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