Review: Thor The Dark World

Title: Thor The Dark World
Rating: 12A
Cast:
Chris Hemsworth ... Thor
Natalie Portman ... Jane Foster
Tom Hiddleston ... Loki
Anthony Hopkins ... Odin
Christopher Eccleston ... Malekith
Summary:
Faced with an ancient enemy that even Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must reunite with Jane Foster and reconnect with his estranged and imprisoned brother, Loki, to save all nine realms.

First off I will hold my hand up and say I am a huge Marvel movie fan and an even bigger Tom Hiddleston/Loki fan, but I LOVED it.

Where the first Thor movie was lacking (and I loved that too, but I can still see it lacked something that Avengers had) this film did not. It is spectacular and fast paced and it will make you cry, probably at least twice.

My first impression brought to mind a phrase I see on Tumblr a lot, even though it's totally out of context: "Wow that escalated quickly". Normally this is used when a situation goes from one extreme to another, but I thought it when I saw Asgard. Can we say 'bigger budget'? Where as in Thor Asgard was pretty and golden, it felt very stage like, in Thor II is feels real. Just seeing it for the first time I believed it was a place where people lived and where some went about their normal lives rather than running around being heroes all the time.

This film was altogether bigger than it's predecessor: bigger scenery, bigger emotions and bigger action sequences. This is a full on movie from start to finish. It also didn't go quite how I expected either and it was even better than I had hoped. In the poster Jane looks like a damsel, but believe me, she has her part to play as well, much more so than in Thor.

I have seen several reviews that had said Loki steals the show and I partially agree, but I think it has a lot to do with the fact he is the prefect foil for Thor. I have seen interviews where Chris and Tom have said Thor defines Loki and Loki defines Thor and this movie really shows that. Chris Hemsworth is magnificent as Thor; he is brave and true and not at all the bumbling idiot he was at times in Thor. He shines and he is a wonderful, wonderful hero. The we have Tom as Loki, who is sassy, vicious and yet so, so broken. Both Thor and Loki have depth and they are brilliant.

The mortals are also wonderful: Jane, Darcy and Eric are brilliant. Yes, Jane is having a bit of a crisis over Thor, but it doesn't stop her doing what she does best: science. If you put her, Tony Stark and Bruce Banner in a lab together they would take over the world in a matter of days. I loved the scene where the healers are looking at Jane - I won't give it away, but it is a beauty.

Wow, is Odin a hypocritical old bastard. It's easy to see where Loki gets his attitude to mortals and yet Odin can insult Jane, but Loki gets locked up for playing at being a god. No wonder Loki is a basket case. Anthony Hopkins is great as ever.

Then we get to Christopher Eccleston as Malekith. He was a decent baddy, but frankly he could have been anyone. When you stand Malekith next to Loki you lose a dimension. He's evil and powerful and clever, but he just doesn't match up. He has no hesitation, no other motivation than I hate Asgard and I want the universe back my way. He could have been any other big bad with a weapon of mass destruction because there was never any question about what he might do. This doesn't make him a terrible character, he's just no where near as interesting as the rest.

The best bits of the film are undoubtedly when Loki and Thor are on screen together. We get to see the brothers not the enemies and it is brilliant. I adore how it played out and I want more, so much more.

Hogun got a bad lot in this movie, but Fandral, Volstagg and Sif all had great parts to play. The timing when Thor has to ask Loki for help is just brilliant.

So yes, I loved the plot, I loved most of the characters, I loved the acting, I loved the costumes and the sets, I loved the humour. It's a great movie, go see it.

MIGHT BE CONSIDERED A SPOILER - highlight to read

One thing I do want to know is why there are at least three things I have seen in trailers that aren't in the movie.