Thor: The Dark World starring Chris Hemsworth (Thor) Tom Hiddleston (Loki) Anthony Hopkins (Odin) Natalie Portman (Jane Foster) Christopher Eccleston (Malekith) dir. Alan Taylor – 112mins
Having helped The Avengers save New York, Thor (Hemsworth – Cabin in the Woods, Snow White and the Huntsman, Rush) returns in his second solo outing Thor: The Dark World. Taking over the reins from Kenneth Branagh (Thor) and Joss Whedon (Avengers Assemble) Alan Taylor sits comfortably in the director’s chair as Phase 2 of Marvel Studios’ attempt at cinema domination picks up steam following the release of 2013’s earlier release of Iron Man 3. Despite not being one of the most well known of Marvel heroes and being very much based in a different world to that of Iron Man, Captain America and co. Thor surprised many with how well it tied together and how likeable Hemsworth and Branagh had made the character. With the focus turning more towards Thor’s homeland of Asgard and Taylor stepping behind the camera, would Thor: The Dark World continue the good work or leave us all in the dark.
It’s hammer time once more as Hemsworth picks up Mjolnir for his third outing as Thor
With the nine realms having been pacified via the endeavours of Thor and his friends Fandral (Zachary Levi – Chuck, Tangled, Fallout: New Vegas) Volstagg (Ray Stevenson – Rome, Punisher: Warzone, The Three Musketeers) Hogun (Tadanobu Asano – 47 Ronin, Battleship, Thor) and Sif (Jaimie Alexander – The Last Stand, Kyle XY, Watch Over Me) Thor prepares himself to take over the throne of Asgard as his father Odin’s (Hopkins – Silence of the Lambs, Red 2, Meet Joe Black) tenure comes towards its end. Back on Earth Jane Foster (Portman – V for Vendetta, No Strings Attached, Closer) is led to a peculiar display of physics and discovers the Aether – a weapon of epic proportions. When Heimdall (Idris Elba – The Losers, Prometheus, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance) informs Thor that he cannot see Foster, the Norse God heads back to Earth to find her. Upon discovering that Jane has become infected by the Aether and will be killed by it unless she can be separated from it, Thor decides to take his companion back to Asgard with him. Adding to Thor’s troubles is the reappearance of a villain from his family’s past – Malekith (Eccleston – Doctor Who, 28 Days Later, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra) one of the surviving members of the race of Dark Elves who have been in suspended animation. Using his lieutenant Algrim (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje – Lost, Bullet to the Head, The Thing) Malekith is able to attack Asgard and weaken its defences considerably, leaving them vulnerable. Thor takes drastic action and turns to his incarcerated brother Loki (Hiddleston – Avengers Assemble, War Horse, Wallander) hoping that together they can defeat Malekith and save Jane.
Foster (Portman) is none to pleased with her very distant boyfriend
One of the major strengths of Thor as a franchise is the performances of; arguably, it’s two main characters – Thor and Loki. Many fans of the movies have been split over whom their preference lies with; Hemworth’s Thor starts as a man who thinks only with his fists and believes violence to be the only resolution, but after losing everything rebuilds himself, learning to feel compassion for others and developing the qualities to be a natural leader. Loki, on the other hand, has worked his way into people’s hearts through Hiddleston’s charismatic portrayal of the villain, but also because of the amount of layers that his character has. There is a lot of anger within Loki, due to the lies of his parents and the truth behind his origins and he appears to be engaged in a constant battle between this anger, his thirst for power, but also his desire to be accepted by his family. Unlike other villains who have appeared in the Marvel Studio’s universe like Red Skull (Hugo Weaving (The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey) in Captain America: The First Avenger) The Abomination (Tim Roth in The Incredible Hulk) or Whiplash (Mickey Rourke in Iron Man 2) Loki is considerably more developed with a lot more motivation and justification for his actions than the others have been afforded. It is this reason that Loki became the villain to unite the Avengers into action in Avengers Assemble and has caused such a huge fan base. Due to the events in New York and this growing popularity for Loki Alan Taylor is able to put the focus back onto Thor, which is ultimately where it should be, by having Loki removed from most of the opening of the film. Loki has been made a prisoner of Asgard by his adoptive father due to his actions against Earth and is thus forced to be no more than a viewer to events until Thor chooses otherwise. The risk of having Loki more heavily involved in the movie is that attention could have been averted from Thor and thus, as engaging a character as Loki is, this is the best course of action.
Loki’s (Hiddleston) mischievous and manipulative ways are explored further
As likeable as the two individuals are it is also the relationship between the two brothers that engages the audience. In Thor the relationship is strong until it is broken by the revelation of Loki’s heritage and from there it slowly disintegrates culminating when Thor and Loki are forced to battle one another. Unfortunately any form of redemption is lost when Loki attacks New York with an alien army and Thor is forced to confront him once more. Odin’s decision to imprison Loki removes him from Thor’s concern and allows him to focus on other endeavours until Malekith attacks and Thor decides that his only option is to ask for Loki’s help following a tragedy they affects both individuals. From here it begins to look like there is a chance of redemption between the brothers as they join forces to battle Malekith and eventually both reveal their feelings. The film is at its best when Thor and Loki are on screen together as the chemistry and bond between the two is fantastic to watch as Hemsworth and Hiddleston have developed a real rapport with one another.
Just like in Thor there is a third party involved in this relationship and that is Odin. Odin is doing everything he can to prepare Thor to take the throne, but in doing so he seems to be keener on having Thor do it his way as opposed to the manner his son would choose. Following the attack on Asgard Odin loses perception on the best way in which to deal with the aftermath and Thor is forced into desperate action, risking everything in an attempt to save everything. As for Odin and Loki the relationship appears to be beyond salvageable. Thor and his mother Frigga (Rene Russo – In the Line of Fire, Lethal Weapon 3, The Thomas Crown Affair) both maintain belief that there could be hope for Loki, but Odin, whether due to his position as the King of Asgard or simply guilt for having been the one to bring Loki to Asgard in the first instance, appears to have turned his back on his ‘son’ and is prepared to lock him away for the rest of his days. This is a feeling that appears to be reciprocated – “It’s not that I don’t love our little talks it’s just…I don’t love them” (Loki speaking with his father Odin) which sums up the situation quite aptly.
The reason that these relationships have been allowed to grow and develop is because almost all of the original cast have returned. In Asgard Thor is surrounded by his allies who are all played by returning cast members, excluding Fandral (Zachary Levi was originally to be cast in the role for Thor, but due to his commitments with Chuck they opted for Josh Dallas. Unfortunately for Dallas his scheduling for Thor: The Dark World conflicted with Once Upon a Time and thus they went back to Levi whose time was now available) thus allowing for the camaraderie created in the prequel to carry through. Likewise Jane’s team also return with both Kat Dennings (2 Broke Girls, The 40-Year Old Virgin, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist) and Stellan Skarsgard (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (US), Good Will Hunting, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End) reprising their respective roles as Darcy Lewis and Erik Selvig. Darcy is unchanged from the first film although she has appointed her own intern in Ian Boothby (Jonathan Howard – Dream Team) but aside from this she is still quick to make sarcastic remarks, funny quips and comical observations. Selvig is much altered from his experiences in Avengers Assemble seeing as he had Loki delving around in his head and now seems to be treading the line between genius and madness.
Because of the events within the film there is a large amount of time dedicated to being in Asgard. By having Foster’s team on Earth it allows the film to focus on both areas, but also creates a juxtaposition of genres between the two locations. The film as a whole is genuinely funny, but most of this occurs on Earth through Darcy and Selvig. In Asgard there are moments of humour, but there is also a lot of sadness there. This is caused through Malekith’s attack, which leaves Asgard in a state of ruin both physically and emotionally. The switch between comedy and tragedy works incredibly well with both leaving tears in your eyes. This appears to be the intention of Taylor as the inevitable altercation between Thor and Malekith provides a lot of laughter due to how things progress. One of the key elements of Thor was the comedy created by seeing Thor as a fish out of water with Jane and her team. Now that Thor has developed a relationship with humans this is no longer appropriate so instead Taylor has used his location to provide this aspect. Thor’s need for directions and both Thor and Malekith coming up close with a London landmark are both hilarious. There is also a nice moment where Darcy still struggles with her pronunciation of Thor’s weapon Mjolnir (his hammer adapted from Norse mythology) highlighting the comic nature of the script that is afforded to her character and also Loki. Hiddleston’s delivery of his lines is wonderful – whether he is goading his brother Thor due to his poor piloting capabilities or mocking him for the changes he has made in his life with his new friends (which opens the door for an expected, but welcomed cameo.)
Foster gets to meet the parents as Thor takes her to Asgard in an attempt to save her life
Character names of Thor, Odin, Loki etc should be apparent to people not just familiar with Marvel comics as these are the names of Norse Gods who are steeped in mythology and have elements of this brought into their stories – such as the already mentioned mjolnir. Thor: The Dark World introduces more of this Norse influence due to more time being spent in Asgard. The boats and aircrafts that the Asgardians use in battle and mobility take direct influence from the Viking boats used by those that once worship the Norse Gods. Also when the Asgardians mourn their dead following the attack by Malekith the funeral process is straight out of Norse mythology with the boats being burned as they are set out to water, which is beautifully shot. Surprisingly it appears the Thor: The Dark World has also drawn inspiration from the Star Wars franchise – particularly Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back – as during the battle in Asgard between Malekith and Odin’s spaceships the film takes on a Sci-Fi element with the weapons being very similar to the dogfights in Star Wars. The other glaring similarity presents itself when one of the cast members loses an appendage very much like one Luke Skywalker.
For all the positives one glaring problem is found through the scientific attempt to try and explain why everything is happening and to try and justify it. This is a problem that often appears with movies of this genre as much as they want to provide their audience with an entertaining movie they feel the need to explain why there are creatures like the Dark Elves and alien beings interpreted as Gods living in palaces in the sky at war with one another, but they forget that a majority of their audience watching these films are prepared to suspend their disbelief and accept what they are watching without the need for this explanation. By trying to create a believable storyline they can somewhat make it seem more ridiculous – in Thor: The Dark World Malekith is after the Aether, which somewhat conveniently infects Jane thus awakening Malekith from his suspended animation and bringing the situation to Thor’s attention. The other issue with the Aether is that is has two striking similarities – one to the alien symbiote that infects Eddie Brock (Topher Grace) in Spiderman 3 turning him into the Spiderman villain Venom – another Marvel character – but also in a recent episode of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. – also created by Marvel Studios – there was a substance known as Gravitonium, which bears some striking resemblances to the Aether, thus making it less impressive and foreboding than perhaps it should. Thankfully the rest of the film gels together so well that these minor elements don’t take anything away from the overall experience.
The Dark Elves replace the Frost Giants as the threat to Thor and his fellow Asgardians
Character = 9 – Development of all the characters and their relationships with one another makes for very enjoyable viewing. Unfortunately a potential love triangle between Thor, Jane and Sif is hinted at, but doesn’t go anywhere.
Plot = 8 –Over complicated science and the convenience of the release of the Aether makes for a somewhat disappointing story. Thankfully the threat to Jane and the uniting of Thor and Loki redeems.
Visuals = 9.5 – A combination of Star Wars, Norse mythology and the ground work created by Branagh in Thor have Asgard looking wonderful. But also the jumping around from locations within split seconds looks very convincing. It is only spoilt by a heavy reliance on CGI, which for the most part is unnoticeable, but occasionally becomes very apparent.
Script = 9 – Emotional, but also very funny. It gets a bit weighed down with the science and the attempt to explain the situation, but is more than made up for by the way it helps build the relationships.
Marvel Studios latest release helps maintain the momentum as we build for 2014’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy by showing us one of the funniest, but also most emotional of all the Marvel films. Taylor does very well in giving the audience just the right amount of Loki for him to remain relevant and involved, but not taking anything away from Thor and allowing us to remember that this is indeed his movie. The supporting cast all do their jobs very well as there is never a moment when you are disappointed when the scene turns to anyone in particular. Christopher Eccleston is restricted due to his makeup and also the fact that he converses with Algrim in their native Elvish tongue meaning that as a villain he is not on the same level as some, but when the Aether is added to the equation he more than provides a match to Thor. With two scenes (one mid-credits and another post) Thor: The Dark World manages to maintain its involvement with the events going on around the Marvel Universe and keeps up a continuity with events that have preceded it (at one point Jane attempts to get people to safety, but one of them points out that they don’t want to miss out on seeing Thor in action – a celebrity due to the incident in New York) as the world becomes aware of the presence of superheroes in their midst. Hemsworth will no doubt pick up mjolnir for another outing in the Avengers: The Age of Ultron, but if like Robert Downey Jnr’s Iron Man, he is provided the chance to complete a trilogy you feel this would be most welcome. Over to you Cap.
Overall = 9
Dan
Lost Reviews 