By the Power of Asgard: A Thor Dark Worlds Review

One thing everyone asked after the runaway success of Marvel’s The Avengers was whether the individual heroes could sustain themselves in their own separate franchises to still be worthwhile? Could Tony Stark really be compelling enough to keep people coming back for more when he just fought a God? Could Thor hold his own movie without the ability to have witty banter between Tony, Banner, and Cap? Will Cap be fun without the colorful supermen he was palling around with only a movie ago? Will Hulk even get a sequel?

Iron Man 3 gave us an answer that the post-Avengers films can, in fact, be good and functional on their own. Granted, it came in with mixed reviews, but that was due to a choice with the writing. The spectacle, the Robert Downey Jr, and the general premise of seeing more Iron Man was still something that kept drawing people in. Had the Mandarin plot twist not been so… well, bizarre and outside the comic book canon, I imagine it would have been more universally loved. Though, personally, I loved that twist as it gave the character and the mythos a much needed tweak to keep fans surprised and make the film have its own voice instead of just repeating the stories and concepts from the comics verbatim. Say what you will about Iron Man 3, it was probably the perfect ending to a trilogy we haven’t seen happen in a super hero film yet. No, Dark Knight Rises was the weakest of its trilogy and one of the least fun comic book movies in recent memory that was still at least well-made.

This brings us to Thor: The Dark World. This movie not only follows up Thor but also Avengers (which shouldn’t be surprising by any means). But I bring that up now because if you haven’t seen EITHER of those, you’ll want to because they’re both kind of pivotal to understanding a few elements of this film. T:DW does its best to follow the same path as Iron Man 3 in making connections with the established Avengers universe building that’s taken place so far, reminding us that all these films are still connected, while trying to stand out on its own as well. It tries the same attempt to balance playful humor with some well-design action. And, the real kicker is, Thor: The Dark World actually pulls it off in a way that exceeded my expectations.

I went in pretty much thinking that it would be a revisit to how Thor was. I was pretty much expecting a solid B-film about characters loosely based on Norse-mythos like the predecessor. But the writing was better. The CGI was better. The fighting was MUCH better to a point where I could actually see what was happening during each sequence instead of having the camera being too close and mobile to see anything at all. The plot had higher stakes, greater villains, lots of surprises I won’t spoil here at all, and one of the best ending scenes for a movie I’ve seen all year. The fact that Marvel/Disney can pull this off with such grace and style while Warner Bros/DC can’t even think of a good script for Wonder Woman is actually really depressing.

That’s the general opinion on Thor before I get into the plot and any possible spoilers. If that’s enough to convince you to go see it, do it now and come back for the rest later. If you’ve already seen it or don’t care where I go from here because (like me) you just like hearing analysis, then I guess enjoy the rest of this crazy ride.

The plot starts with a history lesson on the universe. First there was darkness ruled by the Dark Elves. When light appeared, namely in the way of the other eight realms, war broke out for control. Malekith (the Dark Elf leader) fought to regain control and submerge the universe into darkness again. Odin’s Father stopped him and sealed his greatest weapon away in hopes that Malekith and his kind would never have a chance to use it again, which would only be when the realms align since that’s when his weapon would have the strongest impact.

Meanwhile, on Asgard, Loki is being put away in jail for what he did in Avengers and Odin probably isn’t happy over what he tried to do in Thor either. Then the movie goes to Thor fighting monsters on Vanaheim in hopes to quell the chaos in the other realms that was apparently started during all of the commotion Loki caused on Earth.

Speaking of Earth, Jane Foster is relevant again and so is Darcy. Darcy found a strange anomaly but can’t figure it out. Without Dr. Selvig (who does show up later) she went to Jane for some help on figuring it out. Gravity and other basic physics laws are being broken in a small area without any real explanation. Just when things can’t get weirder, Jane steps into portal that takes her to that aforementioned weapon. The evil energy of the weapon (the Aether) then possesses her and she starts having weird visions.

This, in turn awakens the remaining Dark Elves from their slumber to hunt down the Aether (which is now in Jane) and purge the universe into darkness once again. Thor gets involved when Heimdal says he can’t see her (because of that portal she went through). When Thor goes to get her, she has suddenly returned back to Earth, but something is clearly wrong. Thor takes her back to Asgard so she can get help from his people who would be able to understand her condition best.

I won’t go farther than that because the rest gets into spoiler territory and I feel like just giving the setup is more than enough to give you a clue as to what’s going on. Eventually the Dark Elves attack Asgard looking for Jane. Thor eventually has to turn to Loki for help (not a spoiler since that’s mentioned in the trailers). And there is an epic showdown between Thor and Malekith that is actually really good.

Acting wise, everyone brought their A-game this time around with Tom Hiddelston stealing the show as Loki whenever he is on screen. Bringing in his completely vile attitude with the charm of being a cunning trickster makes for a fun package. He also has some of the best lines and interactions with characters that he deserves some kind of prize. I don’t expect him to get an Oscar for it, but something just to recognize how damn good he was in this movie. I think I’ll leave that for the internet since it still has a love obsession with him. To think he was almost the guy who would play Thor. I still wonder how that would have turned out.

In the previous movie, I thought Darcy was annoying and I didn’t quite like her. She was funny at times and I didn’t hate her, but I didn’t quite like her. She definitely redeemed herself here by actually being useful, funny, and (at times) clever. Selvig has lost his mind and it is hilarious to see just how batshit Loki made him from Avengers. I still wanted more of Sif and the Warriors Three, but they did have more to do in this film than before. It’s just a shame they keep getting pushed aside and not really doing much.

Malekith was a great villain who didn’t get a lot of screen time, which was surprising. He got enough, sure, but given how much screentime Loki has gotten in three films, I’m a little shocked they didn’t try to build Malekith more. Then again, I doubt they plan on him returning anytime soon or nearly as frequently as they plan for Loki. But the villains of this film have some cool designs and it is definitely nice to see a credible threat that even Loki seems to struggle fighting against. It makes for some good tension that you wouldn’t expect from gods or god-like heroes (looking at you Superman).

Speaking of comparing to Superman, I also love how this film was more serious than the previous film but managed to still maintain a level of fun, charm, and humor that Man of Steel was sorely lacking and desperately needed. Marvel has demonstrated twice this year how they have talented writers keeping a fine balance between goofy fun and intense, serious action. And this film, in my opinion, is probably the most perfect they’ve gotten that balance yet, more so than Avengers (though I will say Avengers had the additional task of balancing out roughly six main characters into a two hour film).

For me, Thor: The Dark World isn’t the best super hero movie of all time, but it is certainly the best super hero film of this year, only edging out Iron Man 3 with copious amounts of Loki and a really good villain to keep things tense nearing the climax. If this is a sign of things to come, I’m confident that Captain America: Winter Soldier will be a solid film in its own right as well. I’m looking forward to seeing next week’s Agents of SHIELD to see the post-Thor follow up they apparently have planned to do. And I’m very interesting in seeing what Guardians of the Galaxy will do next year too since there’s a post-credits scene that hints towards that and, presumably, Avengers 3. Also, there’s a second post-credits scene. Make sure to stick around for both.

That’s all. Again, to summarize: great movie, best super hero movie of 2013, and more Loki is always a good deal when it comes to the Marvel films. See ya next time.