The first Thor was,
and still is may favourite Marvel Studios film, as it didn’t stick to their
usual structure and handling of the villain. Instead of focusing on the action,
of which there is a lot, it was more interested in the family dynamic of the
main characters, Especially the relationship between Thor and Loki, something
that would go on to be the best part of The Avengers.
The plot for Thor: The Dark World is fairly straight
forward, a race that existed before the creation of the nine realms, the Dark
Elves have returned seeking a power source known as the Aether, something that
if controlled by their leader Malekith, will return the universe to darkness.
This Aether has been locked away for thousands of years, but when Jane Foster
(Natalie Portman) stumbles through into another realm and comes across it, she
alerts Malekith to where it is. From there on, Thor must return to Earth,
protect Jane and stop Malekith.
The films greatest strength, as with the first one is in the
interplay between Thor and Loki, played by Tom Hiddleston and Chris Hemsworth superbly. Their chemistry
is so good and believable that they feel like brothers. Their first scene in
the film together is where the film as a whole starts to pick up. Whether one
is better in their respective role compared to the other is beside the point.
They embrace the characters and make them their own, something that often seals
the fate of any comic book film. Without one, this series wouldn’t be anywhere
near as successful or interesting as it is.
As with any good comic book film you need a good villain, someone you can really hate
and with Loki being given a very grey area in this film it falls on Malekith to
carry the threat. Unfortunately, he rarely does anything to warrant hatred, in
fact you will probably barely manage more than casual dislike for him. In all,
he kills about five people that I can remember and they are faceless warriors
in the prologue.
His hench-elves do the majority of the shooting and
stabbing. Christopher Eccleston is not bad in the role, in fact a lesser actor
would have barely left an impression, but he certainly could have done with
more screen time than he got to make the character more detestable or have him
try and justify what he is doing. While not necessary for all villains, this
crusade needed some sort of reasoning.
For a film about gods and the end of light in the universe,
the action is somewhat downplayed at times, again similar to the first. But
here, I really wanted it to go big, especially during an attack on a certain
city and the climax of the film. The two major set pieces of the film. Both sequences have good beginnings and
good ends, but not that something special. By these points we are invested in
the characters and have just been treated to some excellent characters
moments.
There is no grand moment in these sequences, no truck flip (The Dark Knight) or fight on top of the
train (Spider-Man 2) to make the
memorable. Where Man of Steel
received complaints for the level of destruction and length of its final
battle, Thor: The Dark World should
be criticized for not going big enough.
By no means is this a negative review of the film, I enjoyed
it a lot and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun film to go and see.
It slips into the upper echelon of Marvel films with ease.
Go to this film for the performances, specifically
Hemsworth, Hiddleston and Hopkins, it’s their relationships and family politics
that make this film as good as it is.
It looks like the red capes are doing okay this year.
