First there's MOS. Like I said in the TDW review above, 9/10, mostly because I felt a personal connection to Superman, as a beloved character from my
childhood - but also because he was a much more "human" character than Thor.
MOS is a darker film than TDW, and much more personal, it's about a man's quest to find himself.
So here's my comparisons, which include acting, visuals, romance and action.
Henry Cavill vs Chris Hemsworth = Slight edge to Cavill, Hemsworth is enjoyable as Thor, and looks the part. Cavill's Clark Kent is much more troubled, had a lot less dialogue to work with, and thus has to rely on expressions more, all up Clark is a slightly better written character
with a more relatable story (despite his great powers, he struggles with
issues that every person struggles with, in terms of coming to terms
with his place in the world).
Odin vs Jor El (Anthony Hopkins vs Rusell Crowe) = tie, two of the absolute cinema greats, both as the wise father role, possibly slight edge to Jor-El for kicking more ass (without superpowers, on Krypton)
Frigga vs Martha Kent (Rene Russo vs Diane Lane) = edge to Ma Kent. Russo does a great job, with a small (but highly significant ) role, but Ma Kent does a lot more, she's the rock of Clark's world, and helps us connect to his character.
Malekith v General Zod= hmmmm.... both are pretty apocalyptic characters with the single-minded destruction of the current world (and the restoration of their own world). Zod has a bit more dialogue to work with, and is a little easier to relate to, in terms of his obsession.
Eccleston does a great job with very little dialogue, and under a lot of make-up -the fact that he does so much with so little is a testament to his talents.
So edge to Zod, but mostly because Malekith has much less dialogue to work through.
NOTE: General Zod v Loki = not even close. Loki by a mile, Hiddleston is the stand-out performer in TDW, he's a better developed and more enjoyable character to watch.
Jane Foster vs Lois Lane ( Nat Portman v Amy Adams)= when I first encountered Adams (in previous films) didn't really like her as an actress, whereas Portman was a great talent from her very first film.
The Fighter, changed my mind about Adams, and while she and Portman both have damsel in distress roles, Adams is lot pluckier and more interesting. Usually I can't stand Lois Lane, but Adams made her an enjoyable character. Portman's Foster is good, but nothing special. Edge = Lois Lane / Adams !
romance= Thor and Jane, Clark and Lois. personally, I didn't feel like Hemsworth and Portman had much on-screen chemistry, whereas Cavill and Adams did. There's a lot less said between Clark and Lois, but what's said is more believable. Edge = Lois and Clark.
Krypton vs Asgard = Asgard has a real Star wars feel to it, (read the above review), and the sequences there are visually impressive. But Asgard is all sunshine, whereas Krypton is a dying world.
Both are equally compelling, and believable....something I never felt about the Star Wars prequels (those environments always looked a bit too fantastical). In fact, the visuals in Thor are as good as MOS, so tie.
Action= hmmmmm....tricky. The final show-down, in terms of scale is bigger in MOS (in respect of stuff being destroyed on Earth), however Thor TDW threatens the 9 realms.... However, the destruction in MOS
is just unparalleled, both from the Gravity beam and from the final Zod vs Supes punch-up.
The fight scenes in Thor TDW are good, but a bit chaotic, whereas MOS
is again, a bit clearer in terms of what's going on, but much more destructive.
Despite what many have said, I loved the Smallville fight scene, best superbeing on superbeing fight scene to date.
Edge: MOS.
Overall grades: Don't get me wrong, Thor TDW is an enjoyable watch
and the best thing Marvel's done this Year (waaayyy better than Amazing Spider Man, and better than Avengers) and Hiddleston is superb. I have never been a Thor fan, but after this film I've grown to like the character and his world a lot more.
8/10
MOS, slightly better performances (except of course Hiddleston, he could carry a Loki movie after this), and that I felt a greater connection to the character and his personal struggles (and of course, I am biased as having been a Superman fan since childhood). While Thor TDW was a very good movie, MOS was a great one. 9/10