I haven't done a movie review in a while so why not start off again with Asgard's Avenger, Thor, who's 2nd (and hopefully more) movie, Thor: The Dark World, opened in US theaters on November 8th to much anticipation (at least by me). It also doesn't hurt that it opened during a holiday weekend. It smashed the other competition, boasting $86.1 million! I think it's safe to say that everyone's THORoughly obsessed!
Malekith is the big villain on campus this time. He wants to destroy the universe with a weapon called Aether. Thought that comes to mind is, so when he destroys the universe, how will he survive it and carry on when no one else does? Hmmm? I guess it's a good thing Thor is around so the screenwriters don't have to worry about that question!
What the Asgardians call The Convergance is starting to happen and linking the realms, earth included, together. Even before it's fully linked, random portals are showing up all over the world, and two in particular are found by Darcy and Jane in London. The second one Jane actually travels through and ends up in Asgard where the deadly Aether is being kept since Odin's father put it there for safe keeping after defeating the dark elves. Not realizing what is it, Jane gets infected by it.
This 2nd installment is definitely better than the 1st one! Chris Hemsworth gives another stellar performance as the hammer-wielding superhero. And let me tell you, he wears long hair REALLY well!! Granted, his hair always seemed to be greasy, but at least the hair department did a better job at making it look like it was actually his long locks. Let's not forget the bushy golden eyebrows he had plastered above his eyes in the 1st movie! So glad those are gone in this new movie. They must've gotten hacked off during one of Thor's battles while he was trying to restore peace to the realms! ;)
Natalie Portman returns as Jane Foster, and we first see her trying to move on with her, Thor-less life, even though in her heart she still holds a candle for him hoping he'll return for her like he promised 2 years ago. The dinner date scene with Chris O' Dowd's character, Richard, is the perfect stage for us to see how much Jane is NOT all gung-ho for the dating scene.
I think one of the reasons I was looking forward to this movie was to see Kat Dennings reprise her role as Darcy Lewis. She didn't have a very big role in the first movie, and I was thrilled she got more screen time this go-around.
I mean, how could you not love her! She may not act it most of the time, but she's pretty smart and a perfect sidekick. She's always the one to lighten the mood, and this time, she's hired an intern for herself which results in some laughable moments!
When I heard the words "dark elves", at first I thought I was in Middle-Earth or in some corner of Skyrim, but apparently they exist on one of the realms in Thor's world too!
Meanwhile, Heimdall, the gatekeeper at Bifrost, voices his concern to Thor that he cannot see Jane on earth anymore, leading Thor to action to find her even after his father has already spoken to him about how he should forget Jane and realize what he has in front of him (meaning Sif). Thor returns to earth and finds Jane who found herself back in the warehouse she originally found the portal. After an encounter with the police, who Darcy called because Jane was gone for 5 hours, that ended with the Aether in Jane defending her from the police, Thor brings her to Asgard to figure out how to get whatever is inside of her, out. Only they don't know how and the longer the Aether is in her, it could kill her.
Natalie did a good job at being completely enthralled by her Asgardian surroundings and the visual team gets kudos for making Asgard look jaw-droppingly beautiful!
The relationship between Thor and Jane is adorable to...they are both strong-minded and opinionated people but from very different worlds and I think that's why it works. We saw how out of place Thor was on earth in the 1st movie, and now we see the roles reversed. Jane suddenly finds herself amongst royalty and a completely different culture! But she also remains a person of importance with the Aether inside her. I was kinda bummed that there was never really any scenes of Jane and Sif verbally fighting over why they deserve Thor, but if there's gonna be a 3rd movie, maybe there's hope of seeing that develop.
Now I would be remiss if I didn't talk about Loki. I can't tell you how it happened, it just did. I got Loki'd. I almost liked him in the 1st movie before he got all traitor-y. I loathed him in The Avengers even though that was the movie where he got a lot fans on his side and was talked about more than the Avengers! And then there was that dry spell with no Loki in theaters, but there's this little thing called Tumblr that probably had something to do with why I like him now in addition to how his character acted in this movie.
Loki gets locked up in prison for his crimes on earth and he tries to maintain a snobby attitude, but once he learns of the death of his mother, Frigga, by the hands of Malekith, who attacked Asgard to get Aether-infected Jane, he completely falls apart, and that is why people keep calling him the most lovable villain. Because even though he can be evil, he can also be vulnerable and show some feeling.
I also think that we naturally want to see villainous people changed for the better, and Loki certainly goes through some type of change even though Thor has a hard time trusting him when he asks Loki for help in luring Malekith away from Asgard using Jane as bait.
They certainly keep you guessing where Loki's loyalties lie and what his agenda may be, especially when he and Thor face off with Malekith. I know I've given away some spoilers in this post, but I think I'll refrain here because it's something you don't see coming even though we know what Loki is capable of.
Thor and Jane find the portal to return to London after Malekith successfully extracts the Aether from Jane and escapes after the failed attempt by Thor and Loki to destroy it.
They team back up with Darcy, Ian, and Erik to figure out where the center of the point of the Convergance will be and where Malekith will unleash the Aether. They figure it out and try to set a trap to open portals through a device that Jane will use.
This battle is filled with all things that we love to see Thor do in battle and even in the thick of it, there are still those funny moments, especially with Darcy and Ian.
In the end, good prevails over evil just as it should, and we're back in Asgard, where Thor speaks to his father. Thor gives up the throne, wanting to defend Asgard instead of sitting in a glorified chair, and he also praises Loki for his help against Malekith. Odin accepts Thor's wishes, and Thor takes his leave. But Odin wasn't really acting like himself
Aaaannnd....
That's it! I'm not giving away anything else!
But I will leave you with a photo of Tom Hiddleston dressed as Loki at Comic Con! :)
And Loki from a commercial where he asks kids who's the better superhero: Thor or Loki.
So anyway, if you're looking for something to do, go see Thor: The Dark World! You won't regret it! It's a wild ride!
I give it 4 out 5 stars.
ERW
