Thor: The Dark World

Zach Goodier

The sequel to the original movie has some big shoes to fill, and with the story having already been continued through The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World starts out almost exactly where Avengers left off, with Loki being brought before Odin to answer for his crimes.  However, in the prologue we see a look into the distant past; an era where war consumed the universe as the Asgardians fought the Dark Elves, who had once ruled before our universe was even born (think pre-big bang), and sought to return it to the darkness that once ruled, where the Dark Elves were born.  Their leader, Malekith the Accursed, fled their home world, sacrificing nearly his entire race in an effort to devastate the Asgardians and allow the last of his people the chance to escape.  Now, of course, he has returned, and seeks to use his Aether that was hidden from the world to bring darkness to the universe once again.  Can Thor stop him, and will he be able to trust the deceptive Loki to help him in his quest when he has nowhere else to turn?

A potentially great villain turned "meh."

The story of Dark World is fairly good, but not much to surprise you.  You've seen these types of stories before, but being directed by the same man who has done Game of Thrones means you get the quality delivery that would come to be expected from such experience.  However, the story itself isn't nearly as sophisticated as GoT, and it's only big variable in terms of twists and turns comes from Loki, who really dominates the screen with his whit and shifty demeanor.  But overall, it's a straight-shooter in terms of what is going on and who is doing what.  There is some deeper conflicts that I feel director Alan Taylor sought to bring out a little bit, but none of these are relevant to the story, and are quickly forgotten once the central conflict swings into full gear.

Plot too relaxed? Need tension? Add Loki.

Malekith serves as a mediocre villain at best, his role is well portrayed but not much is invested in his character on a personal level, he's just the disgruntled "baddie" who happens to have people willing to die for him and his cause.  Jane Foster is back, as well, and I sort of wish she hadn't come back.  While she helps add some presence to the screen, her role in the story is mainly "damsel in distress" when she is exposed to the hidden Aether and becomes its host.  This becomes essential when Malekith awakens and seeks out his ancient weapon, and really works to raise the stakes for Thor.  As I have stated already, Loki brings most of the presence to the screen, and makes for the most compelling parts of the story.  Without getting into too many spoilers, Loki's loyalties, which have never seemed very "solid," add for a big X-factor in terms of what might happen at the climax.  While his role in the third act might not be what you expected, and leaves some unresolved questions, he really does a great job of bringing those mixed emotions and uncertain loyalties to the forefront of the story.

Suddenly Asgard isn't looking too almighty, is it?

The action is even better than in the previous movie, and there are some large-scale fights that take place within Asgard itself.  Needless to say, this movie ups the tension when you realize that an otherworldly and seemingly untouchable place as Asgard is attacked.  However, some elements of the movie felt somewhat forced, or altogether unexplained.  From a fairly early point in the film, you see all these phenomena occur around London, the place on earth where this "alignment of the realms" occurs.  While it works as a basic plot device, the dimensional rifts that occur that warp time and space are just... there.  While obviously this film isn't meant to be based on modern understandings of science, it seems that even within the logic of this universe, things were forced.  "Space magic" is the term that comes to mind, and while some of it has persisted throughout the Thor story, this is an instance where it felt like they pushed the bounds of their own universe too far.

Nothing against Natalie Portman or Jane Foster... just didn't feel like the relationship was all that deep between them to justify the time spent on relationship development.

Overall, this movie was a great film.  Great characters return, an epic story as old as the universe itself, and some of the coolest action outside of The Avengers.  However, while there is always room to fault the logic of these movies and their sci-fi/fantasy dynamic, this movie does push the envelope a little too far in the details of the story.  It wouldn't be such a big deal if it didn't play such a central role in the climax of the film, with magic space portals making you try to follow the action while trying to figure out where in the universe you even are, and making the portals themselves a flimsy plot device to try to do... well I still don't think I know.  Malekith seemed like the only one who had a clue what he was doing that whole movie with the "space magic." I also felt that Jane Foster's role in this movie was somewhat forced and almost irrelevant.  While I don't mind seeing her back, I just didn't feel like I missed her much at all.  However, these are all little cracks in an otherwise brilliant masterpiece that any fans of the original movie or newcomers to the Marvel universe would almost certainly enjoy.

Good:

-Thor is back and better than ever.

-Loki is back too, and better than ever.

-Excellent back-story that makes the conflict truly feel worthy of Asgard's finest.

-Action is compelling, and the visuals are simply brilliant.

Bad:

-Melekith felt like he could have been so much more than he was, as Asgard's greatest enemy. Plus the space magic made a lot of the writing feel half-baked to a certain extent.

-Jane Foster is a character I just could never get behind all that much, and her romance with Thor just feels like an obligation more than anything.

Scully Rating: 9 out of 10