Thor: The Dark World
Directed by: Alan Taylor
Written by: Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely; Story by Don Payne, Robert Rodat; Based on the comic book by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Eccleston, Jaimie Alexander, Zachary Levi, Ray Stevenson, Tadanobu Asano, Idris Elba, Rene Russo, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Stellan Skarsgård, Jonathan Howard
Action/Adventure/Fantasy - 112 Min
Written by: Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely; Story by Don Payne, Robert Rodat; Based on the comic book by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Eccleston, Jaimie Alexander, Zachary Levi, Ray Stevenson, Tadanobu Asano, Idris Elba, Rene Russo, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Stellan Skarsgård, Jonathan Howard
Action/Adventure/Fantasy - 112 Min
Releasing a big budget superhero movie in November is a new move by the studios but most likely a well calculated one since Thor: The Dark World would most likely have disappeared somewhere in between Iron Man 3 and Man of Steel this summer. Even though he is a somewhat mortal God, Thor lacks the inherent appeal generated by a snarky Iron Man or gravel-voiced Christopher Nolan Batman. It is better for the film’s bottom line to compete against Ender’s Game and higher brow award contenders than the true superhero heavy hitters.
After 2012’s The Avengers, we are well into the second iteration of Marvel’s individual character films. Tony Stark returned from his Avenger stint with a case of PTSD but Thor has had almost no time to rest. Multiple wars erupted throughout the universe’s nine realms requiring his attention and since he is the only Avenger who can travel through space, it is up to him to set things straight. Even though there are long sequences and immense battles on Earth later on that may in fact spell the end of the entire universe, it is best to overlook the glaring plot hole of no S.H.I.E.L.D. or various Avenger aid. Hey, Iron Man didn’t get any help earlier this year when he fought The Mandarin.
The new and improved Thor starts with a history lesson from Odin (Anthony Hopkins) about long ago wars, dark vs. light, and a mysterious power called The Aether that can easily put an end to all known life. A beginning like this usually acts as a yellow light warning signal for plot complications to come; however, it is a step above Iron Man 3’s millennium party with nerdy Guy Pearce and Blue techno soundtrack. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is nothing else if not a glutton for rotten timing. As soon as he nonchalantly kills the biggest guy on the battlefield Raiders of the Lost Ark style ending the final war, all nine realms decide to form a perfect straight line with one another, ‘the convergence’, and open the door for the evil king of the dark elves, Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), to try and destroy the universe.
Why does he want to destroy everything? We have no idea; I suppose dark elves just like things dark out there. Thor’s brief fling from the first movie, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), accidentally stumbles through a gateway, becomes the human host for The Aether, but at least she gets Thor’s attention. Thor swore he would come back for her when he left last time, but it’s been two years now, kind of awkward to all of a sudden pick up a phone and ask for a second date. Describing the plot now makes it seem far more ridiculous than it was sitting through it. One-dimensional dark elves, the convergence, and The Aether somehow make for a good time.
Also, there is Loki (Tom Hiddleston). Loki got his at the end of The Avengers and now pouts away the days in his plush dungeon. He still has mammoth daddy issues, an unhealthy jealousy of his foster brother, and loves his mommy’s attention a bit too much. Yet he also gets the movie’s best lines and Hiddleston plays up Loki’s unpredictability for all it’s worth. While Thor gets bogged down in an all too familiar escape from Asgard once again committing treason and risking exile by disobeying his father, Loki has the good fortune to get to stand back and observe all the nonsense.
It feels like I am just listing off problems with the film, but somehow, the oddities work together well enough to pull off a crazy movie that I will by the skin of my teeth recommend. I can barely mention the eye rolling performances of Kat Dennings and Stellan Skarsgård, the fact that the dark elves have mastered interstellar spacecraft travel yet refer to holograms as witchcraft, and how exactly Natalie Portman is the one life form in the whole universe to stumble upon The Aether and then get infected by it. Perhaps Idris Elba as Heimdall makes up for most of the other actors’ performances. That guy is not only a bad ass even when just standing still, but his limited screen time really makes up for a lot of garbage time (looking at you Skarsgård). The dark elves’ space fighter airplane things are also a thumbs up. They resemble a long stick that makes maneuverability an issue but enables an easy squeeze through tight spots.
It used to be that sequels were always inferior to their originals with a few exceptions (The Empire Strikes Back). This is not so much the case anymore with Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and The Dark Knight. Thor: The Dark World is nowhere near the quality of these former titles, but it is better than its 2011 older brother. Nobody wants to see Thor stranded in New Mexico fighting a giant robot. We want to see him zooming back and forth between fantastic worlds, fighting mystical elf creatures, and carrying on a back and forth bickering mama’s boy fight with his brother. All hail Thor, the God of Thunder, and family infighting.
After 2012’s The Avengers, we are well into the second iteration of Marvel’s individual character films. Tony Stark returned from his Avenger stint with a case of PTSD but Thor has had almost no time to rest. Multiple wars erupted throughout the universe’s nine realms requiring his attention and since he is the only Avenger who can travel through space, it is up to him to set things straight. Even though there are long sequences and immense battles on Earth later on that may in fact spell the end of the entire universe, it is best to overlook the glaring plot hole of no S.H.I.E.L.D. or various Avenger aid. Hey, Iron Man didn’t get any help earlier this year when he fought The Mandarin.
The new and improved Thor starts with a history lesson from Odin (Anthony Hopkins) about long ago wars, dark vs. light, and a mysterious power called The Aether that can easily put an end to all known life. A beginning like this usually acts as a yellow light warning signal for plot complications to come; however, it is a step above Iron Man 3’s millennium party with nerdy Guy Pearce and Blue techno soundtrack. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is nothing else if not a glutton for rotten timing. As soon as he nonchalantly kills the biggest guy on the battlefield Raiders of the Lost Ark style ending the final war, all nine realms decide to form a perfect straight line with one another, ‘the convergence’, and open the door for the evil king of the dark elves, Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), to try and destroy the universe.
Why does he want to destroy everything? We have no idea; I suppose dark elves just like things dark out there. Thor’s brief fling from the first movie, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), accidentally stumbles through a gateway, becomes the human host for The Aether, but at least she gets Thor’s attention. Thor swore he would come back for her when he left last time, but it’s been two years now, kind of awkward to all of a sudden pick up a phone and ask for a second date. Describing the plot now makes it seem far more ridiculous than it was sitting through it. One-dimensional dark elves, the convergence, and The Aether somehow make for a good time.
Also, there is Loki (Tom Hiddleston). Loki got his at the end of The Avengers and now pouts away the days in his plush dungeon. He still has mammoth daddy issues, an unhealthy jealousy of his foster brother, and loves his mommy’s attention a bit too much. Yet he also gets the movie’s best lines and Hiddleston plays up Loki’s unpredictability for all it’s worth. While Thor gets bogged down in an all too familiar escape from Asgard once again committing treason and risking exile by disobeying his father, Loki has the good fortune to get to stand back and observe all the nonsense.
It feels like I am just listing off problems with the film, but somehow, the oddities work together well enough to pull off a crazy movie that I will by the skin of my teeth recommend. I can barely mention the eye rolling performances of Kat Dennings and Stellan Skarsgård, the fact that the dark elves have mastered interstellar spacecraft travel yet refer to holograms as witchcraft, and how exactly Natalie Portman is the one life form in the whole universe to stumble upon The Aether and then get infected by it. Perhaps Idris Elba as Heimdall makes up for most of the other actors’ performances. That guy is not only a bad ass even when just standing still, but his limited screen time really makes up for a lot of garbage time (looking at you Skarsgård). The dark elves’ space fighter airplane things are also a thumbs up. They resemble a long stick that makes maneuverability an issue but enables an easy squeeze through tight spots.
It used to be that sequels were always inferior to their originals with a few exceptions (The Empire Strikes Back). This is not so much the case anymore with Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and The Dark Knight. Thor: The Dark World is nowhere near the quality of these former titles, but it is better than its 2011 older brother. Nobody wants to see Thor stranded in New Mexico fighting a giant robot. We want to see him zooming back and forth between fantastic worlds, fighting mystical elf creatures, and carrying on a back and forth bickering mama’s boy fight with his brother. All hail Thor, the God of Thunder, and family infighting.
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