Not all good in Asgard

Film:
Thor 2: The Dark World

Director:
Alan Taylor

Starring:
Chris Hemsworth,
Tom Hiddleston
and Natalie Portman

Of all of Marvel’s new films to have come out since the universe reboot, this is one of the weakest. That isn’t to say that this film doesn’t have its moments, though.

Let’s begin with the positives: the main trinity of actors are phenomenal. Chris Hemsworth continues to play a great Thor, although interestingly, he is no longer the “fish out of water” character he played in the prequel as much of the film takes place off Earth. He is, however, still the big blond boy scout that we know and love. Natalie Portman steps up big time portraying her character’s growth.

The scenes where Jane Foster slaps Thor for not coming back to her during the Avengers, and then punches Loki for the damaged caused, show that Marvel is able to continue making strong female characters that don’t have to rely on their superhero saviors. Finally, Tom Hiddleston still plays the self-centered ass Loki, but in this sequel, we get much more than just evil. We see the pain he suffers at the death of his mother, and the complex love/hate relationship he has with his brother.

This movie also does an amazing job of connecting Thor and Loki, and of reminding us that for all the times they fight, they are still brothers who grew up side by side. It also finds that rare balance of action and humor without allowing the humor to overpower the plot and draw audiences out of the story.

But my biggest issue with this movie is the villain. Malekith is boring. Despite having a powerhouse of an actor in Christopher Eccleston – a.k.a. the Ninth Doctor in the long-running Doctor Who series – they fail to utilize his greatest strength. Malekith talks in a made up dialect and only once speaks English. With such a strong orator as Eccleston, this was a misfire.

The film also has issues over whether the Asgardian forces are great warriors (as shown in the opening) or idiots saying, “Please shoot me in the face.” And while I will give this movie credit for not falling into the elves-with-bows-and-arrows stereotype, it still founders by making the dark elves faceless villains with no depth or real threat to them.

In the end, Thor 2: The Dark World is a fun movie with more problems than previous Marvel works, but is by no means considerably “bad”. The principal actors are easily able to carry the movie throughout. My final verdict is a 7/10 – a good movie for a fan of any of Marvel’s previous works.