Thor: The Dark World (2013) ****/*****
The way Marvel Studios has been able to link each of their individual film releases into a coherent universe that continually builds on itself and continually increases the anticipation for what they put out next has astounded a lot of people who follow the film industry, but for comic book fans it’s merely been a long past due realization of the potential that they’ve always known comic book movies have had. Over time Marvel has perfected their superhero machine, to the point where you probably already know whether or not you’re going to enjoy the second go-around with their version of the Norse God of Thunder’s adventures, Thor: The Dark World.
The reason it’s predictable how you’re going to respond to this film is that, despite the fact that each of their releases are handled by different directors, Marvel has proven that they have a handle on hiring filmmakers who can get on board with the direction they’re moving in creatively. And, more importantly than that, they’ve really grown comfortable with what that direction is — with what tone they’re looking to set with their films. The difference between their stuff and the usual crop of blockbuster films we’ve been getting over the past decade or so is that their tone is a little more adventure driven and a little less concerned with being epic. Marvel movies combine big, fun action sequences with heavy doses of humor, which doesn’t leave much room for naval-gazing or melodrama. If you enjoy turning your brain off, not worrying about brooding anti-heroes, and experiencing a brightly colored theme park ride of a movie, then probably you’ve enjoyed the recent crop of Marvel films, and probably you’re going to enjoy Thor: The Dark World as well.
There are a few things that are changed here from the first Thor movie that Marvel released though, and those changes can probably be attributed to the change of director from Kenneth Branagh to Alan Taylor. Taylor is mostly known as being a TV director who’s done episodes of basically every HBO show ever, and the opening up of the world Branagh introduced in Thor bears a striking resemblance to the scope on display in the episodes of Game of Thrones he’s worked on. Whereas Thor’s home world of Asgard felt a little set bound in stage veteran Branagh’s film, here it’s much more expansive and lived in. Also, the third act of this film shows a marked improvement from the climax of the first. Marvel movies have had a bit of a problem with their finales so far, where most of them (other than The Avengers) have fizzled out in the big finale instead of building to something thrilling, but the big fight that caps off The Dark World is one of the best they’ve created so far. Not only are the stakes grave and not only does Thor have to struggle quite a bit to battle the bad guys, but there are also a bunch of great gags that get layered in throughout all of the fighting. The results are very Marvel, and very delightful.
What hasn’t changed is the cast that was set in the first film, as most of them return here and continue providing the magnetic sorts of performances that made this particular superhero franchise a successful one in the first place. There wasn’t really much to the original Thor. It was mostly just a fish out of water tale with a dash of sibling rivalry thrown in and a fight with a robot thing at the end, but due to the talent of the cast assembled and the competency in the comedy writing they were working with, it ended up being fun to watch anyway. Despite the fact that the action elements are improved a little bit this time around (the aerial battles even give the film a Star Wars vibe), that mostly remains the case here.
Chris Hemsworth has what it takes to be a huge movie star, and that was clear the second he stepped into the role of Thor. He’s an imposing physical presence, he’s got a palpable charm, and he’s got the timing necessary to deliver a joke. He was a real find by the people who put this cast together. It’s possible that getting Tom Hiddleston to play Thor’s duplicitous brother Loki was even more of a stroke of genius though. He’s taken a character that most non-comic readers had probably never heard of and made him one of the big stars of the Marvel Film Universe. If the first Thor film was mostly about a deepening of the title character so that he could make an adequate protagonist, this second Thor film does the same for Loki. He’s still very much a villain, but, in large part to the magnetism with which Hiddleston has played him, he’s now also the sort of figure who could anchor his own film. That’s kind of amazing.
Hemsworth and Hiddleston are largely the main players here, but all (read: most) of the familiar supporting players from the first film return as well, and they’re all as effective as they were the first time around too. Natalie Portman returns as Thor’s love interest, and seeing as we mostly want to see Thor going on quests and not wrestling with romantic issues, her’s is something of a thankless role that could have not only made her look bad but also could have been a drag on the film as a whole. Portman is so likable playing the lovestruck school girl that you never resent her for her presence in the story though. If anything, you kind of root for her to beat the odds and end up happy with her beefy hunk of a superhero. That’s stunning, because not only should Portman be far too beautiful to ever be able to pull off the relationship underdog, but she’s also got something of an icy screen presence that has led to her having likability problems in the past. Nothing could be further from the case here.
Similarly, the role of the wacky comic relief is usually a poisonous one that can all but ruin a film, but in these Thor movies Kat Dennings is so likable and legitimately funny while playing the sidekick role that she’s probably earned her place in the Second Banana Hall of Fame. If she shows up and does more of the same in a third Thor movie they’re probably going to have to add a Darcy character to the comics. Dennings isn’t the only one earning laughs though. Surprisingly enough, she gets some help in the humor department from Stellan Skarsgård this time around. His scientist character is still a little loopy from having been possessed by Loki in The Avengers, and it’s led to his refusal to wear pants no matter how public the situation he’s in, which consequently leads to hilarity. I’ve never really seen Skarsgård as a comedic actor before, but he’s great here.
Over on the mystical side of the equation, people like Anthony Hopkins and Idris Elba show back up playing mythical characters who are adorned in crazy-looking armor, and they’re the sorts of actors who bring so much weight and so much commitment to the table that they don’t look ridiculous doing so at all. The crew playing Thor’s buddies are similarly wonderful. This time around Zachary Levi has replaced Josh Dallas in the Frandral role, but he, Ray Stevenson, and Tadanobu Asano all look great as the Warriors Three. Combine them with Jaimie Alexander playing a credible badass as Sif, and it gives Thor a supporting cast who are instantly recognizable and distinct, even though they haven’t gotten the biggest amount of screen time over the course of these two films. Through costuming and charisma they’ve managed to do a lot with a little.
If there’s any big negative to The Dark World, it comes in the form of its villains. The main story sees an ancient race of dark elves trying to bring eternal darkness to the universe through the exploitation of a powerful MacGuffin called the Aether. Once all of the nine cosmic realms (or whatever) come into alignment, the Aether can be used to send a destructive force through each, which are temporarily linked by spotty wormholes in space (or some such). The man with the plan is the leader of the dark elves, Malekith (Christopher Eccelston), and his right hand is a strong and destructive behemoth named Kurse (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje). The problem isn’t that Eccelston and Akinnuoye-Agbaje are bad in their roles, it’s just that they don’t get much to do. They’re basically a couple of plot points dressed up in fancy costumes. They give Thor something to fight while the real drama of the film comes from the tenuous partnership he has to form with his backstabbing brother. Watching Hemsworth and Hiddleston interact is engaging enough that the lack of a truly developed villain doesn’t hurt the film too much though, and the elf cannon fodder at least get to wear cool masks that make them resemble a creepy cross between Star Wars’ stormtroopers and The Lord of the Rings’ orcs.
Which brings us to the other big negative of the film. If the elves’ masks are cool, then the helmets that are regular parts of Thor and Loki’s outfits are downright awesome, and they don’t put them on once throughout this entire movie. Sure, it’s understandable that the actors aren’t able to get too terribly physical while having big, unwieldy metal helmets adorned with wings and horns on their heads, but Taylor couldn’t have come up with a single excuse for them to put them on while everyone is just standing around being badass space gods? Refund!
