Review: THOR 2

THOR: THE DARK WORLD    (ACTION-ADVENTURE/SCI-FI)
2.5 out of 4 stars
Directed by Alan Taylor
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Kat Dennings, Stellan Skarsgard, Christopher Eccleston, Jaimie Alexander, Idris Elba, Rene Russo, Zachary Levi, Ray Stevenson
PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, and some suggestive content.
Verdict: The Mighty Avenger proves to once again to travel a rocky road to cinematic realization in this follow-up to THOR (2011) and THE AVENGERS (2012), but if you come looking for swashbuckling action and goofy laughs, and don't mind a heaping dose of oddity scrambled with a sprinkling of camp, then THE DARK WORLD may be just the thing for a Saturday afternoon.
YOU MAY ENJOY THOR: THE DARK WORLD IF YOU LIKED:
THOR (2011)
MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS (2012)
HELLBOY II: THE GOLDEN ARMY (2008)

Back in 2011 when Thor first hit the big screen in Marvel Studios' fourth independent production, it was enjoyable, but those of us with snootier cinematic tastes were compelled to qualify with our statements of Thor, the Norse God of Thunder, being the most difficult of the main Marvel "Avengers" to to adapt to the screen on their journey to creating the spectacular crossing-over that was MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS.  Well, I'm going to pull the same kind of crap again, because THOR: THE DARK WORLD, following up the events of both THOR (2011) and MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS (2012), is an entertaining mess from the lower end of Marvel Studios' sturdy stable of superhero blockbusters that make up the "Marvel Cinematic Universe," as they call it.
The thing about Thor is... he's strange.  Even in a world where mild-mannered scientists explode into giant green rage-monsters when irritated, WWII veterans are thawed out from Arctic glaciers and fight aliens whilst decked out in red, white & blue, and asshole billionaires privatize world peace with mechanical bodysuits, Thor stands out as the oddest of them all.  He's a superhero of a vaguely god-like status, having been worshipped by medieval Iceland, but he's more of an extra-terrestrial, being from another planet, or "realm," that being Asgard.  He's primary combative tool, and primary superpower at that, is a big hammer called Mjolnir, with which he can fly and summon lightning, not to mention using it as a blunt weapon.  Plus he wears a cape and speaks in Olde English, at least within the bounds of what mainstream audiences are able to understand. 

THE DARK WORLD finds Thor (Chris hemsworth) one year following the Battle of New York, that being the climactic event of THE AVENGERS, as his adoptive brother Loki (Tom Hiddlestone) has been locked away in the dungeons of Asgard for the remainder of his existence.  Loki having cast the Nine Realms (of which Asgard and Earth, known to them as Midgard, are accounted) into disarray, Thor is charged with restoring order under the reign of his aging father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins).  Thor's heart remains with Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), an astrophysicist on Earth, though, and it's been two years since he last saw her (in 2011's THOR; the passage of time in the movies is apparently literal between films).  Jane and her intern assistant, Darcy (Kat Dennings) have been picking up strange astronomical readings on Earth as what the Asgardians call the "Convergence" approaches, at which point the Nine Realms will align, exposing the vulnerable areas of their borders, at which point an ancient and archaic race known as the Dark Elves hope to use an ancient weapon to plunge the universe into the darkness that it was before the rise of Asgard.
While Thor's cinematic debut was criticized as being "too safe" and a "commercially efficient" film, THE DARK WORLD takes many more risks, and some pay off, while many do not.  The universe of the Nine Realms in Thor's story is made up of many differing aesthetics, and sometimes they clash.  Aasgard is the kind of world that looks like THE LORD OF THE RINGS' "Minas Tirith" plated over with steampunk bronze and brass, but when there's trouble at the dungeons, an Earthly alarm blares, and while swords, spears and arrows are used in combat against elves, trolls and giants, ray guns and spaceships that would be at home in STAR WARS are also commonplace.  The result is an occasionally campy aesthetic, which

appears both in comic and serious contexts, for better or worse.
The most significant weakness to THE DARK WORLD is in its villain; they say a hero is only as good as its villain, but Marvel Studios hasn't always followed that rule as much, preferring to put its characters at odds with more personal conflicts, while the actual villains are sometimes little more than incidental.  Malekith, the leader of the Dark Elves, played by Christopher Eccleston, is a dreadfully thin character explained with a minimal amount of information about the fall of his race when light was brought to the universe, and beyond looking creepy and speaking in digitally-modified low monotone, he's hopelessly interchangeable.
Tom Hiddleston as Loki fills the villain role far better and with less screen time, taking up a position similar to that of Magneto in X2: X-MEN UNITED (2003), as Thor forms an uneasy alliance with him to fight a common enemy until the moment comes that Loki can manipulate himself into an upper hand.  It is a shame that Hiddleston's screen time is slimmed out this time around, because he is the best part, but then again, they don't want to always be returning to the same barrel.  Yet again though, Loki is the most sympathetic and entertaining presence in Thor's world, and after going full-villain in THE AVENGERS, Hiddleston is able to come unhinged in the role of a madder, more spiteful Loki; a trickster with an unquenchable thirst for power and methods of rapidly-shifting allegiance to whomever he can use to the greatest advantage.
The script seems to have a bit of difficulty in balancing out the attention given to its other characters, many of whom it desires to give more significant parts, but rarely gets much past suggestions, especially a would-be love triangle between Thor, Jane and Sif, as well as the now-looney Dr. Selvig's (Stellan Skarsgard) involvement with the goings on of the convergence.
Action-wise, THE DARK WORLD does not disappoint, providing plenty of the big set-pieces that we've come to expect from Marvel (even while we now wonder what exactly qualifies as an Avengers-level catastrophe), as well as some really cool littler bits such as Thor's mom, Frigga (Rene Russo), taking up swords against Malekith.  The lining up of the Realms towards the inevitable climax provides the setting for a uniquely oddball final showdown that's part godly combat and part madcap mayhem.
As opposed to the much more independently-minded IRON MAN 3, THOR: THE DARK WORLD is a prominent crossroads for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with multiple story lines intertwining on their way to 2014's GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, ABC's network television hit Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., 2015's MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON and the inevitable THOR 3, whenever that may come.  Those who keep up to date with those other properties will be rewarded with so-called "Easter Eggs," including a great cameo by Captain America (returning in Marvel's next movie, CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER, in April) and cameos for other characters who will play bigger parts in future films (and probably Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episodes).  Be sure stay through the end credits; yes, there's an extra scene (basically a little preview for one of Marvel's upcoming movies) midway through the credits, but there's also a "stinger" at the end of the credits.
If THOR: THE DARK WORLD is a weak point for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, then it's a hell of a weak point to have, because it still delivers the swashbuckling thrills and dopey laughs in droves and is a perfectly adequate 'popcorn movie'.