Thor: the Dark World is in my opinion an improvement on Thor, giving it better action, better comedy, and an overall bigger scale. Thor: the Dark World definitely has more comedy than the first Thor movie. There are many quite funny moments in the movie and Jane's friends provide a lot of comic relief. I felt the comedy could have been toned down a little, but I thought that it was genuinely  funny, making me laugh many times and it did not get in the way. 

The action I also felt to be better. This is primarily because Thor actually has his hammer for the whole movie, so you can have that larger scale destruction. Battles are clear and easy to enjoy, but never too much that you get sick of it. The villain, Malakith, was underwhelming and never really impressive. This is not due to the performance of Christopher Eccleston, but it is because he is never really seen doing anything that shocked or impacted the viewer. He perhaps had one significant action, but even then it was kind of predictable. It is sad that his potential as a villain was wasted and he became your generic bad guy. 

    Everyone in this movie I felt did a good job, but of course Tom Hiddleston steals the show as Loki. He is in the movie for quite a reasonable time and provides much mischievous entertainment as both Thor and the audience are not sure if he should be trusted. The climax is entertaining and impressive. It has action, suspense, and a bit of comedy, nicely giving a satisfying last few minutes.

Overall, I feel that Thor: the Dark World is a great, entertaining movie and a good improvement on the previous movie.

-   By Karlos Dawang, 1A

THOR: THE DARK WORLD MOVIE REVIEW

by Lorenzo Vallente

                DIRECTED BY: Alan Taylor

          STARRING: Chris Hemsworth

                            Natalie Portman

                            Tom Hiddleston

                            Christopher Eccleston

                            Anthony Hopkins

Plot: The forces of evil are at it again, this time, threatening to destroy Asgard and the Nine Realms. When Malekith, leader of the “Dark Elves”, threatens to plunge the worlds into darkness once more, it’s up to Thor, Jane Foster, AND Loki to stop him. To avert the realms’ impending doom, Thor must destroy the Aether, a powerful weapon Malekith intends to use to destroy the realms.

Review: As you may have noticed, the plot of this movie is very straightforward, much like most Marvel movies. Even if this is the case, this movie in particular seems to feel strangely emptier than most movies coming from the Marvel brand. The movie is undeniably entertaining. The acting is adequate, the direction is fine, the action sequences are suitably bombastic and explosive and the humor is suitably self-deprecating and campy.

Let’s focus on the humor for a second. Much has been said about this movie’s humor. Many say it was brilliant and really funny. While I don’t disagree, I don’t necessarily agree with the statement either. The movie is indeed funny, but the humor comes too often and, at times, actually takes away from the story and the grittiness of the movie. In the scene where Thor is flying a plane, Loki consistently makes side comments and remarks, which are admittedly funny, yet distract from the impact of the action scene itself.

Now, one cannot talk about “Thor: The Dark World” without comparing it to the original “Thor”. If one judges the better movie based on mere mindless popcorn entertainment, Thor 2 is undoubtedly better. It has far more humor and crazier action. However, judging which is truly the better movie on a more technical level, the first movie immediately comes to mind as being superior. The first Thor was gritty, suspenseful and exciting. The direction of the first Thor was more to my liking than the second one as well. Although Alan Taylor did an adequate job, Kenneth Branagh really injected the first movie with his Shakespearean “quirks” and grittiness. The first movie had a lot of tilted camera shots, which helped enhance the mood of the movie, and each action scene was brilliantly staged without being over the top as most “Post-Avengers Marvel movies” seem to be. The first Thor was funny AT THE RIGHT TIMES, without randomly littering jokes throughout the movie as Thor 2 did. The actors, in my humble opinion of course, did a better job in the first movie (most noticeably Hemsworth) because he really played Thor as a gritty, sometimes bitter and even jealous god of thunder. In the second Thor, he is much more goofy and lightweight. The plot development was more rushed in Thor 2 and the finale came all of a sudden.

I know what you’re thinking, wait a minute, I thought you still like Thor 2. I do. I’m merely expressing my preference for the first movie.

Overall, “Thor: The Dark World” is an entertaining action-filled romp packed with (a little too much) goofy humor. I think this will satisfy Marvel fans until the next Avengers movie comes out.

PROFESSIONAL RATING: 7/10

ENJOYMENT RATING: 8/10

OVERALL: 7.5/10    

Mico E. Aquino                                                                                          

Nov. 3, 2013

2-O                                                                                                                 

Film Critics Circle

Thor: The Dark World

Thor 2 is by far the best movie Marvel's come up with for this year. Sure, there was Iron Man 3 (which was a disappointment, by the way) and The Wolverine, but they're nothing compared to The Dark World.

The movie starts with an introduction of the Dark Elves (of the realm Svartalfheim, but they're actually called 'dwarves' in Norse mythology), and their campaign to destroy all realms "to return them into darkness" during "the convergence, a once-every-5,000 years event where all the realms were lined up to each other and all forms of barriers between them just disappear", using a weapon known only as "The Aether".

Of course, the Dark Elves fail, only because of Odin's father, Borr. Instead of destroying the Aether, Borr decides to hide it in the void that forms underneath all the realms during the convergence, and this would play a major role in the plot.

Of course, the fights between the Dark Elves and the Asgardians aren't the only good thing in the movie (like when Heimdall destroyed that fighter thing with daggers). There are the unexpected plot twists, which I will no longer explain in detail so as to prevent any readers who are yet to watch the movie to be 'spoiled'.

A downside to the movie, though, is that it contains a lot of terms that probably are being used the wrong way in the movie, and could just result to a viewer being confused half the time.

The visual presentation of the movie is fantastic though. It looks like a complete overhaul of the tech they used for Iron Man 3 into something more advanced. The lighting used in the movie also made good effects that put emphasis into certain elements of the film.

Unlike Phase 1 Marvel movies (pre-Avengers movies), this movie seemed to inherit Phase Two's legacy of a great sense of humor (like when Stan Lee was seen in the film living in what seemed to be a mental hospital) and as such causes great impact onto the crowd.

All in all, Thor: The Dark World has been a great Marvel movie, surpassing blockbusters Iron Man 3 and Pacific Rim, and making the Thor movie adaptations not so bad at all, after the crappy movie you'd call Thor.

Score: 9/10