Before diving into the actual film itself, can we just take a moment to admire the genius that is behind the Marvel franchise? This brand is a money-making juggernaut, and its momentum is now unstoppable. To introduce each superhero in their own separate movie before combining them all into the behemoth that was the first Avengers film was completely unprecedented and truly brilliant.
With that being said, I felt as though Thor 2: The Dark World is the 5-minute breather that Marvel had to take before cranking out A+ superhero movies again. The movie exceeds expectations as far as special effects and fight scenes are concerned, and Chris Hemsworth (Thor) and Tom Hiddleston (Loki) put on great performances. However, the writers who created the storyline seemed confused as to what movie they were writing. Allow me to explain.
The plot begins thousands of years ago, when Thor’s grandfather led the forces of Asgard in a war against the Dark Elves. Their leader, Malekith, had created a super weapon—otherworldly floating goo called “the Aether” that turns everything into darkness—but he was defeated before he could deploy it. The Asgardians, unable to destroy the Aether, decided instead to “bury it deep where no one can find it.” Surely, this problem will never surface again thousands of years later.
Fast forward to the present; Thor has returned to Asgard, leaving his love-interest, astrophysicist Jane Foster (played by Natalie Portman), behind on Earth. While searching for a way to contact Thor, Jane stumbles into an alternate dimension, where she comes into contact with—whoops, it wasn’t deep enough—the Aether. This alien fluid enters her body and refuses to leave. Malekith and his army, who have been in suspended animation and conveniently forgotten on their starship all this time, are awakened by Jane’s meddling and come looking for the Aether.
So now Frodo, Sam, and their friends must try to destroy both the Ring and Sauron before they usher Middle Earth into a new age of darkness.
Oops, I mean:
So now Thor, Jane, and their friends must try to destroy both the Aether and Malekith before the latter usher the universe into a new age of darkness.
It seems as though director Alan Taylor just copy-and-pasted some of Tolkien’s ideas, which takes away from some of the originality that defined the first Thor. However, with that said, I’d still recommend seeing this film in theaters. The battle scenes are breathtaking, and with the storyline of The Dark World taking place all over the universe, it’s really a sight to behold on the big screen.
Perhaps the biggest draw would be to see the character development that occurs in Loki and Thor. The uninspiring script is transcended by the now revealed backstory of these two characters and their relationship between each other. During the course of the film, we learn that Loki may not be the all-around villain that he was portrayed to be in the recent Avengers movie, while Thor makes some self-realizations of his own. Watching these two interact is as satisfying as watching the action sequences.
In conclusion, I enjoyed this film enough to say that it is worth the price of admission. Thanks to the success of the Avengers, every Marvel film from here on out is a must-see anyway. It does not matter if Chris Hemsworth was replaced by a trained monkey at this point. As long as there is a 3-minute clip after the credits roll of a sneak preview of Avengers 2, that movie ticket is money well spent.