Movie Review – Thor: The Dark World

The first Thor movie (am I the only one who feels like THOR should be all-caps?  or maybe in that ‘Asgardian’ font they use in the comics?) was a solid effort despite some cornball moments.  The real star turn from that was for Tom Hiddleston’s Loki however, and the fact he got to villain it up in The Avengers shows that.  So yeah, this was always destined to be a Thor/Loki team up.  What’s surprising is how well both characters come out in the end.

What always causes problems for potential Thor movies is the plot – being the most cosmic and mystical of any current MCU property, it’s not hard to see why.  In this, a power called the Aether is released inadvertantly by Jane Foster, in her efforts to find a way reach Thor.  Oops.  Lucky for her, Thor and the Asgardians have reforged the Bifrost and he can take Jane to be looked at by their healers.  Odin is having NONE OF THIS as Thor should be with Sif, man.  Sif herself is certainly on board with this, though it never develops into a real love triangle – Thor is all about Jane.  Frigga (Rene Russo gets to do stuff this time!) is more open to Jane.  The awakening of the Aether also brings the villain of the movie out of a sort of suspended animation – Malekith the Accursed.  In a flashback we are shown just HOW VILLAINOUS he is when he lets the majority of his people, the Dark Elves, get slaughtered by Asgard when the Aether is kept from him.  Christopher Eccleston does it well enough, but it has to suck to be second fiddle to the Thor and Loki show.  By the way, I want to single out Idris Elba’s Heimdall as well.  He’s by far the coolest looking character, and like Frigga, has more to do.

Like the first Thor movie, there’s some genuinely funny moments, some solid father/son, mother/son angst, good battles, and the twist and the end…well, if I say more, it’ll be spoiled, and you will NOT want that.  Better than the first, and really, stay through the credits.  You should know that by now, right?  I got a real kick out of this, and you will too.