Film Review: Thor - The Dark World

**Spoilers**
If you have not yet seen this film, please go and do so before proceeding.

             So we've had Iron Man 3 and Captain America 2 isn't coming out for another couple of months (not to mention the still ambiguous Black Widow film) so now it comes time for the okay sequel to the okay film that was our introduction to Marvel's superhero version of the Norse god of thunder. I have mixed feelings about this film.

          On the one hand Thor was an incredibly hard story to bring to the screen. It is complicated, more focused on fantasy than sci-fi, and brings some lesser-known characters and settings to the table than Iron Man or Captain America did. And did it succeed? Yes. I think it did. Personally I enjoyed the hell out of Thor, even though I can see why it's regarded as one of the weaker Avengers films. Thor is a rather stuff-shirty hero (he reminds me of Hercules from the Disney Animated...but more on that comparison later), Jane is a bland and unremarkable love interest, and the only truly striking thing about it is the visuals and Loki.

       Ah yes Loki...the best thing about these Marvel films outside of Tony Stark or Natasha and my personal favorite character in this movie. He's just so much fun to watch on screen. You're never sure what his motives are, you're never certain if he's playing on the side of heaven or hell, and you never know whenever he's going to betray someone. He's unpredictable and dangerous and has a great sense of humor through it all.

   

    Thor was an okay flick with okay characters (Loki being the exception) and some stunning visuals that led neatly into The Avengers. And now we have a sequel. A sequel that should be called Thor & Loki because that younger brother is just too darn popular and charismatic to let his brother carry a film without him. Don't believe me? I'll show you!

Favorite Moments & Random Thoughts

- It's clear from the promotional for this that Marvel knows its audience. For the first film they really played up the comic-book superhero aspect of it to draw in the existing fans and to interest the casual film-goers. But now the franchise is established and successful so the marketing has taken a slightly different turn. Now the trailer shows a lot of Loki-Thor brotherly scenes because that's what the fans want. This story is more of a space opera than a superhero movie, going by the trailer, and is full of comedy to boot. Marvel is smart. It knows its audience and it knows how to draw them in.


- First thing I noticed about this film that got me excited? The villain is played by Christopher Eccleston!!!

- The back-story of the dark elves is interesting, though I am a bit peeved that yet another story is using elves as the go-to mythical creatures. I mean...when did this popularity start? With Lord of the Rings? At least they had a reason - why is it whenever you need a fantasy creature you either go for 'X type of elves' or 'dwarves'?

- The Aether looks like the red stuff in the Drink Me bottle from Alice in Wonderland. Or maybe the Red Matter from Star Trek 2009...

- Jane is as bland and uninteresting as ever. I'm sorry...I just can't believe the romance she shares with Thor, despite the best efforts of Natalie Portman and Chris Hemsworth.

- Jane's two little comedy side-kicks (her intern and her intern's intern) are quite funny and it's nice that they traveled to Britain (London, if I remember correctly) to do their research. It just makes them seem a bit more...real? I mean, if they seek out extraterrestrial and freak science phenomena it would make sense that they would travel all over more than just America, right?

- Come on people! Give us some character development for Jane, please? She's a doctor of astrophysics and I can tell you're really trying to make her more than just the token love interest...but so far she's about as interesting as a floor lamp. Portman does a good job, but she isn't really given a whole lot that's concrete to work with. You can do better than that, writers, I know you can!

- And this is another prophecy story. I would complain, but at least this time it isn't the Chosen One type of thing that I swear exist simply for the purpose of getting the reluctant-yet-relatable every man into the hero's shoes.

- I love the realm of Asgard. In fact the design of every realm is pretty cool. I'm a sucker for fantasy visuals and that is something that Thor has in droves.

- Okay. So remember that Disney's Hercules comparison I made earlier? Well it is in this film that the similarities REALLY start to beat you over the head. The nine realms are going to align and this is the critical moment that the bad guys have been waiting for. Now where I have heard that before...?

 - Also. Is it just me or do those portals to the realms look a bit like cells going through mitosis?

- All of the second-wave Avengers films seem to be making a point of including more humor than their predecessors. Not that I'm complaining, mind. I love a good witty quip as much as the next person and it is nice to have some superhero films that don't feel the need to push the 'dark, angsty anti-hero' vibe quite as much as the current DC movies seem to be doing.


- One thing I forgot to mention earlier...Jane chews Thor out for being in New York during The Avengers and not even calling her. I would say that he was a little busy (he was) but then there's the scene where he goes out with the other Avengers for pizza and wings...so I don't see why he couldn't have found a payphone then.

- No payphones? Well I'm sure Black Widow would have loaned him her mobile for a few minutes...

- Also; Loki's hair gets longer with every film he's in. What's he going to look like by Thor 3?!

 - The climax of this film was okay. Nothing spectacular as films go...but it wasn't a let-down either. Jane lost me somewhere in the third act. Her role in the latter half of the film seemed entirely disconnected to the set-up in the beginning. Did the script get a new writer partway through or something?

- I would say that the highlight was definitely the interaction between Thor and Loki. Thor on his own is just...kinda bland to me. Don't get me wrong - Chris Hemsworth does a great job and the character certainly isn't as one-dimensional as some of the earlier film superheroes - but he just doesn't resonate with me. I don't find him engaging. That is until he is in the room with his adoptive brother. They just click and the sort of love-hate-mistrust-trust relationship that they share feels very genuine and strong.

           In short, Thor: The Dark World is a fun Marvel flick. It isn't anything particularly stellar (by their standards) but neither does it drag the franchise down. There is humor and drama and tragedy, all interspersed by beautiful visuals and some good sci-fi action. This is a good film to watch if you have a few hours to kill and you don't want to ruin your mind with endless YouTube videos. It's good the first time through and does hold up to multiple viewings, though not perhaps as well as certain other Avengers films. Thor: The Dark World gets a 3/5.

What did you think? Do you agree with my rating? If not - what would you say differently?