Marvel continues its slew of phase two movies with “Thor: The Dark World,” reuniting actor Chris Hemsworth with everyone’s favorite god of thunder.
We first saw the mighty Asgardian when he learned humility through being banished to earth by his father, Odin, and then again when he joined the Avengers to stop his “brother” Loki (Tom Hiddleston) from taking over Earth. And now the mighty Thor is back for another adventure.
The film starts off with a prologue that shows Thor’s grandfather battling an army of Dark Elves led by the fearsome Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), who is bent on plunging the universe into darkness.
His plan to do so involves harnessing the power of the mystical Aether, an ancient power that isn’t really fully explained.
However, before he’s able to use it, the Asgardians stop him from doing so, and Malekith flees the battle, along with some of his henchmen, to preserve his race and live to fight another day.
Meanwhile, Thor’s granddaddy realizes that he can’t destroy the Aether and instead buries it somewhere deep, where no one can find it. Of course, 30 minutes into the movie, it’s found.
Back in present day, Loki is imprisoned on Asgard following the events of “The Avengers,” Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) is stuck on Earth wondering why she hasn’t been called back by Thor yet and Thor himself is traveling through the Nine Realms kicking ass with Lady Sif and the Warriors Three.
In fact, it’s apparent through these scenes as to why Marvel gave the job of directing to Alan Taylor; his ability to stage and shoot a battle just as he does in “Game of Thrones.” This movie has some of the best action sequences seen in a superhero movie.
The Convergence, a cosmic event in which all the realms align, is approaching, and Malekith awakens from his slumber to once again attempt to gain the power of the Aether. And as the worlds align, portals open up everywhere.
The film kicks up a gear when Thor and Loki are compelled to join forces, providing an interesting dynamic in the film; in fact Hiddleston outshined every single actor, including Eccleston.
The relationship between Thor and Loki is even more interesting than that of Thor and Jane; a potential love triangle between the pair and Lady Sif is thrown into the mix for a few seconds but gets dropped fairly quickly.
Jane’s friendship with intern Darcy (Kat Dennings) and Dr. Eric Selvig (Stellan Skarsgard), along with Thor’s ‘fish-out-of-water’ shtick deliver some very comedic moments and battle “Iron Man 3” for the title of funniest Marvel movie.
The film is definitely a step up from the first installment and post-Avengers standalone hero films have to work doubly hard to make a mark.
The result is a good Thor movie with brilliant action sequences and great comedy, but doesn’t quite bring the hammer down. This franchise needs more Loki, and lots of him. An eight out of ten.
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