Review of 'Thor: The Dark World'

“The Dark World” follows on from the events of Thor. Bor, the father of Odin (Anthony Hopkins) who is the father of Thor (Chris Hemsworth), long ago fought the Dark Elf Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) who sought to destroy the universe using a weapon known as the “Aether”. Having won the battle with Malekith Bor sends the Aether to where it can never be found…until now when the alignment or “convergence” of worlds means travel between the realms becomes much simpler. As a result of this convergence Thor's earthly heart-throb Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) slips through a portal and is infected with the essence of the Aether. Jane begins to show the effects of the infection which appears to give her great powers. The use of these powers reawakens Malekith (yes, not dead but just sleeping) who then strikes out for Asgard where Thor now protects Jane to retrieve the Aether. It is only with the help of his brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston), currently in Asgard's prison, that Thor can defeat Malekith but will it be enough and, more importantly, can he trust Loki?

Another amazing instalment in the Marvel superhero universe as we see the sheer scale of these films unfold on the screen often threatening to overwhelm the senses. The action pieces are tremendous and, often, fun, such as the large-scale destruction of places not only in Asgard but also in London (will never be able to see Greenwich the same again…). The story has a good number of twists and turns but is never too difficult to follow with the initial back-story section covering Bor's defeat of Malekith. There are some shocks here and there will be a price to be paid if Malekith is to be defeated. This price will hit very close to home for Thor.

Hemsworth is, of course, his charming self and brings a bit of humanity to his god character and continuing his obsession with the human Jane much to the consternation of his father. Thor never seems to take things too seriously though in this film he matures and begins to understand his place in the universe as well as what he truly wants. Portman is well placed here with a role quite a bit beyond simply being Thor's girlfriend. Her quips and sass as Jane offer a good amount of levity to the otherwise quite serious events. Hopkins, as always, is suitably impressive as Odin who is shown here with a touch of humanity in his love of his family and offering advice to his son.

The effects are, as always, incredible with a lot to see on the screen. Perhaps sometimes a bit too much in trying to understand what exactly is going on though (director) Taylor does do a good job of zooming into the characters so we are not entirely lost. The fantastic elements are truly fantastic and we see a lot more of Asgard.

Further adventures of the ever-entertaining Thor in the fantastic world of Asgard. As always, be sure to stay for the credits for hints of what is to come…

Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”

Review Date: 2018-06-10

Directed by: Alan Taylor

Studio: Marvel Studios

Year: 2013

Length: 112 minutes

Genre: Action/Adventure

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1981115/