Review: Thor: The Dark World
Director: Alan Taylor
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Christopher Eccleston
Running Time: 112 Minutes
Great Odin's raven!
Marvel Studios are certainly on their way to world domination at the moment. With the third highest grossing movie of all time under their belt in the shape of The Avengers, a slate of superhero sequels keeping them busy all the way up until 2018 and their hit TV show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D dominating American audiences, there's simply no stopping them yet.
Case in point: their latest sequel, Thor: The Dark World, the God of Thunder's second solo outing in three years and his third overall following his participation in the battle of New York.
Still, as the sequels stack up, surely there is a fork in the road for Marvel and their writers - do they go the Dark Knight route and take their characters down the path of tragic darkness, or do they raise the stakes and throw in as much bombastic, effects-driven action as they can?
For Iron Man 3, the answer was clearly the latter as, while the film was exciting and action packed in equal measure, it failed to deliver any sense of real menace with a disappointing villain and a script that focused too much on comedy to be taken seriously. But Iron Man's Earth-bound story is a completely different beast to the intergalactic endeavours of Thor, a thunder God so powerful it's tough to imagine a threat that could actually shake him to his core.
Lucky then that Thor: The Dark World actually appears to have learned from the mistakes of Iron Man 3 and has provided us with a story worth watching that actually changes things drastically for our hero, while still infusing plenty of humour and action to hold our attention. Thor himself isn't particularly a character to be taken too seriously - Chris Hemsworth strikes a perfect balance between mighty hero and comically confused alien in his third year in the role - but the movie does maintain enough darkness and tragedy to be reflective of its title.
That darkness comes courtesy of Malekith, a dark elf who seeks vengeance for once being defeated by the Asgardians in battle (he's not as tacky as he sounds - Christopher Eccleston's performance makes sure of that). Having been buried since the dawn of time, Malekith stops at nothing to attack Asgard and its people, sending the Nine Realms into chaos and Thor into battle. But this time, Thor can't fight back alone - with his planet and his family in tatters, Thor has no choice but to seek help from his adopted and untrustworthy brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston, owning every single scene he appears in). With the love of his life Jane Foster in peril along with the entire universe (London in particular for some reason), Thor faces the greatest battle he's ever known.
It's a plot with many strands, some of which unfortunately break off and never find their way back. The central story (Thor and Loki vs. Malekith) is exciting and tangible enough, but the seemingly compulsory love story between Thor and Natalie Portman's Jane Foster simply serves to slow proceedings down to an almost unbearable pace. Really, Portman's contribution to the movie is simply to whine about how much she misses Thor and become a damsel in distress. Rinse and repeat as required. Even worse is Kat Dennings' Darcy, a character so bland and sarcastic that it's impossible to find any personality behind all the wisecracks.
Luckily, scenes between Hemsworth and Hiddleston are worth the ticket price alone, as the pair embody the squabbling siblings seamlessly. Loki himself walks the line between jealous brother and slippery villain to the point where his every appearance improves the film hugely, and Hiddleston is sorely missed when he's off screen.
The rest of the cast get a less than fair deal, with some script issues blaring out like a thunder storm amidst the quieter moments. Anthony Hopkins' Odin is, this time, written with such inconsistency that it soon becomes infuriating (the man who once told Thor the value of following his heart is now encouraging him to abandon his feelings for Jane), while Idris Elba, Zachary Levi and Stellan Skarsgard are wasted in roles that hardly realise their potential.
Is it better than the first Thor? Not quite, although perhaps it all depends on what you're looking for in the sequel - where the first delved into the characters and the journeys and sacrifices they're prepared to make, Thor: The Dark World seems more hell-bent on throwing as many CGI scenes and witty one-liners at us as possible. Also, Patrick Doyle's incredible and beautiful soundtrack from the original is missing here, leaving us with a bland, generic and unmemorable fantasy score from Brian Tyler.
That said, there are plenty of nods to the comics here and there and a few cameos - two inevitable, one delightfully and hilariously unexpected - from various other Marvel properties, while the daring cliffhanger ending ensures the fate of the series and the definitive answer to "Will there be a Thor 3?"
For Iron Man 3, the answer was clearly the latter as, while the film was exciting and action packed in equal measure, it failed to deliver any sense of real menace with a disappointing villain and a script that focused too much on comedy to be taken seriously. But Iron Man's Earth-bound story is a completely different beast to the intergalactic endeavours of Thor, a thunder God so powerful it's tough to imagine a threat that could actually shake him to his core.
Lucky then that Thor: The Dark World actually appears to have learned from the mistakes of Iron Man 3 and has provided us with a story worth watching that actually changes things drastically for our hero, while still infusing plenty of humour and action to hold our attention. Thor himself isn't particularly a character to be taken too seriously - Chris Hemsworth strikes a perfect balance between mighty hero and comically confused alien in his third year in the role - but the movie does maintain enough darkness and tragedy to be reflective of its title.
That darkness comes courtesy of Malekith, a dark elf who seeks vengeance for once being defeated by the Asgardians in battle (he's not as tacky as he sounds - Christopher Eccleston's performance makes sure of that). Having been buried since the dawn of time, Malekith stops at nothing to attack Asgard and its people, sending the Nine Realms into chaos and Thor into battle. But this time, Thor can't fight back alone - with his planet and his family in tatters, Thor has no choice but to seek help from his adopted and untrustworthy brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston, owning every single scene he appears in). With the love of his life Jane Foster in peril along with the entire universe (London in particular for some reason), Thor faces the greatest battle he's ever known.
It's a plot with many strands, some of which unfortunately break off and never find their way back. The central story (Thor and Loki vs. Malekith) is exciting and tangible enough, but the seemingly compulsory love story between Thor and Natalie Portman's Jane Foster simply serves to slow proceedings down to an almost unbearable pace. Really, Portman's contribution to the movie is simply to whine about how much she misses Thor and become a damsel in distress. Rinse and repeat as required. Even worse is Kat Dennings' Darcy, a character so bland and sarcastic that it's impossible to find any personality behind all the wisecracks.
Luckily, scenes between Hemsworth and Hiddleston are worth the ticket price alone, as the pair embody the squabbling siblings seamlessly. Loki himself walks the line between jealous brother and slippery villain to the point where his every appearance improves the film hugely, and Hiddleston is sorely missed when he's off screen.
The rest of the cast get a less than fair deal, with some script issues blaring out like a thunder storm amidst the quieter moments. Anthony Hopkins' Odin is, this time, written with such inconsistency that it soon becomes infuriating (the man who once told Thor the value of following his heart is now encouraging him to abandon his feelings for Jane), while Idris Elba, Zachary Levi and Stellan Skarsgard are wasted in roles that hardly realise their potential.
Is it better than the first Thor? Not quite, although perhaps it all depends on what you're looking for in the sequel - where the first delved into the characters and the journeys and sacrifices they're prepared to make, Thor: The Dark World seems more hell-bent on throwing as many CGI scenes and witty one-liners at us as possible. Also, Patrick Doyle's incredible and beautiful soundtrack from the original is missing here, leaving us with a bland, generic and unmemorable fantasy score from Brian Tyler.
That said, there are plenty of nods to the comics here and there and a few cameos - two inevitable, one delightfully and hilariously unexpected - from various other Marvel properties, while the daring cliffhanger ending ensures the fate of the series and the definitive answer to "Will there be a Thor 3?"
Summary
With Marvel's Phase 2 under way, its second sequel packs a damn good punch. Chris Hemsworth knows his role inside out now, while Tom Hiddleston lights up any second of screen time he possesses - it's just a shame that the various other story lines and characters fail to do the same. The plot quickly becomes needlessly convoluted with too many strands flying in different directions, but luckily there's enough humour and action to see us through the main points to the exciting finale and intriguing conclusion. This film, I like it - another!
7/10 - Good
See it if you liked: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Thor (2011), The Avengers (2012)
Thor still surprisingly has something charming about him that not only has you root for him right away, but think of him as somewhat of a cool guy. Good review Dean.
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