Movie Review: Thor - The Dark World
Chris Kneipp reviews Thor 2 and is suitably entertained!
There is something to be said for going into a movie with low expectations because sometimes you are pleasantly surprised. My most recent experience of this was the latest in the Marvel franchise’s offering, Thor. The Dark World. Let me begin by saying there is something likeable about the whole Marvel stable, with Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk and Thor. Provided you can overlook the boys’ club heroes of The Avengers, most of these movies are a great deal of fun.
The plot of The Dark World is standard Hollywood fair; ancient threat is awoken, threatens all worlds including Earth, where the main love interest of our hero lives. Chaos ensues, cue explosions, etc, etc. What sets this movie apart is it retains its sense of humour.
The original Thor movie lacked the lighter touches of most of the other films in the franchise and took itself way too seriously for my liking, so I’d put it in the bottom two or three of the Marvel movies. I went to see The Dark World expecting pretty much the same again. I was happily proven wrong.
Whilst Chris Hemsworth’s Thor is his usual overly serious muscle-bound self, his co stars inject enough humour to keep us laughing and bring light into what would otherwise be a very standard actioner. Tom Hiddleston, reprising his role as Loki very nearly steals the show in every one of his scenes and the audience loudly cheered when he triumphs. Not a bad response for a charcter you’re never quite sure is a hero or villain. Also great fun is Stellan Skarsgård as Dr. Erik Selvig, who adds the insane scientist element that any good superhero movie needs.
Now I saw this movie with my fellow Visionaries from the Vision Writers Group, (Hi folks) and the response to the movie was generally positive. There was some discussion however of the lack of real kickass female characters and rightly so. Natalie Portman did a great job with what she was given, but it was a shame that her character Jane Foster was written to be little more than Thor’s love interest. Jaimie Alexander’s character, Sif could have been given a much larger role though an injury she received on set could have restricted her from doing any serious action scenes. Thor’s mother Frigga, played wonderfully by Rene Russo, did well holding up the banner for tough mothers
Anthony Hopkins returning as Odin, Thor’s father and King of the Gods, was great as always, lending his considerable presence to each scene he graces.
The villain of The Dark World is Malekith played by an unrecognisable Christopher Eccleston, who you might know as the Ninth Doctor from Doctor Who. He plays the tortured king of the Dark Elves with the right mix of malevolence and pain but is lost a bit in the CGI wizardry that goes on around him.
All in all Thor – The Dark World is a fun film that sits nicely with the other movies in the growing Marvel stable. It is currently playing in Cinemas everywhere, and when it comes out next year on DVD, it will make a must have addition if you are slowly gathering them all in your collection, as I am.
