This
Avengersverse review is in honor of the leaked trailer for Age of Ultron (Marvel released the official version after a
“Dammit, Hydra” tweet; love it) and the nerdish flailing that ensued.
Objectively,
it’s probably fair to say that Thor: The Dark World is the weakest post-Avengers film. It’s hampered by a generic villain with
nonspecific evil motives, and some of the humor veers a bit too close to wacky
– given the high drama of the Asgardian royal family, it makes sense to have
some comic relief, but the tonal shift here can get jarring.
Not
that it’s a bad film. Not at all;
imperfect though it is, I enjoy it a lot.
As I’ve said before, the growing maturity of Thor is terrific, and this
installment does a nice job on that front.
His cockiness has softened into a less showy self-assuredness, and he’s
more willing to admit out-and-out confusion or fear, or even ask for help. His impulsive streak, though, is intact –
this time, he presents his argument to Odin before openly defying him but still
ultimately defies him.
And
what has him going against dear old dad?
After reuniting with his human love, Jane, Thor discovers that she’s
been infected by an ancient power known as the Aether. Not only is it strong enough to kill her if
not excised, but it’s attracted the attention of baddie Malekith and his army
of Dark Elves. Thor is understandably
pulling for a solution in which Jane lives and the Elves don’t get the Aether,
but Odin feels his methods are too reckless and uncertain. So, Thor takes matters in his own hands,
enlisting his brother Loki as an extremely slippery ally.
I find
the Thor movies are the most visually arresting in the series. Asgard looks fantastic, and we get the chance
to see a lot more of it here. I continue
to love everything about the Bifröst, and I dig the flying boats. Also, there is some cool, topnotch action in
this film. The Dark Elves have these
amazing mini-black-hole grenade things, and the big final battle is augmented
by a lot of physical and gravitational anomalies that differentiate it from many
of its fellow films.
I’m
still lukewarm on Jane. I like that
she’s smart and scientific (and I love that Thor
loves that she’s smart and scientific,) her curiosity and wonder is great, and
I enjoy seeing her take a more active part in the plot here. However, she borders on damsel-y, and her
tendency to go giggly-schoolgirl around Thor seems disingenuous for a brilliant
physicist. I get that she’s a little
socially awkward, but come on – she’s still an adult. As for Thor’s other major relationship, I
love that, while he knows he can’t
trust Loki and keeps that thought at the fore of his interactions with his
brother, he badly wishes that he
could. It’s a desire that’s come back to
bite him before, and no doubt it will again, but their dynamic continues to be
the Thor movies’ strongest quality.
All the
usual suspects are back for this film. I
really enjoy Jaimie Alexander as Thor’s comrade-in-arms Sif, and Rene Russo
gets a chance to shine (and kick some butt) as Thor’s mother Frigga. Christopher Eccleston does a fine job as
Malekith, but his talents are pretty wasted in a commonplace bad-guy role.
Warnings
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