MadLaughter · Jun 8, 2021

Busaiku said:
Are 2 episodes premiering tomorrow?

Just the first is tomorrow.

Bradbatross · Jun 8, 2021

The trailer was great so I'm not surprised by the good reviews.

Sephiroth · Jun 8, 2021

This drops tomorrow right? Can't wait.

MadLaughter · Jun 8, 2021

Sephiroth said:
This drops tomorrow right? Can't wait.

Yup, in about 9 hours.

MadLaughter · Jun 8, 2021

I don't know where Loki is going in terms of plot or character. Yes, this is an attempt to monetize further a fan-favorite character who should have bled out in the dark world eight years ago. However, the highest compliment I can offer is that Waldron and Herron seemingly viewed the notion of a Loki television series as a "How do we justify this?" challenge rather than a "We know you'll watch it anyway" crutch. Whether it lives up to the promise of its first act, I am invested in the interactions between its two lead actors and the promise of crime caper hijinks mixed with Legends of Tomorrow-style adventure. Let's hope that Loki is more willing than its MCU televised predecessors to commit to the bit.

Vincent Alexander · Jun 8, 2021

Gawge said:
I'm heartened by reviews which say this is good whilst acknowledging that Falcon was bad (okay, not bad but lacklustre), so it's not just lapping up any Disney show.

This gives me hope, because I could barely finish Wanda Vision, and did in fact give up on Falcon. My fear with Loki is that we're going to get more bad/generic Marvel writing held together by a good cast.

TheCobraTwister · Jun 8, 2021

How long is each episode?

JayCB64 · Jun 8, 2021

TheCobraTwister said:
How long is each episode?

First two are a little over 50 minutes each, not sure about the rest but the assumption is that 50+ minute mark will carry through all 6 episodes.

Watchtower · Jun 8, 2021

HustleBun said:
Folks who were disappointed that WandaVision and F&tWS were more character focused instead of setting up future MCU world-building- Loki is the show you were looking for. Every review seems to indicate that the show is extremely focused on teaching the viewer about the multiverse and the consequences of time travel, possibly even addressing the impact of Endgame.

I'm also tickled that there are nods to Hitchhiker's Guide and Doctor Who in there.

I noticed this as well from the more lukewarm reviews: that they specifically noted the show (or at least the first episode) being more expositional than character-based, but Loki has been far more explored than Wanda, Vision, Falcon, and even Bucky before him and said exposition appears entirely centered around at least the TVA's perspective of multiple timelines which has been a pretty giant audience bugbear since Endgame. If the show pulls it off well enough there should be more than enough for us lore-heads to gnaw on which is still a big plus.

And yeah, hearing the Doctor Who comparisons has me tingly. With the unfortunate state the Doctor Who franchise is currently in I'm really craving some actual-quality Whovian goodness.

guiloahhhhh · Jun 8, 2021

Wow I gotta be honest this seemed like a volatile combination to start with but it may bear fruit

Best Owen Wilson impression I got but I'm glad to see him on screen again

Mandos · Jun 8, 2021

HustleBun said:
Folks who were disappointed that WandaVision and F&tWS were more character focused instead of setting up future MCU world-building- Loki is the show you were looking for. Every review seems to indicate that the show is extremely focused on teaching the viewer about the multiverse and the consequences of time travel, possibly even addressing the impact of Endgame.

I'm also tickled that there are nods to Hitchhiker's Guide and Doctor Who in there.

Falcon & The Winter Soldier wasn't the Winter Soldier/Civil War follow-up that I expected nor was it as surprising and engaging was WandaVision, but it certainly wasn't bad. It actually succeeded in doing something the previous MCU films struggled to: endearing audiences to Sam Wilson and proving that he is the natural candidate for Captain America. The villains were very poor and quite boring but the character development with Bucky and Sam was excellent. It was also really lovely to see my non-white friends appreciating how the show handled conversations around race.

I still wish the overall show was better. I can't help but wonder if COVID-19 and the rumored changes to the Flag Smashers plot hurt the momentum of the overall story. Sharon Carter's inclusion also felt extremely half-baked.

Yeah it wasn't perfect but I enjoyed it overall. But it did a perfect job of selling Sam as the new Cap and who he is as a character and every scene with him as the focus was great. Also did an excellent job with Walker as well

LOKI Review Thread (Reviews for the first 2 of 6 episodes, 96% RT)

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