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Well there's another superhero flick out at the cinema right now and you know what that means ladies and gentlemen. That's right, it's time for another of my famous (or is that infamous?) fanboy ramblings
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Year of release
2013
2013
Directed by
Alan Taylor
Alan Taylor
Written by
Christopher Yost
Christopher Markus
Stephen McFeely
Christopher Yost
Christopher Markus
Stephen McFeely
Starring
Chris Hemsworth
Natalie Portman
Tom Hiddleston
Stellan Skarsgård
Christopher Eccleston
Anthony Hopkins
Chris Hemsworth
Natalie Portman
Tom Hiddleston
Stellan Skarsgård
Christopher Eccleston
Anthony Hopkins
Thor: The Dark World
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Plot – Following the battle of New York (as seen in The Avengers) the God of Thunder Thor (Hemsworth) has managed to bring peace to the nine realms. The bifrost has been repaired and his brother Loki (Hiddleston) has been imprisoned in the cells of Asgard. This newfound peace is threatened however by the return of an old Asgardian foe thought lost to time; the Dark Elves who are led by the villainous Malekith (Eccleston). They have been awakened by the return of the Aether; a powerful weapon which has inhabited Thor's love interest Jane Foster (Portman). Upon discovery of this Thor brings Jane to Asgard against the wishes of his father Odin (Hopkins). Her presence in Asgard attracts the forces of the Dark Elves who launch an all-out assault on Asgard in a bid to gain control of the Aether and bring destruction to all of the nine realms. Thor is not about to sit back and allow this to happen however, even if it means enlisting the aid of his wayward brother.
As is always the case when it comes to superhero flicks I feel that I should post some kind of disclaimer. The fact is that I love superheroes. Just absolutely love them! That's true whether it's on the pages of comic books or up on the big screen. So that makes me a very easy target for films like this. It's like honeykid and the films of Drew Barrymore. Just the fact that she's in the film gives it a leg up on the competition before the film has even started. And as such that perhaps means that my opinion of such films should be taken with a pinch of salt. Unless I don't like them. If even I don't like a certain superhero film then you know it's got to be bad! Thankfully I didn't find that to be the case with Thor: The Dark World.
When it was announced that Alan Taylor was going to be replacing Kenneth Branagh in the director's chair for Thor: The Dark World it was an announcement that generated a certain expectation amongst fans of the mighty bearded one. Given the time that Taylor's spent in Westeros on Game of Thrones (he helmed six episodes over the first two seasons) it was thought that he would take Thor and his fellow Asgardians in a slightly darker direction than his predecessor. And while there may be a touch of that at work here, the more pertinent comparison would actually be to the Lord of the Rings films. In fact during the film's opening stages you'd be forgiven for thinking that Peter Jackson's latest jaunt to Middle-Earth had been released ahead of schedule. The film opens with an epic, exposition-heavy prologue that feels like it has been transposed in its entirety from The Fellowship of the Ring. We get a large scale battle between the forces of Asgard and the Dark Elves led by Malekith, as Anthony Hopkins delivers a grandiose voice-over explaining the history between the two forces. At times The Dark World's score, created by Brian Tyler, also resembles very strongly the grand and heroic work that Alan Shore contributed to the Lord of the Rings series. Hell even the Dark Elves bear quite the resemblance to the goblins of Middle Earth when they don their war masks. Alongside the Lord of the Rings feel the other touch-point would probably by John Carter or the original Star Wars trilogy due to The Dark World's rather fun, pulpy vibe.
The big question that always comes up in relation to sequels, particularly those of a superheroic nature is, “how does it compare to the original?” I was a big fan of the first Thor film and I've got to say that it's really tough to say at the moment, it's quite the neck and neck competition. If I was pushed I would perhaps just give the edge to the first film. I felt that it was just a touch more focused in its approach, having Thor stripped of his power and his standing on Asgard and giving him the goal of proving himself worthy again. The story here is a little more scatterbrained, with the Malekith strand of the plot being very simplistic and a major contrivance required to force Portman's Jane Foster into the proceedings. The script could certainly have done with an extra polish or two to iron out its problems. Though the one area where I will give the script credit is in its humour quotient. The Dark World turns out to be funnier than most comedies I've seen in recent years. Early on it's largely down to the delightful Kat Dennings to provide the laughs, though she gets some assistance from the returning Stellan Skarsgård and the addition of Chris O'Dowd. After that the laughs are generated by some witty sight gags and verbal jabs and one-liners from Hiddlestone's Loki. There is also a brilliant cameo which comes as a delightfully unexpected surprise, and I'm not talking about Stan Lee.
Film Trivia Snippets - Originally considered for the role of Malekith was Mads Mikkelsen, but he had to drop out of contention due to scheduling conflicts with his TV show, Hannibal. /// Thor: The Dark World was shot in England under the title of “Thursday Morning.” In Norse mythology, the day Thursday was named after the god Thor (Thursday = Thor's Day) /// In total there were about 30 versions of Mjolnir created for filming. The hammers were made of various weights for different users and situations. The main hammer was made from aluminum but was replicated in various materials and weight, including a 'soft' version for stunts Of the 30 hammers, five versions were used most often, including a 'lit hammer' that emits light to create lightning strikes. /// To represent Svartalfheim, the realm of the Dark Elves, the filmmakers chose to film in Iceland due to its black volcanic landscapes. The name itself, Svartalfheim, literally means 'Black Elf World' in the Old Norse/Icelandic language. /// Thor: The Dark World was originally set to be directed by Patty Jenkins but she left the production in December of 2011 due to “creative differences.” Natalie Portman was apparently so upset at this turn of events that she initially refused to return for the sequel, only doing so when she was forced due to her contract.
Without a doubt the biggest flaw of the script and the biggest weakness of the film in general however can be found in its villain. Christopher Ecclestone's Malekith comes up very short in that regard. Visually Malekith and his fellow elves are a very striking creation but he is just such a thinly sketched character; we never get to really know who he is or what the motivation is behind his plans. He feels very much like your bog standard Bond villain, but instead of wanting to destroy the world he wants to take out the entire universe and all of the nine realms encompassed within it. I can't lay any of the blame at Eccleston's door however. He is just never given any opportunity to fulfil the potential that his casting created. And as such he is greatly upstaged by Hiddleston's Loki. In fact if anything it is Malekith's henchman Kurse who makes a bigger impact following his transformation into a devilish creature seemingly comprised of rock and lava. It's not often that I say this in regards to modern films, but if anything The Dark World could have done with having a bit of a longer running time. This is now the 8th film that has been released from the Marvel Studios stable and is actually the shortest of the lot. Considering how quickly the film breezes along I don't think another 20 or 30 minutes would really have hurt the pace, and it could perhaps have allowed them more time to flesh out the character of Malekith, the romance between Thor and Jane and just the story in general.
The massive slew of superhero films to have hit cinema screens this century, alongside the likes of the Transformers series, has seen a bit of fatigue set in amongst audiences and critics when it comes to the huge action scenes at the conclusion of these films. Quite often they have been accused of being nothing but loud, mindless smackdowns that pit two almost invincible forces against each other and usually result in city-wide destruction; it was a complaint I saw frequently levelled at the finale to Man of Steel. While The Dark World does feature this to a degree it is able to avoid falling into a similar trap thanks to some invention in the script and Alan Taylor skilfully juggling the contrasting tones. The finale sees Thor and Malekith beating seven shades of s*it out of each other throughout Greenwich in London, but the addition of unstable portals capable of transporting the characters to different points in London and even to different worlds adds a new wrinkle to the big superhero beat-em-up, and makes it a very fresh and interesting set-piece. Somewhat surprisingly it is also during the fight that we get some of the biggest laughs that the film has to offer. It's a somewhat bold and risky move to include so much humour in a sequence that is concerning itself with the potential destruction of the nine realms and the deaths of countless trillions of people; you could very easily undermine the drama of it and have the whole thing flop horribly. So congratulations are in order for Taylor and how he manages to balance the large-scale destruction and the rich vein of humour. The CGI during the big finale and throughout the whole film in fact is absolutely fantastic.
Film Trivia Snippets - In the original Thor film Zachary Levi was due to play the part of Fandral, one of the Warriors Three, but had to drop out because of commitments to his TV show Chuck. The role was taken on by Josh Dallas who was due to return as Fandral in The Dark World. This time however it was his TV commitments to Once Upon a Time that meant he had to drop out. So Zachary Levi was finally given his shot at the character second time around. /// Thor: The Dark World was really quite the collaborative effort between the men who have been tasked with bringing Marvel's characters to the big screen. Joss Whedon, who wrote and directed The Avengers, was brought in to rewrite several scenes in the script. While James Gunn, the director of the forthcoming Guardians of the Galaxy, actually directed the first of the film's post credit scenes. /// The film proved to be a very dangerous venture for Jaimie Alexander, the actress who portrays Sif. While filming in London she suffered a series of injuries; "It was raining, it was dark outside, it was like 5 in the morning - and I went down a metal staircase and slipped and slipped a disc in my thoracic spine and chipped 11 of my vertebrae. I knocked my left shoulder out of place and tore my rhomboid on my right side... It took me out of filming for a month!" /// Filming at the famous Stonehenge historical site proved to be a challenge. After finally getting permission from English Heritage, the filmmakers found out that there were lots of rules and regulations associated with filming there. They could only be in amongst the stones outside of the normal visiting hours. So shooting had to take place early in the morning before opening, which only gave the film crew about three hours before they had to pull back for wider shots once the stones were opened to the public. Being a heritage site, no one was allowed to touch the stones or walk on any stones, so a lot of logistics had to be applied to the filming there.
Without a doubt however it is Tom Hiddleston who remains the undisputed star of these adventures as Thor's nefarious brother Loki. He is just fantastic in the role, confirming himself once again as one of the best villains to have so far graced the world of superhero films. Hiddleston just nails every single aspect of the character whether it be his childish petulance, his nefarious scheming and glib one-liners or his more emotional, conflicted side. He really is an extremely complex and fascinating character, so much so that I'd love to see him get his own spin-off film even though it's not really possible. Great credit has to go to Hiddleston for making sure that even in this, his third outing, no character fatigue has yet to set in with Loki. And thanks to his performance it is the Thor-Loki dynamic which remains the most interesting and entertaining facet of the film. Even though they take it to potentially world-destroying levels their relationship is one that is still so brotherly, with Loki constantly prodding and provoking his older brother. Forcing the two into a uneasy alliance as reluctant allies against Malekith makes for some very entertaining sequences between the two.
And as is tradition with Marvel's output be sure to stick around for not one, but two coda scenes. The first occurs very quickly after the credits have started to roll and acts as a little teaser for future developments in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, kick-starting a story which will apparently be picked up in both next year's Guardians of the Galaxy and perhaps even the third Avengers film. Apparently Guardians is going to be quite out there and if this is any indicator then that certainly will be the case. The second scene appears right at the end of the credits and while not as vital it is good fun. It delivers a nice moment between Thor and Jane and then sends us out on another touch of humour.
Conclusion - Going into this my expectations were pretty huge. After the fun first film and the tremendous double punch of The Avengers and Iron Man 3 my hopes were high, and had only been buoyed by the promising trailers and TV spots. I thought this could have been one of the real greats of the genre. While it didn't hit those heights, Thor: The Dark World is another highly entertaining addition to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and proves once again why Marvel are the current champs when it comes to the creation of the big blockbuster. I will say that I am perhaps being a touch generous as it is flawed, largely as a result of it's script problems but I still found it a blast. Now roll on Captain America: The Winter Soldier (April 4th, 2014) and Guardians of the Galaxy (August 1st, 2014)
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JayDee's Movie Musings (Reviews - Frailty / Total Recall / Lone Ranger / Nightcrawler / Whiplash / Imitation Game / Birdman / Avengers: Age of Ultron / Mad Max: Fury Road)
And he really was! The bit in A New Hope where his dad tells him to clean up the droids and he whines about wanting to meet up with his friends! Such a brat! 
In fact that whole sorta romance that the film is attempting to hint at between Anakin and Portman's Padme is just ill conceived and really awkward, not least down to the fact that he's a little kid and there's like 10 years in age between them.
