As appealing and charming as Hemsworth is in the lead, once again it’s Tom Hiddleston as the mischievous Loki who proves himself the franchise’s most charismatic and essential figure, grinning through clenched teeth and staring with burning intensity as the world around him crumbles. There is more depth to his character than all the others combined; a petulant villain seething with jealousy yet privately vulnerable and burdened with unspoken regret. Hiddleston’s sublime performance manages to draw focus even when there’s a full-blown, four-alarm CGI clusterfuck going on around him, and in this film that’s a common occurrence.