GRIMSHAW'S ATTIC MEDIA

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you all know, I loved Thor, it was one of the biggest surprises for me of Phase 1. Now that we're into Phase 2 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, will Thor's third outing, Thor: The Dark World be as great? Um, yeah let's get on with it.

 

A year after the events of The Avengers, Thor returns to Earth after Jane Foster gets herself possessed by the Aether, a dangerous force that the Dark Elf Malekith wants to use to return the Nine Realms to darkness. If Thor wants to defeat this new enemy, he must team up with his disgraced brother Loki and take the fight to their enemy in the Dark World.

 

Previous Thor director Kenneth Branagh is this time around replaced with Alan Taylor, best known for his work on Mad Men and Game of Thrones, and for most part, he manages to balance the Earthbound scenes with the otherworldly scenes that have a scale to them not quite seen so far in Marvel Studios' films so far, while giving us a film that feels different from the previous Thor film.

 

You see, this film feels less like the films feels like grand, Shakespearian epic in a New Mexico town that the previous Thor did and more of a naturalistic, gritty fantasy film with some excellently staged action sequences as well as opening up the Nine Realms a bit more. We see more of Asgard, the characters from the previous film have much more to do, and it ends on a battle with scales that are much grander than Thor's, even if the plan isn't that much different.

 

But at the same time, while it is never dull to watch, Thor: The Dark World is ultimately one of the weaker Marvel Cinematic Universe instalments and it's because of the classic sequel problems. There are a lot of characters in this film, and it leaves the film feeling overstuffed. The cast, once again, is all made of quality actors, from Idris Elba to Natalie Portman to Anthony Hopkins, and they are all given more to do, but they are once again mostly background players. And that's after the Warriors Three is reduced to two because Hogun leaves to a mission.

 

As for new characters, Christopher Eccleston is wasted as Malekith in this film. His performance is solid, no doubt about that, but, there never seems to be any actual scene of threat or menace from the character. His goal of using the Aether to force the Nine Realms back into a total state of darkness is such a broad sweeping goal that it ultimately is just a dull motive.

 

Thank God for Tom Hiddleston's Loki then, a character and actor combination that is pretty much the star of the show, showing much deeper depth than either of his previous appearances as the character. In fact, the film is at its most interesting when Thor and Loki are compelled to join forces, with Chris Hemsworth's Thor acting as a straight man to the Loki performance.

 

Thor: The Dark World is a bigger and more ambitious fail, but one that is ultimately fails to reach the mark thanks to a severe amount of drama and conflict, especially from its main villain. That said it is not at all unwatchable, and will still prove to be enjoyable to most who see it.