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Plot Summary
In ancient times, the gods of Asgard fought and won a war against an evil race known as the Dark Elves. The survivors were neutralized, and their ultimate weapon -- the Aether -- was buried in a secret location. Hundreds of years later, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) finds the Aether and becomes its host, forcing Thor (Chris Hemsworth) to bring her to Asgard before Dark Elf Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) captures her and uses the weapon to destroy the Nine Realms -- including Earth. (1)
Review
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Hello, Movie Buffs!
Supposedly, a sequel should always surpass its predecessor but that’s only speculation. There is a 50/50 chance that a sequel will either surpass its predecessor or not, and there is a common trend where many sequels have tried and failed. However, there are the lucky few who actually manage to achieve that kind of success. X2 (2003) was better than X-Men (2000), Spider-Man 2 (2004) was better than Spider-Man 1 (2002), and now Thor: The Dark World (2013) is better than Thor (2011). 2011’s Thor, directed by Kenneth Branagh (Cinderella, Thor), was pretty good but there times it seemed cluttered with introducing new/old character and Thor’s debut into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). However, Thor: The Dark World does not have to deal with all of those things and by doing so this only improved the film. With The Dark World, the director was changed from Branagh to Alan Taylor (Terminator Genisys), which is usually a bad thing but instead, worked out quite well here.
Taylor managed to capture the tone Branagh set in Thor (2011), which in turn brought a duality that is almost never successfully in films but was executed perfectly here. In short, Taylor made The Dark World notably darker with a touch of humor to soften the edges. The Screenplay writers (Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely) and the Story writers (Don Payne and Robert Rodat) did an amazing job at collaborating by ensuring that the dialogue between characters followed the tone of each scene. The action and special effects have improved from the first film. The battles are bigger and more thrilling, while Asgard is more stunning real looking. All the characters were great, and the relationship between Thor (Chris Hemsworth – Blackhat) and Loki (Tom Hiddleston – I See the Light) was expanded upon. Their sibling rivalry is deeper and it looks like Loki is set on becoming a big Marvel character in the future. Now, whether he going to play a good guy, a bad guy or a bit of both it is not yet clear. Perhaps it will be made known in Thor: Ragnarok (2017).
There is only one issue that I have and it has to do with two characters. First is Jane Foster (Natalie Portman – Black Swan, Jackie) who has a bit more screen time but is here character is kind of dull and not much of an improvement from the last film. In addition, she was more of a damsel-in-distress which is a bit off kilter since we are so used to seeing women much more independent now. Portman didn’t exactly carry her scenes as strongly as I would have expected from such a fine actress, especially one who acted so well in Stars I, II, and III. The second character is Malekith (Christopher Eccleston – Elizabeth, G.I. Joe: Retaliation) who was a bit lackluster and slightly disappointing as the new villain. Honestly, Loki is the one who actually carries the villain characteristics, being both humorous and mischievous. Malekith, on the other hand, is merely a one-dimensional character who is not actually as evil as he would like you to think he is. He’s a secondary character and somewhat of a plot filler but perhaps that is a good thing.
Overall, Thor: The Dark World (2013) is an action/adventure film where Thor makes the most unlike association with Loki, which results in an entertaining film. The film is notably darker than the first one but there is the perfect touch of humor that helps lighten the heavy/serious dialogue. The end is surprising and the post credit scenes were interesting. It is not a #1 amazing film but it is still a solid one to watch with good special effects and enough action to captivate you to the end. I highly recommend Thor: the Dark World as a much watch film.
***Marvel Cinematic Universe (In order of how you should watch them)***
Iron Man (2008)
The Incredible Hulk (2008)
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Thor (2011)
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Marvel's The Avengers (2012)
Iron Man 3 (2013)
Thor: The Dark World (2013)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
Ant-Man (2015)
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Doctor Strange (2016)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Black Panther (2018)
Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
Captain Marvel (2019)
Untitled Avengers film (2019)
Untitled Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel (2019)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (TBA)
"One son who wanted the throne too much and the other who will not take it. Is this to be my legacy."
- Odin
Final Vote
Worth Seeing: 4.5 of 5 star
Worth Buying: 4.5 of 5 stars
I hope you liked this post, subscribe to my blog via email HERE, send in your comments, and watch Thor: The Dark World (2013).
Movies Similar
Ant-Man (2015)
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
Avengers (2012)
Avengers 2: Age of Ultron (2015)
Avengers 3: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers 4: Untitled film (2019)
Black Panther (2018)
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Captain Marvel (2019)
Doctor Strange (2016)
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (TBA)
Incredible Hulk (2008)
Iron Man (2008)
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Iron Man 3 (2013)
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 (2019)
Thor (2011)
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018)
Avengers (2012)
Avengers 2: Age of Ultron (2015)
Avengers 3: Infinity War (2018)
Avengers 4: Untitled film (2019)
Black Panther (2018)
Captain America: Civil War (2016)
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
Captain Marvel (2019)
Doctor Strange (2016)
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (2017)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (TBA)
Incredible Hulk (2008)
Iron Man (2008)
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Iron Man 3 (2013)
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Spider-Man: Homecoming 2 (2019)
Thor (2011)
Thor: Ragnarok (2017)
Cast & Crew
Directed by Alan Taylor
Written by Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely, Don Payne, Robert Rodat, Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby, and Walter Simonson.
Produced by
Victoria Alonso ... executive producer
Kenneth Branagh ... producer
Jamie Christopher ... associate producer
Louis D'Esposito ... executive producer
Kevin Feige ... producer
Alan Fine ... executive producer
Nigel Gostelow ... executive producer
David J. Grant ... associate producer
Craig Kyle ... executive producer
Ivan Lam ... line producer
Stan Lee ... executive producer
Music by Brian Tyler
Cinematography by Kramer Morgenthau
Film Editing by Dan Lebental and Wyatt Smith
Casting By Sarah Finn
Production Design by Charles Wood
Art Direction by Julian Ashby, Thomas Brown, Ray Chan, Jordan Crockett, Adriaan Engelbrecht, Matthew Robinson, Mike Stallion, Hayley Easton Street, and Mark Swain.
Set Decoration by John Bush
Costume Design by Wendy Partridge
Cast:
Chris Hemsworth ... Thor
Natalie Portman ... Jane Foster
Tom Hiddleston ... Loki
Anthony Hopkins ... Odin
Christopher Eccleston ... Malekith
Jaimie Alexander ... Sif
Zachary Levi ... Fandral
Ray Stevenson ... Volstagg
Tadanobu Asano ... Hogun
Idris Elba ... Heimdall
Rene Russo ... Frigga
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje ... Algrim / Kurse
Kat Dennings ... Darcy Lewis
Stellan Skarsgård ... Erik Selvig
Alice Krige ... Eir
Clive Russell ... Tyr
Jonathan Howard ... Ian Boothby
Ramone Morgan ... John
Chris O'Dowd ... Richard
Stan Lee ... Stan Lee
Steve Scott ... Steve Scott
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