Thor: The Dark World

So, this week I was spoiled because I went to the cinema twice in one week, once with my sister and then again with my mum because they both love me apparently so I get to post two film reviews within a week of one another.  This time we went to see Thor: The Dark World directed by Alan Taylor and stars Chris Hemsworth (Marvel Cinematic Universe, Snow White and the Huntsman), Tom Hiddleston (Marvel Cinematic Universe, War Horse), Natalie Portman (Black Swan, Star Wars), Anthony Hopkins (Silence of the Lambs, Thor), and Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra) to name a handful.

Thor: The Dark World is the sequel to the 2009 film Thor from Kenneth Branagh as well as other films from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and is the most recent one to date.  Thor is the film adaptation of the comic book hero Thor, based on the Norse god of the same name with a similar history; the film follows Thor (Hemsworth), the cocky son of Odin (Hopkins), who goes against his father's wishes and ventures to another planet with his brother, Loki (Hiddleston), and the Warriors Three, Volstagg, Hogun, and Fandral (Ray Stevenson, Tadanobu Asano, and Josh Dallas respectively) where a fight ensues.  Odin then banishes Thor to Earth, along with his hammer Mjolnir, which he can only use when he is worthy enough.  Thor meets Jane Porter (Portman), Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård), and Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings) and begins to fall for Jane.  As Thor is on Earth, Loki discovers he is the son of Laufey, a Frost Giant from Jotenheim, and seizes the throne when Odin goes into a deep sleep to regain his strength; when the Warriors Three and Sif, Thor's childhood friend (Jaimie Alexander), go to Earth to tell Thor about Loki but to stop Thor from returning, Loki sends the Destroyer to kill Thor.  The Destroyer finds Thor just after his friends find him and attacks them; Thor then decides to sacrifice himself for the safety of his friends and others.  With this sacrifice, Thor is deemed worthy by Mjolnir and is able to destroy the Destroyer and save his friends and new love; Thor and his fellow Asgardians then go back to Asgard to stop Loki's tyrannical rule after Thor promises to return to Jane.

Rating: 9

Recommended To: Anyone; Marvel fans

Favourite Characters: Darcy - love her; Erik - completely barmy

Favourite Part: Loki: I think you missed a column.

Thor: Shut up!

Good Points: Thor's growth as a character; story was better; random cameo from Captain America; focus on Asgard

Bad Points: Odin annoyed me; Sif being pushed on Thor

Thor: The Dark World opens many years back with Bor, Odin's father, clashing with Malekith (Eccleston), the Dark Elf, as Malekith tries to take control of the Aether, a weapon that can create darkness; Malekith is defeated and goes into hiding as Bor and the Asgardians take the Aether away.  Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three (Zachery Levi replacing Josh Dallas as Fandral) are battling to bring order to the Nine Realms after the Bifröst has been reconstructed while Loki is in prison in Asgard because of the events of The Avengers.  While this happens in the vast universe, on Earth, Jane and Darcy with Darcy's own intern, Ian, investigate an abandoned factory in London where the laws of physics go out the window which is demonstrated to them by some kids; Jane is then separated from Darcy and the others and is transported to another realm where the Aether is and becomes infected by the Aether.  Heimdall, the guardian of Asgard, tells Thor of Jane's disappearance and Thor rushes to Earth and is reunited with Jane and learns about her infection.

Thor was a much better character from my point of view this time round as he has grown from being the overly cocky god from Thor that was banished to Earth for disobeying his father.  In my opinion, he didn't grow a vast amount as a character in Thor, he just fell in love and thought about someone else for a change; this time round, like in The Avengers, Thor defended an entire planet from a great evil but this time he did it alone, defending the universe, being a real superhero, or at least from my point of view, rather than defending just the people he cares about.  Thor's growth as a character was one of my favourite parts of this film for these reasons as I felt more sympathetic towards him rather than just watching him for his body; the hunk has depth.

Another great point about this film was that the story was better than the story in Thor because it was more plot centric, like The Avengers and Iron Man 2 and 3, rather than character centric.  Now that Thor, Loki, and their relationship have been established through Thor and The Avengers, as well as other characters in this film, the story has been allowed to progress more and go into more depth which for me, made the film, and the story, even better as you weren't being introduced to the characters.  The threat was more to the planet rather than Thor and therefore the story revolved around something bigger than him and what he wants, such as someone to love or understand him.

My absolute favourite point of this film was the random cameo from Captain America (Chris Evans) as Thor and Loki walk through the palace which is going against Odin's wishes so Loki teases Thor by offering to disguise himself so no one will suspect.  It was just completely random and I personally found it hysterical because of the dialogue between Thor and Loki (as Captain America) because it was still them and Evans portrayed the disguised Loki convincingly even if it was for such a short amount of time.

Much like how Earth was the focus of Thor, Asgard is the focus of Thor: The Dark World which I found great because we finally get to see Thor in his world properly and what his world is like rather than seeing it for a few moments.  As an audience, we get to see Thor more comfortable in his own surroundings and he doesn't have to learn anything new but he has to help Jane adjust to this new world as well as help her remove the Aether from her body with the help of his friends and family, like Jane did for him in Thor; the student has become the teacher.

My absolute favourite character out of Thor: The Dark World was Darcy, Jane's intern from Thor who is still an intern and is gaining work experience but isn't getting paid but now has her own intern, Ian, which is completely random and weird, yet funny.  I love Kat Dennings who plays Darcy and have loved everything she's been in because I find her sense of humour and the way all of her lines are delivered exceptionally well, making her the comic relief to a dark story.

Though he's not my favourite character, I loved Erik because he was just completely bonkers after Loki took control his body at the end of Thor and controlled him during The Avengers.  Much like Darcy, he brings comic relief to the film which is needed as serious Thor battles against the evil Malekith; through the dark aspects of a comic book adaptation, comedy needs to be entwined so to reach the masses because superheroes are intended to bring hope and relief in a dark world.

I found a couple of points that I didn't like about this film, they were only small points in the grand scheme.  Odin, Thor's father, just annoyed me; I understood that he was just doing what he was expected to do by ensuring that his son is ready to take over the throne as is intended.  However, he was just an unlikeable character for me because he was harsh towards Thor, despite knowing that his son is in love with Jane, and tells him that he needs to marry an Asgardian before he takes over the throne, which Thor clearly doesn't want to do. 

I really didn't like the fact that Sif was almost being pushed on Thor early on in the film as she is deemed more suitable for him than Jane because she is from Asgard and they've known each other since they were kids and have been friends for years.  Eventually, Sif sees how Thor is with Jane and knows that they are in love after he tries furiously to save her life with the help of his brother.

Loki: I think you missed a column.             
Thor: Shut up!

As Thor and Loki escape from Asgard so that they can save Jane's life as she becomes consumed by the Aether, Thor is flying a ship so that they can get out of Asgard through Loki's secret passageway but keeps crashing it into the random stonework in Asgard; this leads to Thor and Loki bickering over who should be flying the ship, despite the fact that Loki is still handcuffed.  I love how this part displays the dynamic between Thor and Loki as they are still brotherly towards one another even though they know Loki's true heritage and Loki tried to destroy Earth, leading to Thor helping the other Avengers to stop him.

I highly recommend any of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films and especially this one because it's a good follow up to The Avengers much like Iron Man 3 because it shows the repercussions for Thor and Loki like Iron Man 3 did for Tony.  Thor was grown as a character after everything that's happened and we get to see more of his relationship with Jane and Loki is facing the repercussions of his crimes and how he is handling it in the Asgardian prison.  Hopefully Captain America: The Winter Solider is just as good as this film and Iron Man 3; good luck Mr. Evans, no pressure.

True to Marvel films (and many other films in recent years I have found), you need to stay all the way through the film credits, and I mean all the way past the music and everything (it's about five minutes gone but hey, you wanted to see this film) because there are two extra scenes spliced in Thor: The Dark World.  One is just after who was in the film and was filmed by the director of the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy and features Benicio Del Toro as the Collector; this hints at what Guardians of the Galaxy is about.  The other scene, though very short, brings a happy ending for Thor and Jane before any other film, such as The Avengers: Age of Ultron, which Chris Hemsworth is set to reprise his role as Thor. 

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