Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Thor: The Dark World is the second film in Marvel’s “Phase 2” movie universe (the Avengers was the “conclusion” to Phase 1) and is the third movie in the franchise to feature the titular character.  I may be in the extreme minority, but Thor was my favorite film of the early Marvel movies (other than, perhaps, the Avengers).  I’m a sucker for the more fantasy-oriented elements and how it really opened this already expansive movie universe to (literally) new worlds and possibilities.  Also, Thor is my favorite of the Marvel heroes that have been introduced so far.  So it isn’t surprising that I was very excited for this sequel, but what I was surprised about with this film was how disappointed I was with it.  I’ve seen Thor: The Dark World twice now and I’ve grown to enjoy it for what it is, but it definitely is one of the lesser movies in the Marvel Movie Universe.  Still, I think there is a lot to like here and it’s better than most blockbusters of its kind.

Like most of Marvel’s movies, the plot of Thor: The Dark World looks contrived and overly referential on paper, so I won’t really get into it in detail.  Overall, this movie is about Thor returning to Earth after the capture of his brother Loki to re-unite with Jane, all while an evil dark elf (an ancient race that was thought to be extinct in this world) is looking for a weapon called “Aether” to take over the universe.  Basically, if you haven’t seen any of the Marvel movies so far, just stay far away from this.  A lot of the humor is based around pre-established characters, the story will make no sense without any context, and none of the dramatic relationships will really hit home if this is a new experience for you.  Thor: The Dark World is definitely by-the-numbers in terms of how the story plays out and how everything is concluded.  To me, that was a bit disappointing as nothing really happens in this movie to further the overall world (outside of a few key scenes near the end).  While I definitely was along for the ride in a positive way with this film, I was never as engaged as I had been with previous movies.

In terms of acting and characters, this is certainly up to par with what I was expecting from a Marvel movie.  Chris Hemsworth is perfect as Thor.  He is stoic, powerful, hunky and very funny.  It’s hard to imagine anybody else in the role and seeing him in each scene was never boring and there are many very humorous moments.  Natalie Portman (who was absent in The Avengers) returns as Jane, Thor’s love interest, and she does a formidable job as well.  Her character is a bit more important to the story in this film than she was in the first Thor movie, but in terms of characterization she isn’t all that unique or interesting as a character.  Tom Hiddleston is another standout in his performance and Loki.  Like Hemsworth, Hiddleston absolutely embodies the character and it’s impossible to imagine another person in the role.  The biggest disappointment in this movie was the villain, who is named Malekith (played by Christopher Eccleston).  Malekith is about as generic as villains come in terms of looks, actions and motivation.  There is really nothing about Malekith that was overly threatening, which was definitely a let down.

Pretty much every other element in Thor: The Dark World is outstanding.  As expected, the special effects are very good.  There is a lot of CGI in this movie but it feels quite organic and it’s obvious that the technology is improving year after year to making fully computer generated characters and locations seem more realistic.  Thor’s home world of Asgard is particularly gorgeous and is made up of big, shiny buildings and almost psychedelic colors.  Thor: The Dark World was always a pleasure to look at, although it has a distinctly darker atmosphere than the first movie.  Scenes on Earth are grittier and tend to look more washed out.  Not that it’s a bad thing, however.  In this movie’s universe things are becoming more treacherous and unpredictable, so it’s nice to see they didn’t just carbon copy the look of the first movie with this sequel.

When Thor: The Dark World was over, I definitely felt underwhelmed at first.  The villain isn’t particularly interesting and overall the story felt too familiar.  Almost every one of these movies has revolved around the title hero having to protect some object or retrieve something and it definitely is starting to wear thin.  Luckily, the formula isn’t entirely deceased at this point and overall Thor: The Dark World is a lot of fun to watch.  The actor’s have perfected their characters, some key things do happen that furthers the story along, and the action and visuals are thrilling and quite spectacular.  While this definitely is one of the lesser Marvel superhero films it goes to show that even a lesser Marvel movie can be a lot of fun.

7/10