Thor: The Dark World Review

Greetings and huzzah mine audience! It is I, Ryan of Howitzer and thou art inside The Line of Fire! Why was that first line in old English? Well, because this is a Thor review! Now, since this is my first MCU (Marvel Cenematic Universe) review, I should break down my opinions of the Phase 1 movies. The first Iron Man is a great movie, but the second one was just ok. Captain America is a really cool movie and I really enjoyed it despite some of its flaws. Incredible Hulk is awesome and is the most underrated Phase 1 movie. The Avengers was amazing and is one of my favorite movies of all time. However, Thor was a big stand-out of Phase 1. Much like Incredible Hulk, it was not an origin story. Thor was established going into the movie. The story was a lot of fun and so were the characters. The stand-out performances were Chris Hemsworth's Thor, Tom Hiddleston's Loki and Kat Dennings' Darcy. The movie was directed by Kenneth Branagh and was largely enjoyed by audiences, myself included. However, we are now in Phase 2. This is Thor's second solo outing with a new villain (Malekith), a new director (Alan Taylor) and a new event that it's paving the way for (Guardians of the Galaxy/Avengers: Age of Ultron). I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and felt that it was on par with the first movie. However, some critics have maligned this movie for not having enough Loki and Darcy. They are wrong and I can prove it. So here's my review (I'm trying out a new format for my reviews. Let me know what you think).

Plot: 7/10

Christopher Eccleston as Malekith

The movie has a fairly straightforward plot. Long ago, Odin's father defeated the Dark Elves (led by Malekith) and prevented them from using a mega-evil weapon known as the Ether and bringing darkness to all nine realms (which can only happen when the nine realms align). The Asgardians took the Ether and hid it away where nobody would ever find it (not even Heimdal can see that place). The actual plot picks up right after Avengers with Loki being put in an Asgardian prison by Odin's orders while Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three (Fandral, Volstaag, and Hogun)

(left to right) Volstaag, Sif, Fandral, and Hogun

are fighting to bring balance back to the nine realms. Meanwhile on Earth, Dr. Selvig is going crazy due to the fallout from Loki's mind control and Darcy and Jane are investigating anomalies that are similar to the ones that occurred when thor first showed up on Earth. Jane goes looking around and finds herself in the place where the Ether is hidden and she absorbs it, which wakes Malekith from a state of dormancy. While she's in the super secret place, Heimdal informs Thor that he can no longer see her. Thor travels to Earth to investigate and Jane finds her way back to Earth. They meet up and the plot is set in motion. the story expands as Malekith attacks Asgard and thor is forced to go to Loki for help. The story is good for the most part, but it hits a snag when it comes to the villain and his motivations. Specifically, the fact that his sole motivation is that he's evil. That's it. He's just evil. This is partly due to the fact that Malekith has very little screen time, which is a shame because Christopher Eccleston gives a very intimidating performance as Malekith and could have really brought some depth to his character. I'll get into that more in the next section, though. the plot for this movie was good, but suffered from a lack of development and motivation from the villain.

Characters: 9/10-

These two play off each other magnificently

The characters make this movie. There isn't a single character that doesn't have an absolutely awesome moment in this movie. The two who really stand out are Thor and Loki. It's been established that Tom Hiddleston's Loki is a scene-stealer, but seeing as how this is his third movie, I was getting a little tired of seeing him before I walked into the theater. However, once the movie started, I found myself laughing along with everybody else at Loki's dry whit. We got to see a more emotional side of Hemsworth's Thor. The other Asgardians get some great moments too. we see that Sif has a thing for Thor (just like in the comics), and we get some fun and awesome moments from Volstaag and Fandral. Hogun spends most of the movie with his people, but we get to see him in action at the beginning. Heimdal gets a really awesome scene where he takes down a Dark Elf ship with two knives and he gets ore of a character this time around. Anthony Hopkins' Odin and Rene Russo's Frigga get some cool fight scenes and Frigga gets several good character moments. On Earth, Selvig's craziness is very enjoyable while Darcy and her intern Ian get several laughs. The only weak character in the movie is really Jane. Natalie Portman really doesn't have much charisma, but thankfully Hemsworth has enough to make their relationship enjoyable. However, Jane does get some funny moments (like the Loki slapping).  The other problem is that too much time is devoted to the comic relief and not enough is devoted to developing the villain. There's really too much Darcy and Loki and there isn't enough Malekith. Loki's been around for 3 movies now. He's hand plenty of screen time. Give some to the character that needs development. Anyways, the characters are great and they make the movie fun.

Action: 9/10-

My favorite fight in the movie

The action is much improved this time around. Alan Taylor really knows how to direct battles. the Game of Thrones director really shines during these segments. There's tasteful slow-motion, awesome fighting with amazing weapons (both ancient and futuristic) and everybody gets the chance to be awesome. The first fight scene with Thor, Sif and the Warrior's Three is the best. It even has a brief stand-off between Thor and a giant rock monster that will remind everyone of Raider's of the Lost Ark. All in all, the fights are greatly improved and a really cool part of the movie.

Total: 8.3/10-

This is a fun, awesome movie. the characters and action make up for the weaknesses of the plot and it just works. The scene after the credits teases the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy film and leaves us on a beautiful cliffhanger. Until next time, this is Ryan Howitzer reminding you to keep your head down because you're in the Line of Fire!