Definitely not one of the best movies to come out of the Marvel pantheon, Thor: The Dark World, the sophomore addition to the Thor series, sees the franchise shifting hands from the prolific Kenneth Branagh to Game of Thrones director Alan Taylor, although the difference barely shows. Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston and Anthony Hopkins in lead roles, the movie sees most of the cast returning, with a couple of new additions in the form of new villains.
For a movie that’s almost two hours long, Thor: The Dark World doesn’t really disappoint. It does however grapple with the age-old malady that plagues most action sequences, of too many cooks with too less broth to spoil. The sheer number of secondary characters, all of them with strong personalities and purpose, get screen time of less than five minutes each. The poor mortals in the form of Natalie Portman who plays Jane Foster - scientist and Thor’s friend - and her band of eccentric colleagues add nothing to the script. The chemistry between Hemsworth and Portman is non-existent, making one wish that Thor would just leave her alone, and snag one of the worthier princesses of his realm.
The main star of the movie is none other than the intensely loveable anti-hero Loki, Thor’s brother and illusionist extraordinaire. This edition sees him chained up in the Asgard prison for his attempt to destroy Earth during the events that took place in The Avengers, whiling away time reading books, when he is unexpectedly pulled up by Thor to help him avenge their mother’s death at the hands of the evil Dark Elf, Malakith, a prominent villain in the comic books. Malakith, played convincingly by Christopher Eccleston, arrives with a mission to obtain a dark substance called ‘Aether’ - “an ancient source of infinite destruction” that will help him destroy the Universe, although his reasons are never really explained.
Our heroine Jane Foster unwittingly takes possession of the ‘Aether’ or vice versa while she explores an abandoned mill of sorts and some of the aether enters her bloodstream. Thus, she is kidnapped, chased and hunted by the dark elves through the first half of the movie, giving Odin’s (Thor’s father) family quite the headache of dealing with a mere mortal whose life is more or less a blimp in their vast inter-galactic lifetime. The rest of the film sees Thor and Loki chase Malakith to stop him from destroying the nine realms, while Odin goes around screaming. If it weren’t for Hiddleston, this movie would have been a snore fest, with its all too weak one-liners and gags that have been repeated over the course of cinematic history. Some of the action sequences were however applause worthy. Watching Thor swing his hammer about, while the rest of his Asgardian army bandy about killing lesser villains, is definitely fun.
Watch out for the verbal jousts between Thor and Loki, Loki and Odin, and Odin and Thor. While Hopkins was at his majestic best, Hemsworth should try and improve on his emotive skills. Stay for the end credits if you don’t want to miss out on some interesting previews featuring new characters.
The Verdic: Despite hackneyed sub-plots, the fine CGI mayhem and Tom Hiddleston Loki’s uninterrupted charm make this one a worthy one-time watch.
Film: Thor: The Dark World
Director: Alan Taylor
Cast: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Eccleston