Thor: The Dark World, 2013.
Directed by Alan Taylor.
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Rene Russo, Christopher Eccleston, Kat Dennings, Stellan Skarsgård, Jaimie Alexander, Tadanobu Asano, Zachary Levi, Ray Stevenson, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and Idris Elba.
SYNOPSIS:
Thor joins forces with Loki to fight an ancient evil which threatens the Nine Realms.
“It’s not that I don’t like our little chats, it’s just that I don’t.” Thor: The Dark World revels in absurdity. Of course, one can expect all the norms of a Marvel film: maniacal villain, tedious plot, post credit sequences but what the other films fail to have is such an unashamedly silly core. In Thor: The Dark World, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.
In a similar manner to previous Marvel films, problems arise when discussing the villain, in this case Malekith the Dark Elf (Christopher Eccleston). Although his plan is certainly sinister, the exceptionally talented Eccleston is wasted, plodding through a role that fails to exploit his thespian roots. Maybe under the wings of Kenneth Branagh, the role would be padded out but Alan Taylor’s lack of cinematic experience fails to exploit this.
Tonally and aesthetically, Thor: The Dark World is almost unrecognisable in comparison to Thor. The original was campy and colourful while the sequel drops the camp for a much bigger scale adventure that spans for the first time almost all nine realms. However, in a similar manner to Thor, the film opens with a clunky prologue, introducing the Dark Elves and the Aether, the all-powerful Universe destroying weapon. Thankfully, the film finds its feet within minutes, reintroducing Jane, on a date with Chris O’Dowd, and Darcy in one of many very funny set pieces.
Thor may be the star of the film, but Tom Hiddleston’s Loki continues to steal the limelight. It may be that the script works better for Hiddleston, but whereas Hemsworth reads the lines in a way that feels slightly plastic, the former reads the line with such glee and passion that it’s impossible not to like the villain of the piece. It’s a great shame that he appears sporadically until the hour mark whereby he finally gets a heavy role.
Christopher Eccleston may be unable to truly show off his acting talents, but he is involved in the action set piece of the year. Attacking Greenwich as the Nine Realms align (through further clunky exposition), Malekith and Thor fight it out, slipping through gravitational holes, beating the living daylights of one another. It’s intelligent, silly and absurdly enjoyable, showing Zack Snyder how to handle two almost immortal characters beating two shits out of one another.
Thor: The Dark World isn’t perfect. The script relies on clunky exposition one too many times and Malekith is strangely forgettable. However, very few films this year have been as funny and as truly enjoyable. At just under 100 minutes long, it’s brisk, silly and continues Marvel’s impressive run in form.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Thomas Harris
Originally published November 4, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
