Thor: The Dark World 2013

Thor: The Dark World - 8/10

Nowadays, one of the only real draws of going to see movies in the cinemas are the big blockbuster films that come out each year. It doesn't get more blockbuster than superhero flicks. And nobody does it better than Marvel. Building onto their Marvel Cinematic Universe with their 8th canon film, Thor gets his second outing within his franchise, and he strikes his hammer Mjolnir while the fire is hot. I understand the criticisms some critics and fans may have with this film, but for me The Dark World was as good, if not better than his first movie. This review does contain spoilers.

Thor grew up immensely since his arrogant days back in the beginning of Thor, and instead he becomes a humble Asgardian. When "Odin" offers Thor kingship of the Nine Realms at the end, you can see that Thor couldn't have wanted it any less. He knew he was better off defending others than ruling. I think this is the Thor character trait I saw and liked most by the end of the first movie, and firmly cemented him in my mind as my favorite Avenger, and to see it so openly in this sequel was great. Along with his ignorant humor (particularly on Midgard/Earth) he's such a lovable character.

Loki on the other hand I truly feel sorry for. You know he's the enemy, but in many ways this movie was about how he didn't want to be the enemy. He's a torn character. He knows his wrongs, but doesn't understand why they're wrong, and in the same respect it hurts him when his mother and brother can't even trust him. Every time someone mentions "I can't trust you," you could see it in his face that it really hurts him - but at the same time it's his fault because he revels in his trickery. By the end of the film (MAJOR SPOILER) we learn that Loki tricks his way out of death and actually somehow tricks his way into becoming king of Asgard, fooling even Thor! Loved that twist. He plays his father so well. AND THAT ALMOST CAMEO WITH CAPTAIN AMERICA!!! I'm really glad they can pull stuff off like this, post Avengers.

The scenery in this film was gorgeous, something I praised the first film for, but this time around it oozes with beauty. Every realm they go to, whether it be Vanaheim or Svartalheim, was gorgeous. I particularly loved the imagery in the scene just after Frigga dies (and she kicks some serious Malekith butt) when they gave her a proper viking (I mean Asgardian) send off. Beautifully imagined.

I want to give the filmmakers props for not going the Dark Knight route and turning it too "dark". There was PLENTY of humor in this film, and because of it it was one of the most enjoyable films I've seen all year. Kat Dennings' character Darcy is always toted as being too comical, but I welcome [most] of her scenes. Sometimes she is a bit much though. The ending with the portal jumping fight became so ridiculously complex I was nearly in a fit of laughter. Loved it. The scene where he ends up back on earth and he needs to take the Subway to get to Greenwich - I died. Couldn't hold it in. (Although that is a bit ridiculous, why would the London Underground be operating during an alien invasion?!)

That being said, although Malekith put up a great fight near the end, his motives for wanted the Ether, and to turn all the nine realms dark was a bit unexplained. And Christopher Eccleston definitely deserved more screentime. The Dark Elves were exquisitely creepy, but I would have liked to have learned more about them before the movie was through.

Where was S.H.I.E.L.D. in all of this? Surely they would keep tabs on Erik Selvig's work (crazy as he was). And they would have definitely made it there in time. Surely they got tipped off that cars were floating. I guess we'll find out what happened to them on next week's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode, The Well.

I have to mention the midcredits scene with the Collector, played very creepily by Benicio Del Toro. We know so far that the Collector will play some part in Marvel's upcoming film The Guardians of the Galaxy. Sif and Volstagg give him the Ether to safeguard, knowing it unwise to keep two Infinity Stones (or Gems) in the same location on Asgard (they also have the Tesseract). When they leave, the Collector mentions "one down, five to go." For those of us in the comic book know, we know that the Infinity Gems are gems of immense power, and all six together will create the Infinity Gauntlet. We know that Avengers 2 (Age of Ultron) probably won't feature Thanos (teased in the first Avengers mid-credits scene), but I believe that Marvel is going to keep introducing the Infinity Gems which will culminate in the Avengers 3, and I'm assuming that will feature Thanos as the big bad, along with the Infinity Gauntlet. Perhaps the Collector is in cahoots with him?

To keep abreast with the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe in it's chronological timeline order, check out my list:
http://trakt.tv/user/Geekritique/lists/marvel-cinematic-universe-timeline