Thor: The Dark World is the second headlining act for the eponymous hero-god, but follows after the events of the Marvel Universe’s property convergence known as The Avengers, a.k.a. the Voltron of superhero movies. That The Avengers was such a rousing success speaks not only to its makers but also to the quality of its parts; the individual franchises of The Hulk, Captain America, Thor, and Iron Man. And with Tony Stark’s last outing leaving a bitter taste in this publication’s mouth, Thor stands poised to overthrow ole shell-head as leader of the pack with The Dark World.
This movie finds Thor a reluctant Asgardian war hero (no longer a showboating warrior man-child), an unstoppable force who has brought peace to the nine realms, groomed to be king after his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins), and wanting none of it. His post-battle reveries have turned to half-hearted good cheer masking a pensive longing for his one true love back on earth. Meanwhile, back on earth!, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) tries to resign herself to the idea that Thor isn’t coming back for her by going on a blind date with Chris O’Dowd. Later, while exploring an abandoned building for strange quantum anomalies, Jane stumbles into a dark otherworld where she contracts a worlds-threatening Evil known as the Aether. This, in turn, awakens an ancient evil elf named Malekith (Doctor Who’s Christopher Eccleston) who is hell-bent on using the Aether to extinguish all light among the nine realms.
This hyper-typical comic book plot is the framework for a breezy and exhilarating fantasy adventure, one whose thrills are evenly tempered with laughs, never taking itself too seriously or too lightly. Thor’s and Jane’s exploits are bolstered by a strong supporting cast; comedic Kat Dennings, stoic Idris Elba, sinister Christopher Eccleston, pants-less Stellan Skarsgård, and the incorrigible scene-thief Tom Hiddleston as Thor’s brother/enemy, Loki. Director Alan Taylor comes off of directing a murderer’s row of acclaimed television shows (think HBO, AMC), a mostly auteur-less medium that encourages its directors to be both excellent and invisible, a perfect match for a movie in the ever-expanding Marvel series. These elements make for yet another fun, well done superhero romp. Hopefully Marvel can keep up its winning streak next year with James Gunn directing Guardians of the Galaxy, which looks to make the Marvel world a little weirder, based on the sneak peek during The Dark World’s end credits.
