Dave Davis, Host:
This is fresh air. Today, the Disney+ streaming service premieres the latest entry in its series of Marvel Comics TV spinoffs. It stars Tom Hiddleston as Loki, the Norse god of mischief. He first appeared as that character in a Marvel superhero film 10 years ago as Thor's less heroic brother, and has since appeared in several Marvel films. Now he is the star of his six-part TV series. This is our review from our TV critic David Bianculi.
David Bianculi, BYLINE: The Disney empire has spent a lot of money grabbing some of the most valuable and creative franchises in modern entertainment history — the Pixar animation studio, "Star Wars," while expanding its territory into the world of TV streaming. "franchise, The Muppets and the Marvel Comics movie and TV division, which has already produced two new Disney+ series, "WandaVision" and "The Falcon and the Winter Soldier."
"WandaVision" was a delightfully inventive hybrid of comedy and drama, incorporating decades of TV sitcom history into its central narrative. and "The Falcon in the Winter Soldier" was a miniseries-length action film made for television with impressive battle scenes and, along with "WandaVision", the films' strong supporting characters and actors played on the small screen. given a chance to shine.
The latest Disney+ series, "Loki," casts Tom Hiddleston as Loki, one of the most charismatic actors and characters in the entire Marvel universe, and puts him on a show that's a lot of fun. This is true whether or not you've followed Marvel movies or care more about superhero stories in particular. Michael Waldron, who created the "Loki" TV series, uses his lead character and entire television show to satirize comic book conventions of superheroes and time travel. The last time we saw Loki, the Norse god of mischief in a Marvel movie, was in 2019's "Avengers: Endgame." He managed to escape with a magic cube called the Tesseract, which allows him to move through space and time.
This new "Loki" series continues the journey in which he is almost immediately tracked down and captured by an organization called the Time Variance Authority. Loki is forced to work his way through a series of roped-off lines as you make your way through airport security, until he turns up and is caught Forced to watch an animated movie featuring a friendly looking avatar named Miss Minutes. . It's like a galactic "People's Court" in the form of a Disneyland ride. And its clunky bureaucracy explains what it might be like if Disney ruled the universe. Miss Minutes is sung by Tara Strong.
(soundbite of the TV show, "Loki")
Tara Strong: (as Miss Minutes) Welcome to Time Variance Authority. I'm missing minutes, and it's my job to catch you before you stand trial for your crimes. So let's not waste another minute. Just go, sharpen your pencil, and check it out. Long ago, there was a huge multilateral war. Countless unique timelines fight each other for supremacy, resulting in the total destruction of almost everything. But then the omniscient Time Keepers emerged, who brought peace by reorganizing the multiverse into a single timeline - this sacred timeline. Now the keepers of time protect and preserve the proper flow of time for everyone and everything. But sometimes people like you go out of the way made by the time keepers. We call those variants.
Bianculi: Loki escapes severe punishment, however, he is believed to have valuable insights that could help TVA catch a more aggressive version. Loki is assigned to an investigator named Mobius, played by Owen Wilson. He and Hiddleston turn this "Loki" series into a thoroughly entertaining friends movie featuring a strange pair of polar opposites. Loki is a god with the ego to match, and Mobius is a Blaze Company guy who is so casual about his initial questioning of Loki that he pops the top on a soda can and starts to tickle as soon as he starts. Does.
(soundbite of the TV show, "Loki")
Owen Wilson: (as Moebius) I specialize in the discovery of dangerous forms.
Tom Hiddleston: (as Loki) Like me.
Wilson: (as in Mobius) No, a particularly dangerous form. You are just a little cat. I have a set of questions for you. You answer them honestly, and then maybe I can give you something you want. And you want to get out of here, don't you? Yes. So we'll start from there. Should you go back, what are you going to do?
Hiddleston: (as Loki) Finish what I started.
Wilson: (as Moebius) Which is...
Hiddleston: (as Loki) Claim my throne.
Wilson: (as Moebius) You want to be king.
Hiddleston: (as Loki) I don't want to be. I was born to be.
Wilson: (as Moebius) I know, but whose king really?
Hiddleston: (as Loki) You wouldn't understand.
Wilson: (as Mobius) Try me.
Hiddleston: (as Loki) Midgard.
Wilson: (as Mobius) aka Earth. Okay. You are now the king of Midgard. Then what, happily ever after?
Hiddleston: (as Loki) Asgard, the nine realms...
Wilson: (as Mobius) Space.
Hiddleston: (as Loki) Space.
Wilson: (as in Möbius) Space is big. That would be a nice feather in your hat - Loki, the King of Space.
Hiddleston: (as Loki) Make fun of me if you dare.
Wilson: (as Mobius) No, I don't. To be honest I am really a fan. Yes.
BIANCULLI: Director Kate Heron puts the performances front and center, and Wilson and Hiddleston play each other beautifully as they combine to track down one particularly devious time-travelling criminal. I've only seen the first two episodes of this six-episode series, but already have a taste of It Takes a Thief, "48 Hours," in this "Loki" TV show. In the Nick Nolte-Eddie Murphy film and other thrilling adventures, there are heroes who collide as often as they bond. As time goes on TV, "Loki" on Disney+ is time well spent.
Davis: David Bianculi is a professor of television studies at Rowan University in New Jersey. He reviewed the new Disney+ series "Loki". In yesterday's show, how ransomware became a big business and a threat to national security. We speak with Michael Schwartz, one of the New York Times investigative reporters who got access to secret communications showing how the Russian-speaking cyber gang Darkside attacked the Colonial Pipeline and provided technical support for other hackers. gave. I hope you can join us.
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Davis: Fresh Air's executive producer is Danny Miller. Our technical director and engineer is Audrey Bentham. Our interviews and reviews are produced and edited by Amy Salitt, Phyllis Myers, Sam Brigger, Lauren Krenzel, Heidi Saman, Therese Madden, Ann Marie Baldonado, Thea Chaloner, Seth Kelly, Kayla Lattimore and Joel Wolfram. Our associate producer of digital media is Molly CV-Nasper. The show is directed by Roberta Shorrock. For Terry Gross, I'm Dave Davis. Transcript provided by NPR, copyright NPR.