'Thor: The Dark World' Review
Thor: The Dark World saw significant shifts behind the camera as directorial duties passed down from Kenneth Branagh to frequent Game of Thrones director Alan Taylor. You'd think the pairing of a director accustomed to medieval surroundings with the world of Asgard would be match made in heaven, but only to a degree... The change-off in directors is especially evident in the production design and cinematography, because The Dark World looks drastically different from Thor. Taylor trades out the regal, otherworldly interiors of Asgard for a grittier, lived-in environment. On top of that, Taylor threw some sci-fi elements in the mix to show off the technological advancements of Asgard. It's almost as though someone meshed Star Trek and Game of Thrones with the pre-existing Asgard aesthetic.
The Dark World was a well-intentioned experiment for Marvel that shines in regards to the expansive, conceptual world-building, but fails in fleshing it all out. There are so many interesting notions sprinkled throughout Thor: The Dark World in the form of the Dark Elves and Asgard's weaponry/technology. Most action sequences are enjoyable, excluding the thoroughly average third-act showdown, and the film mostly looks terrific from start-to-finish.
The thing about The Dark World is that the film safely walks through the opening of the gate, finds its footing in the midst of its jog, and then stumbles again on its way out the door. My analogy essentially means that the first act's formulaic, the second livens things up with one of Marvel's more emotionally-moving sequences and an electrically-charged team-up between Thor and Loki, and then the third act undercuts it all with a typical third-act battle where the fate of the universe is in peril... again... The high stakes action sequences are undoubtedly entertaining, but I'm becoming apathetic to the whole "I want to destroy the world" thing when the villain's motions remain entirely unclear...
The Dark World is stuffed to the brim with a copious amount of characters and overarching storylines, and it's Malekith that suffers from it most of all. The screenplay penned by Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely paints Malekith in a manner that he has no defining characteristics... There's almost nothing of substance to his character aside from the fact he's a dark elf who wants to spread... darkness... Boring!!!
**Spoiler Warning**
It's sounds strange to say, but the moment the film goes from good-to-great is when Frigga (Thor's mother) dies. It's so weird because her character was such an outlying figure in the franchise, yet her death feels incredibly impactful because of Hemsworth and Hiddleston's exceptional acting. Loki's reaction to learning Frigga died reveals a lot of the character's inner workings, communicating so much emotion through the slightest scene, and Loki is set on the path of a marvelous redemption arc as an enrapturing antihero.
Unfortunately, that's all undone by the reveal Loki didn't actually die. I still have such mixed feeling about Loki's "fake-out" death. The twist that Loki is impersonating Odin remains one of Marvel's best cliff-hangers, and I'm absolutely excited to learn the inner workings of it all tonight when I watch Thor: Ragnarok. However, it completely undercuts his sacrifice, so his "death scene" loses its luster on rewatches.
**End of spoilers**
Thankfully the cast are all-in though, as Chris Hemsworth proves once again to be terrific as Thor. Hemsworth is afforded more to do in terms of demonstrating his acting range with incredibly emotional outbursts, a cool, collected composure, and spurs of comedic fish-out-of-water moments. Opposite Hemsworth, Natalie Portman's certainly charming as Jane Foster, but the script doesn't really utilize the actress or the character to their fullest potential. Their romance also just comes across as bland, but the actors have convincing chemistry at least.
It's just so sad that Hemsworth can't catch a break from Tom Hiddleston's Loki though, because he once again is overshadowed in his own movie. All the while, Hiddleston makes a case that he only gets better in the role as time goes on as he invigorates the movie once he becomes more involved. I believe this to be Hiddleston's best stint as the God of Mischief yet, and his dynamic with Hemsworth is absolutely electrifying.
The other Asgardians are offered enough screen-time to impress audiences, but none of the characters are offered some radical role in the story. Anthony Hopkins' Odin walks with the weight and wisdom of a stately ruler, while Idris Elba gets one cool moment as Heimdall and once again gazes into the cosmos with the hope he'll get more to do in the sequel. Jaimie Alexander, Ray Stevenson, Tadanobu Asano, and Zachary Levi are each fun inclusions as Lady Sif and the Warriors Three, but also are only afforded with scarce screen-time in comparison to the other ensemble members.
On the Earth-bound side of things, Stellan Skarsgård gets to go completely kooky as Erik Selvig this time around, Kat Denning's Darcy Lewis is grating, and Jonathan Howard feels like he's purely there for comedic purposes as the bumbling intern-to-the intern, Ian. Each of these characters have a few funny moments, but nothing funny enough to justify each character's inclusion.
As I alluded to earlier, Thor: The Dark World falls prey to the plague of mediocre Marvel villains that's lately started to be turned around by a string of more interesting antagonists. Poor Christopher Eccleston does his darnedest to make extract some menace from Malekith, but he's unsuccessful in the end. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who wound up over on the DC side of things as Killer Croc in Suicide Squad last year, leaves an impression as an intimidating henchman once he becomes Kurse, but he also isn't afforded much to work with.
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