Marvel Cinematic Universe: THOR: THE DARK WORLD

 In eager anticipation of Marvel Studios' AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, I'm re-watching every entry in the "Marvel Cinematic Universe" (MCU) thus far, from IRON MAN to GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, and then sharing my views on each one as a film and within the context of the MCU and movie landscape.  At the end of each essay is a list of "Easter eggs" that connect the pertinent film to other films in the wider MCU, and a "Top 5" of the best five parts (a scene, concept, actor, character, etc.) in each movie.  The second film of Phase 2 returns to Asgard in the weakest film of the MCU, a messy movie with a messy behind-the-scenes story, but also surprisingly funny, with a welcome return of the MCU's premier baddie, Loki.  [Please note, this review contains spoilers for THOR: THE DARK WORLD, and speculative connections to future Marvel releases].

THOR: THE DARK WORLD
Released 8 November 2013
Directed by Alan Taylor
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Eccleston, Kat Dennings, Stellan Skarsgard, Jaimie Alexander, Zachary Levi, Ray Stevenson, Tadanobu Asano, Idris Elba, Rene Russo, Chris O'Dowd
Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, and some suggestive content.
112 minutes 
Merit: 2/4
With his brother Loki imprisoned in the dungeons of Asgard for his crimes against Earth, Thor has restored peace between the Nine Realms, but when an ancient enemy returns to cover the universe in darkness, Asgard is attacked with devastating results.  To defeat the villainous Dark Elves, Thor is forced to align himself with Loki, who he does not know if he can trust.

THOR: THE DARK WORLD is probably the most problematic movie of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  I'd be tempted to say it's the weakest of the MCU, but it may too close to call with IRON MAN 2.  It's not bad- it's entertaining enough, plenty of humor and there's some pretty fun sequences, but it's also much more uneven, in tone and in pacing, and messy than the average Marvel outing.
Set a year after the events of MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS, THE DARK WORLD returns to Thor's (Chris Hemsworth) home of Asgard, where his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has been imprisoned indefinitely for his war crimes on Earth.  After the destruction of the Bifrost in THOR, the Nine Realms had descended into chaos, and during the past year, Thor and his comrades have been restoring peace while the Bifrost has been rebuilt.  Meanwhile on Earth, in London, Thor's lady love interest and adorkable astrophysicist Dr. Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) has discovered an anomaly where the laws of physics do not apply.  While studying the anomaly, Jane is inadvertently transported to another world (or dimension), where an ancient and dangerous element from the beginning of the universe, the Aether, has been hidden away.  The Aether enters her body, and the Aether's reemergence reawakens Asgard's ancient enemy the Dark Elves from their suspended animation in deep space.
The Dark Elves are led by Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), who, besides being a "Dark Elf" who wants to use the Aether to consume the universe with darkness just because Dark Elves like it like that, is thinly written, to put it nicely.  He's basically a non-character, merely an entity acting as a facade for a vaguely defined hostility.  Far more interesting than the primary antagonist, not to mention the rest of the characters, is Tom Hiddleston's Loki, who comes into play fairly late in the game to help Thor avenge the death of their mother, Frigga (Rene Russo), at the hands of Malekith.  Up to that point, there is an awful lot of set-up and minimal payoff, and while one of the first movie's major shortcomings was vagueness of Asgard, it turns out, Asgard isn't that interesting anyway.  Mostly it's just weapons training and feasting all day and night.  Anthony Hopkins, one of the all-time greats, is typically a welcome presence in whatever he's in, but as Thor's father Odin, his character seems to have curiously dropped a few dozen I.Q. points since the first THOR and he's always grouchy.  I liked him better as the all-knowing and grandfatherly but stern Odin.  Now he's a angry dumbass.

THE DARK WORLD had a particularly troubled production, one of the more prominent cases of Marvel Studios' history of clashing with their filmmakers, after the first film's director, Kenneth Branagh, opted not to return.  TV director Brian Kirk was initially sought as director, but negotiations broke down, and Patty Jenkins, director of the excellent 2003 crime drama MONSTER, was brought on as director.  During post-production, Jenkins left, citing the age-old "creative differences", and while the separation was reportedly on good terms, the behind the scenes drama suggests a different story (when we finally get the inevitable "tell-all" non-fiction novel about the making of the MCU, it is going to be a must-read).  Jenkins' departure was a particular point of consternation for Natalie Portman, who reportedly was doubtful about returning following the birth of her son, but was excited about the prospect of bringing a woman on to direct the big budget Hollywood production.  Portman was contractually obligated to star in the film regardless, but Marvel was forced to bend over backward to smooth over the situation and made special care to accommodate Portman.  Ultimately, veteran TV director Alan Taylor, known for his work on The Sopranos, Sex and the City and Game of Thrones, was hired and is the officially credited director, however, as the film neared completion, Marvel may have overhauled certain aspects of the film without Taylor's input.  What is well known is that there were substantial re-shoots, not necessarily a sign of contention, but rarely a sign that all is going well, and some of the added footage revolves around exposition, which Taylor openly spoke out against in interviews.  Much of the third act climactic action require reconstruction late into production (typically the big set-pieces on a movie of this size are worked out early on to make time for the extensive post-production visual effects work), and Joss Whedon, writer/director of MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS and AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, was even flown into London where filming was taking place in order to rewrite scenes, including the climactic piece.  Ultimately, Taylor came to distance himself the final film, which was heavily reconstructed beyond his involvement, but it certainly didn't hurt his career any, propelling him to another blockbuster production, this summer's upcoming TERMINATOR GENISYS, where he reportedly has greater creative control.  Jenkins, for her part, has continued to struggle to get a foothold in Hollywood, but perhaps her recent hiring to direct Warner Brothers' WONDER WOMAN, planned for 2017, following the departure of Breaking Bad director/producer Michelle MacLaren from the same over "creative differences".
Ultimately, what works best in THOR: THE DARK WORLD is the humor, which is substantial,
including the climax in Greenwich that is more humor-based spectacle than action-oriented.  Unfortunately, Malekith, the primary antagonist and probably the worst major villain in an MCU movie so far, is totally humorless, so the real savior of this film is Loki, returning for a third installment, this time in the character's traditional interpretation as the "trickster".  As such, he's not quite an antagonist, and not quite one of the protagonists.  He's the loose cannon, the guy who the heroes are forced to rely on, and while his betrayal is inevitable, they can only hope to prolong his betrayal until he's helped them get what they need.  As good as Tom Hiddleston is in the role, what really makes Loki such a refreshing presence in the movie is that he's the only truly interesting character in the whole thing, although given just a little more attention, Thor himself could get there.
THE DARK WORLD ends on a major tease; following a confrontation with Malekith and his muscle, Kurse (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje), on the Dark World (filmed on location in Iceland then curiously layered over with enough CGI that they may as well have filmed on a set), Loki is presumably killed, but no one watching the movie actually expects that he's actually dead.  The question is, where will he turn up?  On the throne of Asgard, and Odin's whereabouts unknown.  The movie's marketing sneakily included images of Loki on the throne, and nobody gave it a second thought, blissfully unaware that they were being fed images from the spoilery final shot of the film.
Following AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON, Thor's next film will be THOR: RAGNAROK, a title which alludes to Norse mythology's version of Armageddon but in the comics was a "cyborg clone" of Thor, scheduled for November 3, 2017.  So far, Thor's adventures remain on the weaker side of the spectrum for the MCU, but hopefully, RAGNAROK will see an uptick in his stand-alone series.

Easter Eggs to Look For:

• Foreshadowing to AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR PART 1 and PART 2: The Aether is one of the "Infinity Stones", six immensely powerful singularities that, if united, will make their wielder virtually all-powerful, as Thanos, the "Mad Titan", intends to do in the upcoming two-part AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR, scheduled for May 2018 and May 2019.  In the mid-credits stinger, Sif (Jaimie Alexander) and Volstagg (Ray Stevenson) deliver the Aether to the Collector (Benicio del Toro), after which he remarks, "One down, five to go..."
• Foreshadowing to GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY: In the post-credits stinger, Sif and Volstagg deliver the Aether to Taneleer Tivan, aka the Collector, who appears again in GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY, when he reveals the nature of another Infinity Stone to the heroes of that film.
• Reference to MARVEL'S THE AVENGERS: Early in the film, Loki is imprisoned for crimes committed on Earth, referring to the events in THE AVENGERS, and later, Jane Foster punches Loki, saying, "That was for New York!"  In a scene where he teases Thor by taking on different visages, Loki mocks Captain America (a cameo appearance by Chris Evans).

Top 5 of THOR: THE DARK WORLD 

1. Loki Interprets Captain America- In a movie where what works the best is humor, the funniest moment is a cameo by Chris Evans as Loki playing Captain America with his tongue firmly in cheek: "Costume's a bit much... so tight. But the confidence, I can feel the righteousness surging. Hey, you wanna have a rousing discussion about truth,honor, patriotism? God bless America!"
2. Loki At Rock Bottom- After the death of their mother, Thor goes to see Loki in the Asgard dungeons, where Loki goads him, but Thor chides him; "Loki, enough! No more illusions!" Then we get to see Loki as he truly is beneath it all, broken down, his hair mussed, his barefoot cut and bloody.  "Now you see me brother."
3. Thor Hangs Mjolnir on the Coat Rack- I don't know, the culture clash there just cracks me up.
4. Attack on Asgard- It's reminiscent of Star Wars when the Dark Elves fly their ships into Asgard wreaking rampant destruction, Heimdall (Idris Elba) attack a gigantic ship with a sword, and although it's short, Frigga's sword fight with Malekith is fierce and feverish.
5. Portal Play and Culture Clash in Greenwich- I hear that the geography of Greenwich is a mishmash in the climactic action, but it's not like the universal laws of physics are especially relevant here anyway.  The gags involving Thor on the train and Mjolnir flying back and forth trying to catch up with Thor between portals are particularly fun and funny.

All Images via Marvel Studios