I’m a big fan of the way Disney is handling the Marvel movie franchises. The pattern seems to be that all character movies (Iron Man, Thor, Captain America) lead to a follow-on Avengers movie. The latest Thor movie, Thor: The Dark World is no exception to this rule.
After the events of Thor and The Avengers, Thor fights with the Warriors Three to defend the nine realms, until Malekith and his army of Dark Elves return to attack Earth and Asgard, forcing Thor to sacrifice everything to save his home and Jane Foster.
While many people are happy, I may even say ecstatic, about this latest entry in the Thor franchise, I’m afraid I do not share that enthusiasm. I recognize that I will be in a minority here, but I felt that the Kenneth Branagh’s version of Thor (the first movie) not only established the character, but made him a likable person and one we would root for. The first Thor movie was grand and bright. This one seemed small and dark in comparison and left me rooting for Loki’s vengeance and I never root for the villain.
Christopher Eccleston of Doctor Who fame was practically unrecognizable as the villain Malekith, but it didn’t matter because his motivation for destroying the universe was flakey at best and unbelievable at worse. Oscar winner Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), despite her best efforts, has almost no chemistry with Chris Hemsworth (Thor) that doesn’t appear first as lust as opposed to love. Yet the chemistry between Lady Sif (Jamie Alexander) and Thor comes off as very real on multiple levels and left me actually rooting for her to win his heart. On the other hand, Tom Hiddleston as Loki is truly invested in his character and joyfully consumes every piece of screen time he has.
That said, Thor: The Dark World is worth seeing because it and Captain America: The Winter Soldier (April 2014) sets up the August 2014 release of Guardians of the Galaxy and the Avengers 2. But unlike the first movie (Thor), seeing it once should enough. Note: Make sure you stay past the end of the credits.