Runtime: 1 hour, 51 minutes
Rating: PG-13
Director: Alan Taylor
Quick Impressions:
My four-year-old daughter is a much bigger fan of Thor than I ever realized. (Apparently, she’s watched the original with Grandma and Grandpa quite a few times on our date nights.) She’s been dying to see Thor: The Dark World, and I’m happy to report it did not disappoint her. She remained excitedly engaged (and frustratingly vocal) for the entirety of its runtime. During one scene, she gasped aloud and exclaimed in a thrilled whisper, “He really did [spoiler]! I am astonished!”
Just now, I asked her, “What was your favorite part of the movie?” and she cited the very last scene (before the credits. There’s a mid-credits scene, and another scene at the end of the credits if you’re wondering). I won’t ruin the surprise by saying exactly why my daughter liked that final scene, but I’ll hint that she’s intrigued about what it could mean for future installments. (She has some guesses. One seems like a sure thing. Another—involving the whereabouts of a key character—is pretty elaborate and involves time travel. If she’s right about that, then I’m going to assume she has a future working for Marvel.)
I’ve been excited to see Thor: The Dark World for reasons of my own. Back in 2011, the original Thor was the very first film I ever reviewed. Friends (and particularly family) had been encouraging me to write reviews for years since I love going to the movies. I finally overcame my own anxious objections and started my blog with a review of Thor, the first big movie out that summer.
I went into the original Thor as a fan of Kenneth Branagh (and several members of the cast), and I really liked the movie (though I thought the action scenes were frustratingly claustrophobic). I have to say, though that for me Thor: The Dark World is one of those rare sequels that surpasses the original. The Dark World wisely keeps the humor, family drama, and principal cast of the original, but it adds a greater threat, a more surprising plot, and some of the best, most visually compelling action scenes I’ve ever seen. I liked the whole thing, start to finish. With a summer release, Thor: The Dark World would definitely have climbed right to the top tier of my list.
It’s great, crowd-pleasing fun, and a reassuring piece of evidence that the creative team at Marvel plans to continue keeping us all entertained at the movies for the foreseeable future.
The Good:
This movie is so fun to watch. For reasons unrelated to Thor, I entered the theater such an emotional wreck that I almost walked out before the movie even started. But once the movie did start, all of my earlier emotional turmoil faded to the back of my mind.
I really like the characters (and the actors portraying them) in the Thor series, so as the movie opened, I was content just to see them all again. I would have enjoyed the movie even if it had featured a weak plot of its own. Fortunately, the story this time around is actually much more complex (and satisfying) that the plot of the original Thor, probably because this movie has the luxury of building not only on its own first installment but also on The Avengers.
One thing I like about the story is that none of it feels lazy or obligatory. I particularly like the clever way Stellan Skarsgard’s Erik Selvig is reintroduced. The movie could show that he’s been under duress by a less unexpected and entertaining method than it chooses. That plotline is one of the things that makes this movie seem fairly fresh as opposed to some of the more brainless popcorn flicks that feel like they’re made up entirely of recycled, repurposed, or even regurgitated bits of earlier Hollywood fare. This movie has sharp writing, interesting (and likable) characters, and numerous jokes that are genuinely funny and often unexpected. Yes most of its plot twists are predictable, but there’s still enough going on that we don’t feel complacent or bored (and, as a bonus, since Loki’s presence leads us to expect chicanery, nothing really seems to come out of left field).
Overall the film is well written. Elements that could seem artless or clunky instead work within the whole gracefully. For example, this time around Darcy the intern (Kat Dennings) has an intern of her own (Ian played by Jonathan Howard). Now obviously Ian is there because while the characters are separated, Darcy cannot realistically chat about necessary plot points with herself. But Ian doesn’t feel like an artless plot device. He’s a warm and funny character, well drawn and promising with two bits I especially love—the thing with the keys first, and then later the thing with the car.
The movie has a pretty good score, too, though there are moments when the more rousing themes sometimes seem overwhelming.
And the already solid returning cast benefits from a few new additions, chief among them former Dr. Who star Christopher Eccleston who makes chief antagonist Malekith an elegant and menacing foe. And watch for Benicio del Toro in the credits.
Best Scene:
The movie gets better as it goes, and the beginning is not bad. In an increasingly fantastic crowd-pleaser like this, several strong scenes stand out.
One involves a character whose role is so substantially enhanced for this sequel that it’s not hard to guess what’s next for this important individual. But even though we see a moment like this coming, what we ultimately get is particularly satisfying. I found myself reacting quite strongly to the character’s final scene which is pretty amazing considering that I’ve never been particularly invested in either the character or the actor.
Somehow The Dark World manages to bring back basically the entire original cast, add new characters, enhance the roles of several existing characters, and yet still give everybody enough time for adequate character development and a coherent, well-plotted story. The more the characters come together, the better and better the scenes become. The escape scene from Asgard is highly entertaining, and the last big action scene is just awesome.
Best Action Sequence:
The movie really picks up the pace once Thor and Jane Foster are reunited. The weapons that the Malekith and his Dark Elves use as they storm into Asgard are so exhilarating to watch that I thought for sure that would be my favorite action sequence from the film.
I never could have anticipated such an action packed, eye-pleasing, viscerally thrilling final battle, though. The last big battle in London (among other places) is not only the best action scene in Thor: The Dark World, it’s almost certainly the best action scene in any movie this year.
Best Scene Visually:
“What a pretty world they’re on!” my daughter sighed as Thor and Jane Foster stared moonily into each other’s eyes on Asgard (just before they started kissing.) I heard her whisper to my mother, “Grandma, are you seeing this? It’s just so beautiful there.”
That scene was pretty captivating, lovely for sure and featuring interesting framing and use of reflective surfaces.
Another absolutely gorgeous scene was the funeral. I think I want a Viking funeral when I die. Of course, if you want the grandeur of hundreds of burning longboats accompanying your own death barge, then you’d probably have to take out a whole army along with you. That may be beyond my skill level.
Besides being very beautiful, Asgard (and all the other realms, in fact) felt much more real to me this time around. And I love that the scenes on earth are set in London (basically because I just really love London, and every time I watch a movie set there, I think of wonderful things like my honeymoon and the fact that I didn’t have to marry Henry VIII). (But my husband did get picked by Lady Carew to dance the Pavan with Catherine of Aragon the day we were at Hampton Court.)
My four-year-old was also a fan of the animation in the early part of the credits. (As she put it, “They did a good job with these credits. I am loving this art.”)
Funniest Scene:
“Loki is so funny,” my daughter kept saying over and over again. (She pronounces his name more like “Yoki.”) “Don’t you think so?” she’d whisper. “Don’t you find him so funny? But I wish that Thor could trust him. I just don’t know about that, though. He’s trying to be a little nicer now, right? I hope so because I prefer the parts with Yoki, don’t you? He’s so funny, everything he says! It’s the way he says it that makes me laugh.”
She seemed particularly amused while Loki was criticizing Thor’s flying/plan at the beginning of their escape.
The other part that absolutely killed my daughter? “Did you hear her? She just said, ‘Holy….’ And then a ship came, and she couldn’t say anymore. Do you get it? Holy ship! That’s so funny right? I can’t explain it to you, but that’s so funny, right?”
Basically, my daughter has it right. Both Tom Hiddleston’s Loki and Kat Dennings’s Darcy get a lot of the funniest moments in the movie. (I particularly like Darcy’s line as the hammer flies by.) But actually almost every character gets in a least a couple of pretty great jokes. I love what Thor does with his hammer when he enters the apartment, and Stellan Skarsgard’s line at the end of that scene is pretty good, too. Chris O’Dowd is also very amusing in a small role.
As The Dark World goes on, in fact, it becomes funnier and funnier. (Even the final post credits scene ends with a little visual joke.) As the credits rolled, my husband observed that the film was great at counterbalancing intensity and humor. I agree.
The first Thor was fast paced and funny, and though The Dark World is a bit slower starting, I think by the end it’s even funnier than its predecessor.
The Negatives:
A major shortcoming of the first Thor is that apart from the royal family, the Asgardian characters feel superficial and underdeveloped. Unfortunately, that’s still the case this time around. Thor’s brace of loyal companions do have an (arguably important) role in the plot, but whether taken one-by-one or collectively, these characters simply aren’t substantial enough to hold our interest on their own very long. The friend of Thor’s with the most potential remains Jaimie Alexander’s Sif. In The Dark World, her part is just big enough to make us suspect (and hope) that she’ll become more important in a future sequel.
Another minor complaint this time around is that while The Dark World finishes big, it starts slow. Now I wouldn’t say that there are actually pacing problems. The issue is more that the second half of the movie is so much better than the first that it comes as a pleasant surprise. First you think, “Wow! This movie got surprisingly amazing! That second half was way better than I ever expected.” It’s only later with some distance that it occurs to you, “Wow, if the first half had been as amazing as the second half, then that would have been the best movie of all time.” Basically what I’m getting at is that I had no complaints about the first half until after I’d watched the second half and taken in how dramatically the movie improves as it goes.
And one caveat: Enjoying this movie definitely calls for willing suspension of disbelief. I’m no astrophysicist, so I can’t comment on the accuracy of the science in this movie. But it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to notice that the science in this movie is all awfully convenient. To lose yourself in The Dark World, you have to be willing to overlook the unlikely nature of some pretty incredible coincidences. It’s also worth pointing out that you’re probably not supposed to be trying to understand the science. The resolution of this movie reminded me of Alfred Hitchock’s discussion of the cinematic “MacGuffin.” Basically, at a couple of random moments we’re told pointedly, “This is X. X can be used to Y.” As a result, when it’s time to Y, we immediately reach for X. We don’t question how or why all of this works. There’s really no need. It’s a movie. But I do find myself noticing the uncanniness of Jane Foster’s involvement in the whole mess in the first place. Then again, this is a fictional story. Writing that seems contrived is no doubt also economical.
Overall:
My whole family loved Thor: The Dark World.
When it was over, my mother decided, “Now that was a good movie,” and my daughter agreed with her. Normally I demur when my family starts excitedly exclaiming after seeing a sequel, “I think this was better than the first one,” but this time, I’m going to go ahead and jump up on that bandwagon.
Thor: The Dark World really is a better movie than its predecessor, largely because it keeps both its heart and its sense of humor while at the same time stepping up its game in terms of action and plot complexity. This time around, the stakes are higher, the story is more sophisticated, and the action is unbelievably entertaining. (It must look phenomenal in 3D.)
And if my praise for the film isn’t incentive enough to get you down to the theater, I’ll add salaciously that one of the male stars spends a couple of key scenes without his pants on. Buy your ticket now to find out which one it is!