Thor: The Dark World (2013)

 

So, here's Thor again in his second solo outing. The first one was surprisingly well done, with a big emphasis on character and far less on balls-to-the-wall action, which also made the action scenes stand out more. A big portion of that is thanks to director Kenneth Branagh, who has more affinity with Shakespearean style epics than more conventional entertainment. 

Alas, they didn't bring him back for this one. It shows. 

It is shortly after the events in New York of the first Avengers-film. Erik Selvig has gone a little loopy and Jane Foster is desperately trying to find proof of the Bifrost. Also, she pines for Thor, just as he pines for her. 

There's a lot of pining in this film, actually.

Loki has been imprisoned, but bizarre things are afoot. The Dark Elves have awakened again, and want to plunge the universe into darkness. To do this, they need the Aether, a force incredibly powerful. How powerful? No one knows. What exactly is the Aether? Again, no one really knows. With the power of hindsight, we now know it is one of the Infinity Stones, but when this film came out, it was a bit of a mystery. It is also pretty much a McGuffin in this film, because it doesn't do that much. 

Because the time comes that all the realms will be in aligment, the evil elf Malekith wants to use the Aether to destroy everything.

I'm sorry, but having to type 'evil elf' makes me snigger. I mean, really? How is that supposed to be scary? "Hearken the imposing Evil Elf!" It is just plain silly. No wonder no one will take this seriously. 

Jane gets the Aether inside of her and it will kill her, but after Malekith kills Thor's mom Frigga, he commits treason by freeing Loki and going after Malekith. The latter extracts the Aether from Jane, he heads to Earth, big battle, kablooie. 

Does it feel as though I'm flying through this one because it is in fact rather boring? 

Because I am and it is. 

The focus on character is sorely missing in this one. It has all been replaced by action and jokes. Not all the jokes land though. They will get that right with the next installment, which goes all for the goofy side. But this one is trying to balance seriousness with humour and fails. 

The biggest problem with this one is the incredibly generic and boring villain. Malekith is not a cool or impressive bad guy. He's about as colour- and tasteless as his pasty white visage indicates. He is just there and does fudge all. They really dropped the ball with him. If only they gave him more personality and motivation instead of "I'm evil, thus the universe needs to be destroyed!" That is like a antagonist from any third rate film. 

Chris Hemsworth is great as Thor, as he has grown into the role and it now completely fits him, and Tom Hiddleston is once again brilliant as Loki. But everything and everyone else is rather bland. 

'Thor: The Dark World' is one of the more boring entries into the MCU. It might still be enjoyable to watch, but it's ultimately forgettable and brings nothing new to the table. You are allowed to skip this one. You won't miss a thing.