Thor: The Dark World
Marvel Studios/Walt Disney Studios
8/10
The latest movie in Marvel’s cinematic universe brings us back to Asgard for a fun and entertaining adventure. Although not without it’s flaws I still found myself able to enjoy the film quite a bit, more so than the first Thor movie if I’m being honest. That’s not to say that I didn’t like the previous Thor movie, which I did, but I definitely enjoyed seeing our Asgardian hero in his element more so than I did as a fish out of water. I’ll forever yell “ANOTHER” before mockingly throwing down my glass at most parties but sometimes you just want to see Thor beat down some warriors with Mjolnir as opposed to seeing him drink coffee with Jane.
The film sees Thor bringing order to the 9 realms while Jane investigates astrophysical disturbances with interns Darby and Ian. Both parties paths cross eventually cross, some Dark Elves roll through, Loki gets sent to prison, then gets released from prison, Dr. Selvig runs around naked, Darcy makes some jokes, and Thor eventually saves the day. That’s the movie in a nutshell without really spoiling anything.
Many of my qualms lie not so much with what wasn’t seen but rather what we didn’t see enough of. Christopher Eccleston as Malekith not being used nearly enough is at the top of the list. We know the Dark Elves are evil but we don’t get enough insight into them as a whole to truly care as much as we should. Also not given enough screen time is Frigga or Sif and the warriors three. While it’s a shame in both cases it’s much worse in regards to the former. There is one rather emotional scene that loses a bit of it’s punch because Jane and Frigga don’t have as much of a bond as they should. We could have easily gotten rid of a scene with Dr. Selvig running around naked and given them another scene together that would have made a huge difference.
The other main problem I have and is a similar problem I had with Iron Man 3 is the lack of back up. You’re telling me a worldwide threat, heck a 9 realms level threat, is occurring and none of The Avengers of S.H.I.E.L.D. are able to show up? Seems a bit unrealistic and at least in the case of The Dark World very easily avoidable. Have the final battle scene not take place on Earth. There were 8 other realms to choose from wherein Thor being not receiving any back up is plausible and wouldn’t have changed the story much. Luckily from what i have seen of next year’s Marvel movies we shouldn’t see this problem again but once was already too much to begin with.
Even in spite of some moments where there could have been more character development I still think the film is solid as whole. It does a great job of showcasing Thor’s and Loki’s relationship; Hemsworth and Hiddleston have great chemistry with each other and it really shows in every scene they share. Kat Dennings as Darcy adds a nice comedic flair that I really enjoyed. There was plenty of action to keep me satisfied without it feeling like typical blockbuster action movie with no heart. I mean I do love explosions a lot but sometimes I want a little emotion while I watch stuff blow up. The Dark World also handled the balance between comedy and seriousness a bit better than some of the previous Marvel movie installments. As long as these films never stray too much into either side I’ll always be a fan.
The movie has been out for over a week now and if you still haven’t caught it yet I say do so before it hits DVD or at the very least before you watch Catching Fire this week.