Danielle Solzman
Thor: The Dark World is far from the best film in the franchise as the Avenger battles against Malekith’s attempt to destroy the universe.
The sequel incorporates a prologue like its predecessor. This a great way of setting not just the tone but introduce us to new characters. It turns out that once upon a time, Asgard was at battle against the Dark Elves. But this battle is one that is far from over. It’s only just now that it is about to resume.
It’s been a year after the events transpired in New York. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has been very busy with restoring order. The most recent battle takes place on Vanaheim and it’s the last for a while. Meanwhile, the Convergence aligning all of the nine realms is shortly approaching.
Back on Earth, Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and her team are now in London given that strange things have been happening. Portals have been opening all over the place. Somehow, Foster finds herself teleported to another world and infected by the Aether. This means Thor must return to Earth and take her with him to Asgard. Meanwhile, Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård) has gone crazy. You would likely do so as well if you had Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in your head. Despite running around naked at Stonehenge, he knows that the Convergence is about to happen and warns people as such.
Thor has strict orders from his father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins), not to leave Asgard. Once again, he goes against those orders. There’s something of a rebellious theme going on here! Thor and Loki take the battle away from Asgard and head to Svartalfheim to get revenge on the death of their mother, Frigga (Rene Russo). Things don’t go entirely as planned and the battle next comes to Earth just in time for the Convergence.
What drives the plot of the film is the Aether. It is the second Infinity Stone to be introduced in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This weapon is so powerful that whoever has will have the power to bring darkness to the cosmos. Thor comes up with a plan. Unfortunately this means having to team up with Loki. Cue the awesome easter egg in the process of doing so.
Alan Taylor takes over the director’s chair and does a solid job of bringing the film together. At the same time, the script blends a nice amount of humor and action. Leave it to Kat Dennings as usual to provide the film’s comic relief. This time around, her intern character has an intern! It’s just unfortunate that Thor: The Dark World isn’t the best film of the franchise. Oh, the best is yet to come! Thankfully, the origin story is out of the way so we get to explore more of Asgard and the Nine Realms.
Thor: The Dark World certainly has its moments but it is far from perfect.
DIRECTOR: Alan Taylor
SCREENWRITERS: Christopher L. Yost and Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely
CAST: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgård, Idris Elba, Christopher Eccleston, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Kat Dennings, Ray Stevenson, Zachary Levi, Tadanobu Asano, Jaimie Alexander, Chris O’Dowd, with Rene Russo and Anthony Hopkins
