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 (111513-original pub date/091322-reformat date)
Thor: The Dark World offers the kind of straightforward action/adventure yarn
that adherents of the genre will appreciate. It's an example of superhero
film-making 101 at work with high octane fights and special effects-fueled eye
candy trumping narrative. The movie is pretty to look at in a Transformers sort
of way and moves briskly enough that it never threatens to bore, but it's hard
to feel much of anything about the characters and, when it's all over, there's a
sense that everything that happens is obligatory. Thor is essentially Marvel's
answer to Superman and, as with The
Man
of Steel, it can be difficult to craft a tale around a hero who is
essentially invincible. Yet again, we are given a tentpole blockbuster that
builds to a third act that is pure property devastation. I, for one, have
developed third act devastation fatigue. More to the point, it feels entirely
made by committee – the definition of house style, without a personal stamp in
sight.
The enemy this time around is Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), the King of the
Dark Elves, who may be the worst developed villain in any Marvel movie. His
motives are Blofeld-esque on a grand scale: use the power of the indestructible
Aether to blast the nine realms back into primordial darkness. Having failed
once in the time of Thor's grandfather, he's back to try again. He has a
henchman or two and drives around in space in a really big ship equipped with a
cloaking device. Buried under pounds of prosthetics and makeup, Christopher
Eccleston (who once played the ninth Doctor Who) is unrecognizable. He growls
his lines with appropriate Bane-like menace, although there aren't many of them.
It begs the question of why the filmmakers bothered with a "name" actor when not
even his family will recognize him. As a character, Malekith is about as
one-dimensional as a villain can be. His back story is truncated and he's not
given enough screen time to be more than passingly menacing. The only thing
interesting about him is when he goes one-on-one with Thor (Chris Hemsworth) in
an admittedly fun battle that has the two of them popping through space from
planet to planet (with Thor's hammer desperately trying to catch up).
The screenplay neatly dispenses with the elephant in the room of "where are the
rest of The Avengers?" by having most of the action take place off-planet.
Asgard is nicely rendered although it seemed more grandiose when Kenneth Branagh
envisioned it in the first
Thor. This time
around, director Alan Taylor sees it as a smaller, less majestic place. Perhaps that's
necessary to the story. The kinds of indignities suffered by the gods this time
around might not have worked in Branagh's version of the realm. Two characters
enable Thor: The Dark World to occasionally transcend the generic mediocrity
that defines this endeavor. Tom Hiddleston's Loki, making his third appearance,
has grown so comfortable in the role that he's able to steal every scene in
which he appears. Thor: The Dark World comes to life when Hiddleston is on
screen and his interaction with Hemsworth evidences far more chemistry than the
rather feeble spark evident between Thor and his lady love, Jane Foster (Natalie
Portman). Then there's Kat Dennings' sharp-tongued Darcy, who is by far the most
interesting secondary character not named Loki.
Hemsworth, like Hiddleston, has grown into the role thanks to previous
appearances in
Thor
and
The Avengers.
It's hard to deny his charisma and the scenes he shares with Hiddleston and
Anthony Hopkins (as Odin) represent the best Thor: The Dark World has to offer.
Unfortunately, his confrontation with Malekith is CGI dominated. Meanwhile,
Natalie Portman is disappointingly bland. The actress, who is capable of
delivering strong performances in the right material, is as utterly defeated by
the role of Jane Foster as she was by that of Queen Amidala. Stellan Skarsgard
has been transformed into pure comic relief, running around in his underwear (or
less) and acting like a lunatic. Anthony Hopkins and Idris Elba are criminally
underused. Their presence provides Thor: The Dark World with a patina of
cinematic legitimacy, no unlike Marlon Brando's inclusion in Superman.
Thor: The Dark World is occasionally elevated by the moments when it plants
tongue in cheek and decides not to take itself too seriously. Hiddleston and
Dennings' dialogue is often representative of this as are scenes when Thor
literally hangs up his hammer or boards a train in the London underground and
asks directions. In fact, it's possible to make a compelling case that the film
is at its best when it's taking a break from the primary storyline. Thor: The
Dark World is really just a placeholder to keep fans from losing interest
between
The
Avengers and its sequel. This movie might have worked better had it existed
outside the long shadow cast by Joss Whedon's massive team up. Once a franchise
enters the realm of the epic, it's hard to satisfy by backtracking and there are
only so many times a hero (or group of heroes) can face Armageddon without it
becoming redundant. Thor: The Dark World delivers in a generic superhero fashion
by offering a couple hours' diversion (with inter-credits and post-credits
scenes to keep butts in seats for the entire running time) but one can be
excused for finding the overall experience a little stale.
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