Thor: The Dark World - Review

In the latest cacophonous adventure of everyone's favorite comic-book space god, Thor must figure out how to extract a magically polluted substance out of the body of Jane Foster, while also dealing with the dormant Dark Elves, led by Malekith the Accursed (Christopher Eccelston), who wish to use the goo for some kind of world synchronization thingy. Honestly, I could not figure out what exactly Malekith wanted to achieve or what the whole conflict was about, an easy to spot signal of how this sequel is a definitive step down from the first movie. Gone is the Shakespearean flavoring that tasted so elegantly refined, helping to establish the Loki character and make Tom Hiddleston into a major star. Instead, this film wants to boldly match up with the pop culture appeal of TV's Game of Thrones, an easy task since it's helmed by one of the show's most prominent episode directors, Alan Taylor. From the extensive, luscious production design to the clear-cut blockbusting action, THOR: THE DARK WORLD is an enjoyably fun ride. However, it's mostly suited for the boys in the audience, as evident by the collection of wild weaponry (black-hole grenades, laser guns), the scary badass impact of the mid-boss (Kurse), and the Power Rangers-like influence with the army of creepily masked Elven peons. There is some much needed fan service of a shirtless Thor, plus more attention to the God of Trickery, but female audiences will be more focused on and troubled by the women in the picture: Jane Foster is a constantly sluggish "Pauline", needing assistance to be carried from man to man; Sif is suspected to have a much more important role in the proceedings, only to be shoed away from sight; and a slightly major character is "fridged", though I saw it more as a rip-off of the most contentious scene of THE AVENGERS. The grand finale is an inventive touch of time and space displacement; to avoid injuring your attentiveness, you really need to sit back and allow the absurdism to follow from shot to shot. Finally, as the credits hit the screen, where you get to experience two amusing little stingers, it then might dawn on you that nothing much progressed with this sequel. Even though the last twist holds some promise for the Marvel Universe and leave you in wonderment, you'll probably be more annoyed that you paid for something that instead could have been completely crafted in 21 minutes, on an televised animated program. Take delight for what it is but you do not necessarily need to experience it.


FINAL REVIEW: 3 / 5