Reel Reviews: Thor-The Dark World

Magneto's Movies

Reel Reviews

 

Movie: Thor-The Dark World

 

Release Date: 8th November 2013

Director: Alan Taylor

Cast: Chris Hemsworth as Thor Odinson, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Christopher Eccleston as Malekith, Adewale Akinnuoye Agbaje as Algrim the Strong/Kurse,  Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis, Stellan Skarsgard as Eric Selvig, Idris Elba as Heimdall, Ray Stevenson as Volstagg, Tadanobu Asano as Hogun, Zachary Levi as Fandral, Jamie Alexander as Sif, Clive Russell as Tyr, Alice Krige as Eir, Rene Russo as Frigga, Chris Evans as Captain America with Benicio Del Toro as The Collector and Anthony Hopkins as Odin

Genre: Comic Book

Score: 7.6/10

Pros:-An out and out hilarious second act weaved in with great dramatic development and action, the third act has a uniquely odd climatic fight scene

          -The writers utilize the Marvel brand of comedy to terrific effect         

          -Dialogue tries its best not to feed information to the audience when need be

          -Loki's redemption character arc is played out terrifically, the ambiguous twist at the end just makes It that much better

          -Alan Taylor brings a certain amount of his flavor to the film, he directs it with interesting and thoughtful visual aesthetic

          -Most of the performances are great, however Tom Hiddleston is head and shoulders above the rest

          -The VFX is stunning, the costume and set design's blend well with the VFX aspects of the film

Cons:-The first act takes a while to get going

           -The film has a by the numbers plot, with certain plot points and characters just dropped due to this it isn't particularly memorable

           -Character writing in the film seems sloppy, where Thor begins with some depth he ends up just being the bland hero with no character arc. Jane has same traits, but for most of it is a damsel in distress . Malekith is a bland villain, he isn't explored enough.  

           -While the comedy is great, the film is tonally all over the place 

           -Even though it has that gritty Taylor vibe, eventually the film feels like a factory made production. Alan Taylor doesn't seem to have been allowed a clear artistic vision of his own

 

Best Scene: The extended sequence on Svartalfheim, Thor and Loki pull a fast one on the villains and audience but fail. Eventually a massive fight ensues with Loki redeeming himself by 'sacrificing' himself for Thor.  

Best Performance: Tom Hiddleston as Loki

Best Dialogue: "You must be truly desperate to come to me for help. What makes you think you can trust me?"-Loki
"I don't. Mother did. You should know that when we fought each other in the past, I did so with a glimmer of hope that my brother was still in there somewhere. That hope no longer exists to protect you. You betray me, and I will kill you."-Thor

Coolest Comic Book Reference:The Aether along with the Tesseract is revealed to be an Infinity Stone. In the comics there are the Infinity Gems, which when placed on the Infinity Gauntlet gives the wielder unlimited power. This is the object Thanos (big purple guy) seeks.



Story

 

A necessary exposition heavy piece begins the story, establishing the villainous Dark Elves and Malekith. This is a race before our times, before the universe as Odin says there was darkness. Malekith wishes to bring back this darkness through the use of a mystical object known as the Aether (the Macguffin  object of the film) during the convergence; an alignment of the nine realms. His army is however defeated by the Asgardian forces led by Odin's father, causing Malekith to retreat with his trusted aide Algrim and a small force.  These Asgardians then go on to hide the Aether on Earth.

Malekith goes into slumber waiting to strike once again for the Aether after his first defeat. Unfortunately he is still sleepy and moves through the movie like a zombie.

The story follows Thor after the events of Avengers, Loki's attack on Earth and Thor destroying the Bifrost has caused unrest in the Nine Realms. As the Bifrost is newly rebuilt, The Asgardian warriors along with Sif, The Three Warriors and Thor himself try to quell the much eviler forces and bring eternal peace. With this accomplished, Thor begins to pine over and wish to see his beloved Jane Foster, a certain trait that his parents particularly Odin dislike.  Destiny intervenes when Foster comes across and absorbs the energies of the Aether (hard to explain, as I said it’s a Macguffin and thus is just an object to give reason to action in the plot), not only sending Thor to ensure her safety but also making Malekith aware of its presence. As Thor takes her to safety on Asgard, battle ensues between the resurgent Elves and Asgardians in order to save the world from darkness.  Thor will need the help of his malicious and imprisoned brother Loki, to save the woman he loves and the realms he has sworn to protect.  The major question is can Thor defeat a force such as Malekith and can Loki truly redeem himself when it matters?

One word came to mind when I left the theaters from this film;

Unmemorable.

This is after I watched the film twice (once in 2D and once in 3D). While I obviously knew what had happened through ought and the last scenes were etched in my mind, as an overall film it was hard to really remember it cohesively.

Personally I shoulder that fault on the story and its writers. The story itself is quite generic for a blockbuster sequel in the sense that the threat is larger and multiple characters are one dimensional, except neither the larger threat is a threat and neither do these characters have any typical tropes thus not making them slightly entertaining.

It’s a depressing thing when the writers fail to really accomplish the basest of things that worse generic blockbusters can. The writing is essentially the films downfall. But it does have its positives.

The reason Marvel films are such a huge success are because they don't let the seriousness prevent their film from being enjoyable. Marvel and its writers bring their own brand of comedy, easily weaving it through their films. Thor 2 is no different, the first film used Thor's own fish out of the water concept with Thor on Earth, here it starts of the same with Jane on Asgard but broadens from their onwards. Theirs a certain Whedon feel to whenever Loki quips through his scenes, Darcy Lewis returns and her dialogues allow for a lot of laugh out loud moments during some intense action. Speaking of the action, the climatic scene is supposed to be a large threat and it sort of is but also it playfully weaves in comedy with the creativity of the fight using portals.

It’s the second act that really ramps up this lighter tone while remaining on a dramatic path, the dynamic and banter between Loki and Thor is written nicely adding some needed light heartedness from what could have been one note tension. In the writing department the comedy comes out great with the dialogue.

Speaking of dialogue, its commendable that the writers try their best not too spoon feed too much information to the audience even when it can be allowed in such a larger concept. Where exposition is needed its gladly given, yet the writing trio really try in not explaining everything otherwise. While it can be a tad bit misguided.

The real triumph though is the character arc developed for Loki. Its easy to see why he gets a share of the dramatic development in the story, Loki and Hiddleston have amassed such a following it would be foolish not too capitalize. Not only that but whenever Loki is on the screen, the films pacing just picks up. Here the arc revolves around his redemption from his past actions, key scenes devote to his development in ways the first film didn't.

As aforementioned we see the characters comedic side with quips left, right and center including a scene in prison where he reads a book while battle ensues around him. There's more though,  after (SPOILER) Frigga's death we see Thor visit his brother, all clean and villainous as ever. Thor however sees through the illusion, as we then witness that Loki really is down and broken cause of the loss (something developed in a touching scene between Frigga and Loki previously). He also gets the final scene of redemption, sacrificing himself for Thor's safety in a battle against the upgraded Algrim know Kurse. Its an arc that is firmly established and then brought to an unpredictable but not so surprising twist, Loki is alive and takes the throne in the guise of Odin (where is Odin? no idea) albeit being a plot hole. Hopefully this doesn't make Loki the villain for Thor 3, considering theirs more villains to explore.

Thor: The Dark World, more like Thor: A Loki Low-Key Movie

Mentioned before the real fault with this film is its by the numbers plot. There's the usual tropes of a damsel in distress and a world devouring villain along with an object he has to accomplish this. The films story also fails to close smaller threads and establish upon them such as the Jane-Thor-Sif love triangle. There's also certain moments straddled in just too move the movie along and bring about certain actions, such as Thor and Loki taking Jane (with the Aether in her) to Malekith. Why a stupid move like that would be made is beyond me considering the Aether is what Malekith wants. Its just there so that we can get Loki's redemption and Thor towards the finale battle but is a major plot discrepancy. 

Apart from Loki, the character writing is also flimsy. For the first act the film meanders under Thor's pining for his lady love and vice versa. It doesn't help that the love story was half baked from the first film and isn't really developed in this one. Thor himself then has no real compelling arc to follow like his hubris from the first feature. Here he's just a superhero with a hammer and a need to fight. What's worse is that the deaths of two family members neither develop a typical vengeance arc for him either, he seems surprisingly and unlike ably indifferent. 

Jane herself becomes a more annoying character from the first. She easily adapts to the Asgardian surroundings and neither is she relatable as a human entering another realm for the first time, her constant fainting with the Aether makes her just a plot point and a damsel in distress. Its sad considering the other much more powerful female characters in the MCU, that don't have the genius trait advantage Jane has. Certain changes to her look due to the Aether seems to suggest that the writers and director had more in mind for her character that may have been cut or altogether dropped on paper.

Smaller characters as mentioned prior do get arcs but their dropped of by the end of the film. We get a sense of Odin's personal arrogance and failing as a King, where as Sif's inward pining and envy over Thor's love for Jane. Algrim's loyalty to Malekith is explored, but not written as well and depends on Agbaje to bring it across.

One thing the writers and Marvel studios need to note is that Loki will get boring at one point or at least over exposed, other villains in the MCU have neither been interesting nor invest-able for the audiences. Malekith is criminally underused and underdeveloped, his motivations are neither clear and he also doesn't have any traits that could at least make him an entertaining one dimensional villain. All he is, is something for Thor to defeat at the end. The only scene where he shows any character is when he destroys the Asgardian throne for nothing else, except out of spite showing how menacing and cool he could be if written properly.

Same can be said for Kurse/Algrim, although he does get to be much more physical. In the villains department, Marvel is slowly becoming a disappointment.   

The stories biggest issue however is the tone. While the writing does include some intensely dramatic scenes and also the typically awesome Marvel brand of comedy, the writers don't gel the two well enough like previous MCU features. The film is tonally out of order, there's a scattering of dramatic levity among lighter fare. Once Loki dies in what should be a poignant fashion, a few minutes later we witness some comedic excursion between Jane and Thor. This also falls back to Thor's own unpolished character arc.

Overall the story is surprisingly weak and relies stupidly on Loki's character. While I understand he is the most interesting, eventually over focusing on Loki will cause under cooking on not only what can become better villains for the series as a whole but really take away from the star and title character of the show; Thor. This might eventually be the downfall of the franchise.

Score: 5.9/10

Direction

 

There was a lot made about the director's involvement specifically Alan Taylor's in Thor 2. Initially first film director Kenneth Branagh was in line, but he opted out in favor of the new Jack Ryan film. Patty Jenkins then took over the job, but left after the over involvement of the studio negating her directorial vision. Then comes in Alan Taylor. Taylor's involvement was heavily promoted, especially with news that he would be bringing his gritty style from Game of Thrones onto the film.  

The GoT influence is present in the much more grittier war of kingdoms style action

With the GoT vibe is visible, it isn't outright. Certain elements speak to Alan Taylor's style, from the involved action and its griminess to the aesthetic and palette of the film. Even the influences of steam-punk and Viking lore in the costume design and weaponry as well as setting among others screams Taylor made (pun intended). There is also the method in which the film is shot, with Taylor getting his cinematographer and camera right into the action.

But the sometimes overbearing comedy and certain scenes tells you that the film itself is factory made. It’s a struggle between trying to establish a form of continuity to the universe, while allowing the director some creative input. This friction causes a lot of the film to fall apart on screen as well like it does on paper. Still it does try to fit Alan Taylor as Thor did Kenneth Branagh.

It seems Marvel's involvement and insistence on focus on Loki can also be a blame for cutting out any development for Malekith and the Dark Elves. There some scene that hint towards the exploration of the relationship between Malekith and Algrim, as well as Malekith's own sacrificial method of war of his people. You just don't see his struggle for his people to attain the Darkness enough.

The set design and costume design is stunning as mentioned. One of the better things is the adaptation and updating of Norse/Viking history in creating much of the weaponry but especially the armor and vessels. They look like Viking ships but operate under the modern tech laws of the films established universe.  Among the MCU, the Thor films require some hefty design teams and they work out brilliantly especially blending well with the more visual effects aspects of the film.

What's best is that Alan Taylor and his team don't rely on just his gritty fantasy style, but also adopt a more sci-fi look considering the Asgardian's alien origins. During the attack on Asgard, it felt like I was watching a hybrid of Star Wars and Star Trek with lasers flying about.

Marvel should understand that they need to let their directors work up the creation of the film, only keeping them in line in continuity not everything. It is why the first Iron Man film and The Avengers worked better than their overbearing handling in the likes of Thor, Captain America and this film. Also Marvel's insistence in adding new scenes post production seems to hint at their creative vision being a bit scattered unlike the cohesive threads of Phase 1. In hindsight I would really love to see a directorial cut of this film.

Plus don't leave the theater straight away. There is a mid credits scene that establishes Guardians of The Galaxy villain The Collector. He gets the Aether from Sif and Volstagg, what is noted as an infinity stone like the Tesseract. The Collector actually turns out to be a villain, seeking all six infinity stones.

A post credit scene is also included where Thor returns to Earth forever to live with Jane. Kind of pointless considering they could have tacked this on to the finale for a complete end, instead deciding to  end with the much more powerful but eventually not connective twist. Another portion where Loki reigns for the studio.

Score:  6.6/10

Performances

 

All the actors this time round bring their best game in making the performances cohesively elevate the film.

New additions first. Agbaje in his limited role especially under prosthetic as Kurse comes off as powerful, beastly and threatening. He also expresses his loyalty for Malekith much better than the writing does. I hope hints of his involvement in a future Marvel project come true as he is a much talented and deserving actor than this limited role.

One of the exciting prospects prior to the film's release was Christoper Eccleston. The ninth doctor is a fairly brilliant actor, his portrayal as the villainous Destro was one of the highlights of the crappy GI Joe film. Buried under tons of prosthetic and  left hanging by uneven characterization Eccleston does his best as he can. The only scene giving depth to Malekith, is only great because of his performance.

Kurse is the demonic birth child of Game of Thrones grit and Power Rangers monstrosity

There are obviously the returning stock characters. Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis is hilarious, her comic timing is perfect and really makes the film entertaining. There's some development on Erik Selvig's side with his sanity faltering after Loki's machination on him during Avengers. Skarsgard portrays this madness perfectly and spouts comedic gold like the best of them. One scene to watch for is his awkward happiness over Loki's death in front of a clearly distraught Thor. This mental state makes me relish at the thought of hopeful characterization Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) will get in Avengers 2 (since he was also manipulated by the trickster god). There is also a new intern for Darcy, still funny but not that memorable.

Among Thor's supporting friends, the new addition is Zachary Levi recast as Fandral. Thanks to his popularity he gets much to do and is quite good. Stevenson also gets some great action as  Volstagg.

Jamie Alexander proves to be a great talent miserably used, her expression when she sees Jane for the first time just speaks volumes which is brilliant from the actor.

Rene Russo gets much more to do as Frigga this time round. She proves to be a powerful character in just one scene with her fight against Malekith, her scene with Loki is emotionally powerful thanks in part to Russo herself. Idris Elba this time round also flexes his muscles in a stupendously shot action sequence, the actor proves why he is such a great talent.

One of the gyps I have, that should have been addressed in writing is the power level of Odin. Odin is mega powerful in the comics and unfortunately it doesn't show in the movies in story, a lot is left up to Anthony Hopkins to prove. While he spews dialogue like a pro, he doesn't partake in action as much. Hopkins proves he's a great thespian with a limited role, that should be expanded for future installments if he is alive.

Now onto the main actors. While her chemistry with co-star Hemsworth is virtually non-existent and her character is practically useless, Natalie Portman performs much better this time round than last time, although doesn't require the levels of research she did the last time. Still its not much of an improvement, Portman who is a friend of the fired Patty Jenkins is disinterested in the MCU and is practically working under contractual obligation and it shows. I can't for the love of god understand why Marvel just doesn't dump the character in favor of the much cooler Sif.

Onto Chirs Hemsworth. Once again Hemsworth in name carries the film as its lead, this time round he is much more experienced in these duties and it shows in his performance. Both his dialogue delivery and body language help his performance come through, the comedy especially when he tries to fit his bulky frame into a car. He does this with neither over exaggeration or subtlety, its just the right amount. Hemsworth has the knack of some great physical comedy.  He bellows dialogue with power and confidence. Hemsworth carries the film with his outward charisma. It will be a fine year for the actor with this blockbuster, and possible award nominations for his stirring performance in Rush. Unfortunately the writing doesn't allow him much dramatic depth in the two major death scenes.

The real star though is Tom Hiddleston. In the previous film, his character arc was as quickly developed as Hemsworth and in Avengers for the second half he needed to be overshadowed by the heroic team. Still Hiddleston brought out a multi faceted character through his performance. This time supported by a  nicely assembled character arc, Hiddleston does that much better. He is a comedic genius on screen, his seething anger and despair is fairly visible in his body language. His redemption is all noticeable in the expressive face.  He truly proves why he has such a legion of followers, he truly proves once again to be a cut above the rest. Every time Loki is on screen, the film really just rises up and major props to Tom for this. Still hopefully this doesn't make Marvel over expose this character. 

Even China thinks Thor and Loki have better chemistry than Thor and Jane

The best though is the two lead actors chemistry. Their altered dynamic from the previous films make this one really work well. The two play off each other brilliantly especially making the larger dramatic and comedic part of the second act function properly.  Its slightly heartbreaking to see Thor announce his mistrust for Loki, cause of their brilliantly developed relationship through the course of three films. Thor finally also gets to one up Loki, when he tricks him into believing the route of their mission and also handcuffs him. Their banter upon the ship with Thor taking a brash approach to Loki's calm down comments is rib tickling. The slick trick scene regarding Thor's hand against Malekith can be seen miles away, but the way the two actors execute it and their chemistry fighting together just makes it superb.

Of course with any Marvel film there's also the cameos.  In a playful scene where Loki shape shifts to mess with Thor, he turns into Captain America. Chris Evans here makes the most delightful cameo, where he hams it up in order to portray Loki. Its further proof as to why Hiddleston is a great performer, as Loki isn't that easy a character to portray. Benicio Del Toro also makes his presence felt in the mid credits scene, while the scene itself doesn't fit well with Thor 2 it does allude to the Guardians of The Galaxy feature coming next year. Here Benicio plays it with some subtle dark comedy and a creepy vibe but also with hidden menace.  Chris O'Dowd also appears as Jane's blind date in two laugh out loud scenes.

In conclusion, it’s the acting that bolsters this film. Hemsworth is reliable as ever. The supporting cast is great. Portman is out of place, no excuses for her even if she plays a weak character. Once again it’s a show stealing portrayal by Hiddleston.

Score: 8.9/10

Score/Sound

The score was a real exhilarating part of the story. It's grandiose nature helped enhance the dramatic and romantic scenes, without ever really overpowering the dialogue. Scenes such as Frigga's Death, Loki's own rage due to this and Thor returning to Jane would not have had the impact they did without the presence or cutting off of the music.

The score also partially elevates the tension of the final climatic scene, more so then the visuals itself.

Score: 8.1/10

VFX

Its great that much of the scenes utilize practical effects. There is only slight enhancements made visually to change Iceland into Svartalfheim. This is probably the only other creative stamp you can see from Alan Taylor.

Still with a film of this scale there is a need for some heavy visual effects. The films VFX is stunning, while not the best this year (that goes to Star Trek and Gravity) it certainly stands up well compared to previous MCU films.

Asgard isn't rendered with the same perfect sheen, it has that dignified look but also the grime of a falling citadel. It reflects the realm itself. It isn't plastic fake like the previous Thor. On the other hand the newly built  Bifrost bridge shines much better, since its of course new.

Other stuff such as the vessels are perfectly rendered. Thor's lightning and hammer also look superb, the different realms have a creative feel to them even the one time cameo ones in the convergence scene.

The real winner though is the fluid effect of the Aether, the red blends mesmerizingly while the Aether itself looks appealing.

The films utilizes great practical effects such that there isn't an over abundance of visual effects, this makes the film wholly better.

Score: 8.4/10

Source

I have fully decided to skip source as a grading place. I realize that the films will fail to truly follow the comics, as such I will just list down the differences and similarities including Easter eggs from the comics. Also mentioning the in universe Easter eggs.

-A rock monster Thor faces early on is actually an Easter egg of the rock villains Thor faces in his first appearance.

-Unlike in the movie, Malekith tries to use the Casket of Ancient Winters to bring an Eternal Winter hence darkness to the realms. Unfortunately the first Thor utilized the Casket heavily so it couldn't be repeated here.

-Thor's super friend Captain America makes his appearance in the film in a shape shifting trickery scene full of banter between Thor and Loki.

-The same scene, Loki turns Thor into Sif. In the comics, Loki has the ability to gender swap people including himself. Hopefully in the future we get the debut of Lady Loki.

-There is more development of Odin as an arrogant and maybe out of touch father character just like in the comics, where he openly resents Thor's love for Jane

-I believe when Thor remains on Earth during his banishment and by his own wish against his father Odin, Loki takes over the throne for a short while like he does at the end of the film

-Malekith's face is scarred in the movie just like it is in the comics. This gives him his nickname Malekith the Accursed.

-Jane mentions the battle of New York and blames Thor why he didn't come to see her during that time, she also slaps Loki for his involvement in the battle. A lot of people in London recognize Thor due to this incident.

-As with the comics Algrim is turned into Kurse. Kurse is a beastly creature with a minotaur like look, the mask he is given when infiltrating Asgard is similar too his look in the comics. It actually melts onto his face in the film when he uses the Cursed stone to power up. 

-Thor is the more classic version of the character in the sense that he has and unwavering love for Jane that makes him defy his own father and people where as Loki is more like his modern self with complexities yet also typical darker villainy earning him the title of God of Evil rather than of Trickery.

-Loki saves Thor by wounding Kurse the same way he did with Coulson in Avengers, that time he was trying to prevent Thor from being saved.

-He also plants a bomb to finally finish Kurse off an quips 'See you in Hel (not a typo)" confusing since Norse Gods wouldn't believe in the concept of hell right? Not really! This Hel he refers to is a similar realm where the Asgardians live a neutral dead life just like in normal Hell. Its ruled by Hela, the daughter of Loki!

-Benicio Del Toro cameos as The Collector. He actually looks like his comic book self

-He mutters that he must find the other five infinity stones with the Aether with him. In the comics the Infinity stones are gems for time, space, mind, reality, power and soul are all placed on the Infinity Gauntlet. A powerful weapon most notably used by Thanos (purple ape man from the end of The Avengers).

-The Tesseract (cosmic cube from the Avengers) is revealed to be an Infinity Stone. In the comics, the Tesseract itself is not a stone but a powerful weapon also occasionally yielded by Thanos.  The tesseract is possibly the Space Gem as it opens portals while the Aether is the power gem due to the abilities it provides the possessor.

-While not a reference, this does fix the MCU issue of the Tesseract from the Avengers. In The Avengers it didn't seem as threatening or as powerful as it is in the comics, now we know why. This time round the cube only works on one power. Loki's staff may also contain the Mind gem, since it controlled The Avengers especially Hulk for a while.

-In the mental asylum where Selvig writes his notes regarding Yggdrasil, there are words such as 616 universe; the universe where Marvel comics characters reside, 'The Fault'; a rift in realities caused by Black Bolt of the Inhumans (a movie being rumored) and 'The Crossroads'; an alternate twisted dimension that Doctor Strange (rumored movie) sends a rampaging  Hulk to.

-Odin's crow pets Huggin and Muninn have appeared in the past Thor film and the Avengers film. They keep watch over the realms and give information back to Odin, most of the times its to keep a watch over Odin's sons. However in this movie only one appears, it seems Odin needs only one crow to keep watch over his son not giving a thought or care for how or what Loki is doing.

I cannot wait to see what Marvel have up their sleeve for Thor 3. I just hope that Loki isn't the villain again after that twist ending. Seriously that twist ending!

By Odin's Beard!

Aneesh Raikundalia