REVIEW -- Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Marvel Studios continues down the road of "Phase 2" that will inevitably lead to Avengers 2: The Age of Ultron with Thor: The Dark World. This film follows the Asgardian, Thor, after the events of Marvel's Avengers.

Cast:

Chris Hemsworth as Thor
Natalie Portman as Jane Foster
Tom Hiddleston as Loki
Anthony Hopkins as Odin
Stellan Skarsgård as Dr. Erik Selvig
Idris Elba as Heimdall
Christopher Eccleston as Malekith
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Algrim/Kurse
Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis
Ray Stevenson as Volstagg
Zachary Levi as Fandral
Tadanobu Asano as Hogun
Jaimie Alexander as Sif
Rene Russo as Frigga

The Plot (FULL Spoilers)

Eons ago, Bor, the father of Odin, clashes with the Dark Elf Malekith, who seeks to destroy the universe using a weapon known as the Aether. After conquering Malekith's forces, including enhanced warriors called the Kursed, on their home world of Svartalfheim, Bor safeguards the Aether within a stone column. Unbeknownst to him, Malekith, his lieutenant Algrim, and a handful of Dark Elves escape into suspended animation.

In present-day Asgard, Loki stands imprisoned for his war crimes on Earth. Meanwhile, Thor, alongside warriors Fandral, Volstagg and Sif repel marauders on Vanaheim, home of their comrade Hogun; it is the final battle in a war to pacify the Nine Realms following the reconstruction of the Bifröst. In London, Jane Foster's intern, Darcy Lewis, now with her own intern named Ian, take Jane to an abandoned factory where objects have begun to disobey the laws of physics and disappear into thin air. Separating from the group, Jane is teleported to another world, where she is infected by the Aether.

The Asgardians learn that a rare alignment of the Nine Realms, referred to as the Convergence, is imminent; as the event approaches, portals linking the worlds appear at random. Heimdall alerts Thor of Jane's recent disappearance, leading Thor to bring her to Asgard. There, Asgardian doctors state that they cannot remove the Aether, due to its ability to discharge powerful protective energy blasts when it is threatened. Odin warns Thor that the infection will kill Jane given enough time, and that the Aether's return heralds a catastrophic prophecy.

Malekith, awakened by the Aether's release, turns Algrim into a Kursed and attacks Asgard. During the battle, Malekith and Algrim search for Jane, knowing she contains the Aether. When they fail to capture her, they escape, killing Thor's mother, Frigga. Despite Odin's orders not to leave Asgard, Thor reluctantly teams up with Loki, who knows of a secret portal to Malekith's world, where they will use Jane to lure and confront Malekith, away from Asgard. In return, Thor promises Loki that he can have his revenge on Malekith for killing their mother. With the Volstagg and Sif stalling Asgardian soldiers and Fandral assisting their escape, Thor and Loki commandeer a Dark Elf spaceship and escape to Svartalfheim with Jane.

On Svartalfheim, Loki tricks Malekith into drawing the Aether out of Jane. However, Thor's attempt to destroy the substance fails, and the Aether-empowered Malekith leaves with his ship as Loki appears to be fatally wounded while protecting Thor from Algrim. Thor, cradling Loki in his arms, promises to tell their father of his sacrifice. Following Loki's apparent death, Thor and Jane discover another portal in a nearby cave and reunite with Selvig, Darcy and Ian in London. There, they learn that Malekith plans to unleash the Aether to destroy the universe, and that he will do this in Greenwich, the center of the Convergence. Thor battles Malekith, but a portal separates them, leaving Malekith unopposed. Thor comes back in time to help Jane, Selvig, Darcy and Ian use their scientific equipment to transport Malekith to Svartalfheim, killing him before he can destroy the universe.

Thor returns to Asgard, where he declines Odin's offer to take the throne and tells Odin of Loki's sacrifice. As he leaves, Odin's form transforms to that of a grinning Loki.

In a mid-credits scene, Volstagg and Sif visit the Collector and entrust the Aether to his care, commenting that, with the Tesseract already in Asgard, having two Infinity Stones so close together would be dangerous. 

As they leave, the Collector remarks, "One down, five to go." In a post-credits scene, Jane and Thor reunite on Earth, while somewhere in London a frost monster from Jotunheim, accidentally transported to Earth during the final battle, continues to run amok.

The Verdict: 

I want to start off by addressing the masses that think that Jaimie Alexander should instantly be qualified for playing Wonder Woman/Diana Prince if Warner Bros. decides to get the ball rolling for that DC Comics' film. Her portrayal as the Asgardian-style Wonder Woman, Sif, was fine here, but in all honestly, she doesn't have the body type nor physical build that I think would work for Wonder Woman onscreen. If we're going to be recycling actresses for that role, I say go with Faora from Man of Steel, played by Antje Traue, but that's just me.

Anywho... back on topic. It's good to see that Disney are finally putting those acquired resources from both Lucasfilms and Marvel Studios to good use here. There were moments where I thought I was watching a Star Wars film rather than a Marvel Comics-themed film. The modern-day marvel that is Asgard blew me away in the original Thor, but they managed to outdo themselves here. Throughout this film, I felt like we were getting a visual sampler platter to how Disney's acquisition of Star Wars will play out in 2015 with Episode VII. If this is the standard that we are going to get for Marvel films from here on out, then I humbly accept this.

No, this isn't a screenshot from Star Wars' prequels... this is Asgard in Thor 2. 

In terms of narrative, I felt it went by at a rapid pace, but not so fast that it was confusing. To be fair, I was relieved that this film's plot didn't completely directly rip off Malekith's backstory from the comics or his re-imagining from the episode "The Casket of Ancient Winters" from the Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes' first season. The story stayed on track with little sidetracking or boring detours unlike those taken in Iron Man 3, and found that perfect balance of seriousness, action, and comedy. Speaking of comedy, both Kat Dennings (Darcy Lewis) and especially Tom Hiddleston (Loki) stole the show on gut-busting comedy moments. You could almost say that this film was more Loki's time to shine in the limelight than it was Thor's. At first, I was a little disappointed that Thor's fellow Asgardians (Volstagg, Sif, Fandral, and Hogun) weren't given more time to shine, but came through for Thor when it counted the most. It seemed like they wanted to play off that Sif was a bit jealous of Jane Foster but it wasn't explored enough for my taste. I would guess that if The Enchantress is recruited as one of Loki's followers in the inevitable Thor 3 after the events as this film came to a close, she would play the role of the woman who comes between Jane Foster and Thor's budding romance. Speaking of the ending, you have to wonder if Odin truly is blind in BOTH of his damn eyes if he didn't see Loki's deception coming a mile away when everyone and their grandma called it beforehand.

Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston) share a tender moment...

Last but not least, let's talk about the action sequences in this film. Thor: The Dark World opens with a Lord of The Rings-style battle led by Sif (Jaimie Alexander) against the last remaining rebel armies in Vanaheim. Sif easily held her own in battle and even managed to one-up Thor and save his skin in this battle. This trend of kick-ass females didn't stop here as Frigga put up a good fight against the Kursed before meeting her untimely demise. Speaking of the Kursed, good grief that fight between him and Thor was awesome. I felt like Marvel Studios wanted to show Zach Snyder how a real Superman throws down. The chaos didn't end there as Thor's final encounter with Malekith was everything that I was expecting it to be. I was just glad that it didn't boil down to yet another city in ruins in the wake of these modern-day gods bringing their battle to Earth among mere mortals, which is quickly becoming the tired and recycled, cliched trend in these superhero-based films. One aspect I wish they could have explained more for less comic book savvy viewers is why Selvig's equipment worked on Malekith. In the comics continuity, he has a natural weakness to substances made of iron, which dispel and negate his spells. I'm guessing most viewers will just buy into the whole dimensional rift effect was enough to defeat him. (Shrugs) I guess it works in either case, but that's just me being nit-picky about this kind of stuff since I have more than enough friends who complain that this stuff isn't explained well enough for newcomers.

Compared to the lackluster Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World easily blows that film out of the water in almost every aspect. In a way, I am glad that Iron Man 3 started Phase 2 in a quiet and mediocre level. In turn, it makes this film and hopefully, the upcoming Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Guardians of the Galaxy stand out among audiences. At the end of the day, Loki was the star of this film rather than his Asgardian Avenger of a brother, Thor. In every scene that he is a part of, Hiddleston easily steals the spotlight away from Hemsworth. I didn't have a problem with this at all, as we finally have a Marvel villain that's not so easily disposable like Justin Hammer (portrayed by Sam Rockwell in Iron Man 2) or the Red Skull (portrayed by Hugo Weaving in Captain America: The First Avenger), who may make an appearance in Captain America: The Winter Soldier... If you were a fan of the original Thor or was looking for something more after watching Iron Man 3, then Thor: The Dark World is definitely up your alley. I'm giving this one a 9 out of 10.

I guess I should explain the mid-credits scene, for those who aren't comic book savvy. Without a shadow of a doubt, The Collector is going to be a major player in the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy film, but the one thing that you should take away from this scene is that the chase for the Infinity Gems, or rather Infinity Stones as they are referred to in this continuity is going to lead to one of Marvel Comics' most historic battles, the Infinity War. I'm guessing that Marvel Studios is going to combine the aspects and storylines from  both the Infinity Gauntlet and Infinity War graphic novels to make this event plausible onscreen. Thanos, who was teased during the mid-credits scene after Marvel's Avengers, wants all of the Infinity Gems for himself to use at his own disposal. That being said, I don't see Thanos showing up and fighting the Avengers himself until Avengers 3 (late Phase 3) or Avengers 4 (early Phase 4 tie-ins). I'm guessing that Marvel Studios are positive that they will have the Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer film license properties back under their roof by that point. Otherwise, I'm sure they could still pull this storyline off without them with a few minor tweaks.