Thor: The Dark World – Film Review

Out of all the Marvel Studios films, this film is regarded as one of the weaker entries into the MCU. I would say it isn’t as low in quality as people believe. Though it was rushed in production due to the loss of Patty Jenkins as the director over a dispute — I still think that Alan Taylor did a serviceable job to make this the “Game of Thrones” of the MCU. If the villain of Malekith was more well developed than he was in the film, I think that there wouldn’t be as much backlash. If there was more story devoted to his past and his reasoning for wanting to change the universes’ reality — it would have made more sense.

I do enjoy the chemistry between Jane, Thor, Darcy, Erik and the new intern, Ian. The comedy I felt was pretty strong in this entry. I find this movie to be as rewatchable as the first “Thor” film, in my personal opinion. Though the film does overall add to the mythology of the MCU it does hurt that the film has a similiar plot to one of the later films then in production — “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Some of the other negatives include the lack of developing the worlds introduced. It was great that they are working towards buildilng out the Nine Realms, but I felt we got too much of a fleeting glance.

Jane Foster: [slaps Loki] That was for New York!
Loki: I like her.

The film felt much more grounded and less campy than the first picture. I do appreciate Marvel Studios for trying the varient of genre’s with the franchise. Though the first mold of “Shakespeare in Space” didn’t do as well as it could have for “Thor”, “Game of Thrones” did a solid backdrop for this entry. I hope the “He-Man” / 80’s aesthetic really works for “Thor: Ragnarok.” The production design for the worlds I felt was really well done. There was a lot of great detail shown when the went world hopping. Asgard felt less like a CGI cartoon than it did in the first film. There seemed to be more practical sets in a world that is make believe.

I felt that there were some good consequences with a couple of the characters that added to the stakes to me personally. Though they weren’t as huge they made the film feel less inconsequential. Loki (Tom Hiddleston) always steals the screen with his charm and “magic.” I would say this film shouldn’t be disregarded or thought of as terrible. There are many other comic book films and other films in general that are unwatchable. This is a pure fun adventure that continues and deepens the mythology of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

7/10