THOR: THE DARK WORLD Review: Thor returns in the fifth and final superhero film of the year, coming off the heels of Iron Man 3 and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. that helped start off Phase Two. Two and a half years ago, Thor came to theaters and despite having a lot of skepticism over the project, the movie managed to turn out a really entertaining movie that was a worthy prequel to The Avengers. In order to avoid getting lost in the crowded summer filled with blockbusters, Thor: The Dark World got a release in November. While the sequel is an adequate way to end the genres year, it feels more like standard fare. The movie starts off by showing us a battle that took place a long time ago. Its here we are introduced to the films villain, the Dark Elf, Malekith (Christopher Eccleston). His goal is to destroy the universe using a weapon known as the Aether. However, it is taken from them and his army is defeated by the Asgardians. However, Malekith and some of his people manage to escape. Back to the present, which takes place shortly after The Avengers (two years after Thor), Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is imprisoned for the crimes he committed on Earth. Meanwhile, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) deals with conflicts taking place within his universe. The plot comes into place when Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) comes into contact with the Aether, which was found in an abandoned factory. Sensing something is amiss, Thor returns to Earth to find her. Janes findings leads to Malekith coming out of the shadows for world domination. Thor: The Dark World has good production values. The look of Asgard looks really good and the designs of the costumes and makeup is also well done. When you look at what was done with them, its pretty clear that notes were taken from Game of Thrones (director Alan Taylor directed six episodes). The designs done on one of Malekiths henchmen was pretty cool. The visuals are good, but nothing spectacular. The only time when I would consider them bland was when Jane has a vision of the Aether overtaking Asgard, which looks like a cutscene out of a PlayStation 2 horror game. Then theres the comedy. The two characters who tries to add wit are Kat Denningss Darcy and Loki. Kat Dennings character I found kind of annoying and whenever she appeared on the screen, I would often think to myself Oh, God, please no. There were only two times when she was funny, one was involving losing car keys, the other is when we find her kissing newcomer Jonathon Howard. People might feel differently, but for me, she just wasnt funny. The one who delivers good wit is Hiddleston, which he barely even does. The funniest scene in the film was when he makes a lot of jokes with Thor as they walk down a hallway with them turning into other characters (Captain America being one). Chris Hemsworth also gets moments of comedy like getting on a train asking for directions. In his third appearance, Chris Hemsworth is becoming more comfortable in his role as Thor. Chris Hemsworth shows how much his character has grown over the previous two films as he has become more mature, quite unlike his brash and arrogant war-mongering man Thor was before his banishment. The same goes for Tom Hiddleston, only this time, Loki is more of an anti-hero. At times, he seems to be helping Thor, other times he would betray him. Will he redeem himself, or will he sink lower than he already has? The other actors fill in, but dont stand out as much. Natalie Portman is mostly just the standard-order love interest that she was in Thor. Anthony Hopkins was fine as Odin, but his role is smaller. Kat Dennings tries to be funny, but as I said, her character was kind of annoying. Stellan Skarsgard, Idris Elba and the rest of the actors does what the script asks of them. The villain, Malekith, however, was pretty weak. In the film, his only motivations are world domination. There is no depth to his character. The only things really interesting about his character was the prosthetics done on him and the final battle between him and Thor. Hes not one of the worst villains in superhero film history. Hes not quite as bad as those from films that were bad or Topher Graces take on Venom, but hes definitely among the most one-dimensional. Thor: The Dark World is an entertaining film, but its not anything beyond that. Those waiting for a great blockbuster will have to hold out for Catching Fire. While not the weakest to come of from 2013 (that would go to Kick-Ass 2, which I would give it a slightly lower rating than I initially gave it after further reflection), it wasnt quite as entertaining as Iron Man 3, Man of Steel or The Wolverine. Now theres just Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy to look forward to next year and then onto The Avengers: Age of Ultron. RATING: 7/10 NEXT TIME: 12 Years a Slave
Posted on: Fri, 08 Nov 2013 22:17:10 +0000
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