Should you watch this in 3D? Nah.
Should you watch this at weekend movie ticket prices? Yes.
Secret ending? There are two.
Running time: 111 minutes (~ 2 hours)
(Image from Business Insider)
“Thor: The Dark World” is a superhero movie which features the eponymous Norse god of thunder, Thor, and his adventures in saving not just the world, but all of reality. The villain is, of course, an ancient evil from before the beginning of time. It stares Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Rene Russo, and an incredibly lacklustre Anthony Hopkins.
I liked it. Bearing in mind that I likes superhero movies in general, I like how this one feels like an episode in a drama serial – it deals with the aftermath of Avengers (like how Iron Man 3 did, although not as angsty) and also sets up a possible future movie.
There were some strange bits, but the plot is generally coherent and the characters have fairly believable motivations. Anyway, you’re really watching it to watch Thor beat people up. You get that in spades.
So what’s great about “Thor: The Dark World?”
(Image from Paste Magazine)
Thor is powerful throughout the movie
Remember the first Thor, where he spent about 75% of the movie not being Thor? Doesn’t happen here. He’s at full power all the way. He’s not randomly weakened or inexplicably inept. He faces threats that are a believable challenge for his power, rather than being depowered to make his foes stand a chance. And that is a sign of good superhero writing – that your characters are not nerfed because you’re unable to come up with a good challenge for them.
Thor isn’t invincible and it’s believable
Also know as the Superman problem, since Thor and Superman are on the same scale of power. Thor’s foes can match his abilities (Kurse, Malekith) and underscores the point that really, only Thor can defeat them. Unlike in Avengers, where I’m really wondering why Thor can’t handle the invasion on his own (theoretically, he could.)
Asgard!
Remember the beautifully rendered Asgard from the first movie? It’s back and for a good chunk of the film, too. I think it’s a beautiful setting, and helps remind us that Thor, Odin, the Warriors Three, and basically every Asgardian is really a god, and they exist on a scale much greater than ours. Which also elevates the threat level – if gods cannot deal with it, what hope do we mortals have?
Spaceships
I’m shallow. I like spaceships. Especially when they come from the beginning of time and threaten to destroy all of reality.
Loki
I think enough folk have raved about Loki, so I won’t rehash it here. He is well rounded, not exactly a villain here, and in some ways – you root for him even if it means the destruction of all reality. He does truly get the best lines, but don’t overhype yourself (like I did).
(Image from Fansided)
But all that being said, “Thor: The Dark World” has some significant flaws as well.
Anthony Hopkins gives a crappy performance.
Odin was pretty moving in the first Thor movie – and Anthony Hopkins really exhibited the gravitas expected of the king of the gods.
Then we have this movie. Odin was so blah and bored in it. And because for some reason, Odin’s eyepatch grew to gargantuan proportions (or so it seems), I honestly wasn’t quite sure if Anthony Hopkins was playing him, or if they just got a lookalike actor to play Odin.
Then credits rolled… and I saw “Anthony Hopkins as Odin” or something to that effect. What.
Anthony Hopkins gives such a flat delivery that it sounds like he’s reading the most boring book in the world, to the most disinterested child in in the universe. It’s like Odin suddenly stopped caring about the fate of the nine realms and just went “whatever.” In fact, you could have replaced all of Anthony Hopkins’ lines with “whatever” and it wouldn’t make a difference.
There is no scene more evident than in the dialogue between Odin and Thor on one of the balconies of Asgard, in Act 1. Here, Odin is explaining why the fate of all the universe hangs in the balance and how this ancient foe has plagued their family for generations. .
Chris Hemsworth is a swell guy, I’m sure, and he really puts in the effort for his roles, but deep, layered characterisation isn’t quite his thing (yet). So usually, someone else more experienced or more trained has to carry non-action scenes that feature him.
Unfortunately, Anthony Hopkins completely drops the ball, forcing Chris Hemsworth to shoulder this scene. And you can really see him struggling to emote and putting in his best effort to carry this scene forward – with lines that don’t really allow him to do so.
It just makes Anthony Hopkins look like a lazy wad who happened to sashay into the film. I’m very, very disappointed with his performance.
(Image from contactmusic.com)
Odin is an inexplicable douchebag
Nowhere is this more evident than when he says the difference between him and Malekith (the villain of the film) is that “Odin wins.” In that same scene, he tells Thor that he would rather sacrifice all of Asgard than let Malekith win.
This is the same Odin who had to teach Thor about humility. What happened to him?
Deaths have no impact
Frigga’s death is supposed to mark the transition into Act II, where the film becomes darker and more serious. The problem is that we don’t really get to know Frigga very well except for a few choice lines. There’s no real empathy or connection with this character, although Rene Russo does give her an air of royalty that none of the other Asgardians carry off. So when she dies… I don’t feel much.
Loki’s death. Honestly, I didn’t believe it when I saw it. I don’t think anyone did. So there’s no point in that, really.
Too much exposition
At the end of the day, it’s about a bad guy who wants the McGuffin, and the heroes create anti-McGuffin to stop him. The problem is the backstory requires Odin to be sympathetic, which he isn’t. The problem is that the McGuffin is supposed to be invincible, which it isn’t. So bearing all this in mind – all that exposition wasn’t really necessary. It slowed down the action and didn’t contribute much to the plot.
(Image from sciencefiction.com)
I liked “Thor: The Dark World.” I went in expecting a superhero flick, and I got what I wanted plus a bit more. It’s not Shakespeare, but hey, I’ve only got $10 to spend.
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