Thor: The Dark World

"Oh, for Thork's sake!"

                                                             Brains... or braun? 

DIRECTOR: Alan Taylor

CAST: James Hunt, the Black Swan, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hannibal Lecter, Bootstrap Bill, Nelson Mandela, Doctor Who? and a pair of boobs...

PLOT: With Loki imprisoned for kicking seven shades of shit out of New York City, all seems to be well in the Nine Realms... until Christopher Eccleston's hideous Dark Elf decides to kick seven shades of shit out of the universe.

The second 'Phase 2' Marvel movie since The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World had a lot to live up to having to follow up this year's monumentally successful and entertaining Iron Man 3. With Kenneth Branagh, director of Thor's first solo outing, out of the realm and replaced by esteemed US TV drama director of quality shows such as Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, and err, Sex and the City? you would put your money on the franchise being in safe hands.

Aside from the irritating pair of boobs that is Kat Dennings, and the equally irritating score that accompanies the light-hearted scenes on Earth (of which there are a fair few), and the, at times, weak editing and pacing, Thor: The Dark World continues to do justice to Marvel's cinematic master plan, offering comedy (most of which comes in the final confrontation), impressive action sequences (of which we needed more of), and charismatic performances from the ever-reliable and enviable Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston (of which we can't get enough of).

It could have been a lazy, but safe bet, to simply have made this Loki: The Dark World, as Hiddleston's career-marking character does show up before Thor even does; but instead he serves as an intelligent narrative device, rather than the entire narrative itself. We await Hiddleston's arrival into the action-fold with excitement, but it doesn't come until the halfway mark. Unsurprisingly, once that halfway mark is hit, the film excels and gets a lot more interesting. At the end of the day, we couldn't really give a monkey's shit about all of the 'sciency' exposition that tries to explain fictional happenings, all we want to do is watch Thor hit people with a hammer, and Loki charm his way into subconsciously manipulating all of the male viewers to question (or cement) their sexuality for almost two hours.

                                                                      Hammer time!

Unfortunately, the other main reason as to why this Thor adventure doesn't quite live up to its predecessor, other than the Branagh's solid direction, is the villain. As with the majority of superhero films, the ones with the best villains tend to stand out. You don't watch The Dark Knight for Christian Bale's in-need-of-a-Soother Batman, you watch it for Heath Ledger's stunning portrayal of The Joker. 

And although Loki still isn't necessarily a stereotypical hero, his threat and presence as the main antagonist is sorely missed. Christopher Eccleston's hideous Dark Elf, Malekith, isn't given enough screen time and his motivations aren't as clear or interesting as Loki's engaging backstory. Malekith seems to wreak havoc for havocs sake. A villain that wants to destroy the entire universe lacks any hint of empathy and we cannot see why he would want to do anything that he does. You'll end up missing Loki's wise-cracking ways and fabulously evil costume.

Overall, the film is better when hammers are being swung and effects are being fully utilised, namely when we get to see a lot more of Asgard. Where Branagh's 2011 Thor was arguably better when people were talking and joking with its comedic fish-out-of-water story, this one often falls flat and is much funnier during the climax that gleefully dots around London and the rest of the universe. It seems as though the antagonist should have been given a more credible backstory instead of Hemsworth's and Portman's forced romance, and the strange love triangle that is born with it which doesn't even have its surface scratched. Had Eccleston's evil-doer been given the full works, and a more solid script that didn't feel as if it needed saving by Joss Whedon towards the end of production, this could have been one of the best Marvel films yet.   

* * * ½