Thor: The Dark World [M]

Eons ago Bor, father of Odin, fought with the dark elf Malekith and thwarted his attempts to cover the universe in darkness with a weapon known as the Aether. For years Malekith has thought to be defeated and the Aether destroyed, but this proves not so when astrophysicist Jane Foster discovers a connection hole between the realms of the universe and stumbles across the Aether, getting infected by it in the process. Time is against Thor as he tries to save Jane and there is only person to whom he can turn for help: Loki who sits imprisoned for his war crimes on Earth and dreaming of the day that he will take the throne and rule. 

Second on this Marvel review wave is the second instalment of Thor, which I have to say was a bit of a downer. Whilst the magnificence of the art department still dominates the limelight, the plot for me was either too convoluted or I just didn’t get it. Either one could be at fault here it has to be said. 

Eons ago Bor, father of Odin, fought with the dark elf Malekith and thwarted his attempts to cover the universe in darkness with a weapon known as the Aether. For years Malekith has thought to be defeated and the Aether destroyed, but this proves not so when astrophysicist Jane Foster discovers a connection hole between the realms of the universe and stumbles across the Aether, getting infected by it in the process. Time is against Thor as he tries to save Jane and there is only person to whom he can turn for help: Loki who sits imprisoned for his war crimes on Earth and dreaming of the day that he will take the throne and rule. 

My initial feelings on this film were that everyone was just going through the motions. There was a heaviness weighing this movie down, it actually did feel as though they made it because they had to. Fair play to everyone for trying to inject some comedy and romance into the script, the funniest part actually comes in the form of a Captain America cameo, but ultimately I wasn’t as impressed or indeed taken with if from the get-go. 

Having said all this though, there is nothing inherently wrong with this movie! All the performances are nice and solid, and the special effects are a wonder to behold, as are the achievements of the art department, whom I praised in my review of the first movie. There was nothing wrong with it on the visual spectrum of cinema, it just felt flat. It’s funny how that sort of thing can come through even when something looks as shiny and cool as this. 

All our favourite characters return from the first movie as well as a few new ones and the action, plot, and indeed everything gets just that little bit bigger and more showy. Not necessarily a bad thing, if one can pull it off nicely. 

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Kat Dennings, Tom Hiddelston, Christopher Eccleston, Jaimie Alexander, Zachary Levi, Ray Stevenson, Idris Elba, Rene Russo, Tabanobu Asano, Stellen Skarsgard, and Anthony Hopkins, Thor: The Dark World is a fine action movie if that’s what you’re looking for, but it’s nothing overly special or awesome. Filled with action, dazzling art direction, romance, drama, suspense, tension, and light and unbalanced smatterings of comedy, plus a pretty yay-but-ugh ‘cliff hanger’ ending, it’s a movie that I am glad I have seen, but I don’t think I’ll see it again for a while.