Thor: The Dark World is the eighth of the Marvel Films'
Avengers franchise entries, and, arguably, the weakest of them
all thus far, though still not very far off from the first
Thor
film. The formula, which blends monumental special effects sequences
with cheeky one-liners and juvenile character interplay, continues to
prove successful, as there is, admittedly, plenty of bang for one's
buck in the cataclysmic action sequences, special effects, and bits of
well-crafted fantasy backdrops. Unfortunately, the plot is convoluted
and uninteresting, and feels more like it belongs in a
Lord of the
Rings movie than in a tale of realm-hopping Norse mythos.
Chris Hemsworth (Rush,
Star Trek Into Darkness) returns as Thor, the Norse god of thunder, on the
verge of becoming the king of Asgard should he prove himself worthy by
uniting and protecting the Nine Realms, including Earth, during the
alignment that takes place every 5,000 years that opens all of the
inter-Realm portals. He faces his toughest test yet when a powerful
dark elf of yore named Malekith (Eccleston,
Unfinished Song) returns for another attempt to turn the
Realms dark again, using a red, liquid-y force known as the Aether.
Stuck in the middle is Thor's forlorn Earthly love interest, Jane
Foster (Portman, Your Highness), who unwittingly becomes the host for the Aether that Malekith
and his Dark Elves want to get at any cost.
Out is the
direction of Kenneth Brannagh, and in is Emmy-award winning Alan
Taylor (Palookaville, The Emperor's New Clothes), mostly known for his prolific television work on such shows as
"The Sopranos", "Sex and the City", "Mad Men", and a host of others,
but it's probably for his recent work on HBO's "Game of Thrones" got
him the gig due to the emphasis on medieval-esque battle sequences.
Where Brannagh managed to elevate the scenes of Asgardian interplay to
Shakespearean grandeur (even if the script is far from that), Taylor
seems mostly uninterested in the exploration of it, constantly pushing
forward to get to action sequences and sitcom-cute character beats.
Though Marvel-ites will no doubt be pleased at seeing a favorite
character do his thing yet again on the big screen, one can't help but
be a bit disappointed that more couldn't be done to provide some depth
to the characters or Thor's own storyline. Of all of the Avengers to
have their own film, Thor is my far the thinnest in definition, and
the makers of the series see little need to define him as anything
more than, "Hey, he's a god, he's a hunk, he has a hammer, what more
do you need to know?" As with the first entry, the strength of
Thor: The Dark World comes in finding humor in the characters,
who banter and chide one another incessantly, and Thor still has his
humorous "fish out of water" moments (one that got a decent chuckle
out of me is a small one where Thor puts his hammer, Mjolnir, on a
coat hook upon entering a London flat).
The biggest liability
to Thor: The Dark World is its script, credited to no less
than three screenwriters, who even then needed the services of script
doctor (and Avengers director and scribe) Joss Whedon to try to punch
up some of the character touches and snarky dialogue, though a good
amount of the dialogue was also improvised by the actors. The
Asgardians are noble in demeanor and dress exquisitely, but they're
written as thin as the comic book pages they were originally printed
on. At least they come off a good deal better than the mortals on
Earth, who are all kooky and not very bright, despite supposedly
ranking among Earth's leading scientists. The Kat Dennings (The
House Bunny, Big Momma's House 2) sidekick
character of intern Darcy is particularly grating, and probably only
exists to play so dumb that it makes the bewilderingly daft Jane
Foster actually look like an astrophysicist by comparison, though even
she acts no more mature than a pouty, love-struck teenager a good deal
of the time. The fact that, out of billions of people on Earth, that Thor's potential main squeeze would become the host
body is only one contrivance, out of a great many, to keep the same
characters involved for a second go-round.
The film manages to
come to life once Thor's trickster step-brother (and main nemesis)
Loki enters the scene, though it's a good deal into the story. I
criticized his character in the first Thor, but Tom Hiddleston (War
Horse, Midnight in Paris) has really
grown into the role, perhaps thanks to the fan fervor shown to the
character, and the manner in which Whedon redefined his character in
The Avengers. The way that he's worked into this script is quite
contrived, but he's certainly a welcome departure from the very stale
Dark Elves at the heart of the muddled main plot. It also helps that
he's the only character in the entire production that has any amount
of nuance. However, Loki's beefed-up inclusion did come at the cost of
the main story of Malekith's origins and plot, which is summed up in a
feeble voiceover narration that kicks off the film. Given that
the Loki scenes crackle and the Malekith scenes fizzle, it's hard to
gripe, but at the same time, why not just rewrite the truncated Dark
Elves angle to a much more interesting, entertaining one altogether,
considering it was deemed the most expendable of the scenes to be cut?
This sequel doesn't really push forward Thor's personal storyline much, and in terms
of for the overall Avengers arc, pretty much none at all, which makes
it feel like an effort to turn a profit and please the legion of fans
who had been clamoring for more. Thor, at least as played by Hemsworth,
is still, at the very least, charismatic and comical, which makes scenes involving him
great fun to watch, even if the storyline around him lacks flavor.
While Thor: The Dark World leaves a lot to be desired for those who aren't huge
aficionados of the Marvel Avengers franchise, for those who are
already indoctrinated into the fold, it likely delivers enough action, adventure, and humor
(the latter is the biggest saving grace) to sate the thirst for more
until bigger and better entries come out down the pike.
-- Stay
tuned after the film is over for a mid-credits scene that ties in to
an upcoming Marvel film, and a lighthearted, post-credits bonus for
Thor fans.
