(2 / 4)
With the release of Avengers: Infinity War nearing closer and Thor: Ragnarok being one of the most recent Marvel Cinematic Universe releases it seems appropriate to revisit Marvel’s Thor: The Dark World directed by Alan Taylor. As this movie was released several years ago now I will be discussing some light spoilers in this review. Although it’s been some time since I last saw The Dark World I recall enjoying the film, but even during that time being aware that this was far from the best the MCU had to offer. I see now that during the time of its release I was still desperately chasing a high to replicate an experience resembling the first time I saw The Avengers and examining the film now I see that The Dark World is the worst film in the MCU to date.
I would like to preface at this point that despite my analysis having many points of criticism that may seem harsh, the film is enjoyable and has some strengths that I touch on towards the end of the review, however when the film is stacked against the other MCU films, The Dark World comes off as a disappointment, hence the very critical review. Whereas other post Avengers films have altered their pre-established formulas, such as Iron Man 3 infusing elements of a buddy cop movie and Captain America: The Winter Soldier shifting to the spy thriller genre, The Dark World merely imitates its already flawed predecessor resulting in an inferior film. The Dark World is bereft of any sense of creativity or risk-taking by the creators, which results in the blandest and most forgettable of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films.
The story begins by revealing that ages ago there was a Dark Elf named Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) who sought to destroy the universe through the use of a weapon known as the Aether. Malekith’s plan was thwarted by Thor’s ancestors, with the Aether being stored in one of the Nine Realms. Picking up shortly after the events of The Avengers an event known as the Convergence is occurring in which portals to the Nine Realms appear seemingly at random. While researching this event in London with her intern Darcy Lewis (Kat Dennings), Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) accidentally transports to a different realm and comes into contact with the Aether, which somehow infects her body with dark energy.
Meanwhile in Asgard, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) who recently brought peace to the Nine Realms with the aid of his companions Fandral (Zachary Levi), Volstagg (Ray Stevenson), Hogun (Todanobu Asano), and Sif (Jaimie Alexander), is alerted that Jane has disappeared from Earth. As a result, Thor travels to Earth to rescue Jane and upon learning that she is infected by the Aether, brings her back to Asgard to keep her safe. The rest of the film details Malekith’s pursuit of the Aether and Thor reluctantly aligning with a recently imprisoned Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in order to put an end to Malekith’s plan and save the universe.
From the start of the film it is apparent that The Dark World has learned very little from its predecessor and has in fact amped up the biggest flaws of the first Thor film. The supporting characters in this universe are almost universally uninteresting and constantly feel like a distraction from the more compelling material, such as the familial struggles caused by Loki’s previous actions. Thor’s band of loyal friends still remain nothing more than props for the God of Thunder and work merely as tools to advance the plot. There is not enough time devoted to make any of these characters come off as unique or particularly close with Thor. Of this group, Lady Sif almost overcomes this problem as a potentially intriguing love triangle is alluded to, but ultimately it is not explored thus relegating her to a caricature like the rest of Thor’s friends.
Additionally Kat Dennings’ Darcy still feels out of place in this universe and despite the plot providing a good excuse for Darcy to have a smaller role, the film somehow manages to make her more irritating this time around. Kat Dennings is good at providing a certain type of humor that can be appealing in other films, but in The Dark World due to how the character is written, she quickly became a one joke character that was the equivalent of an attention hungry child screaming in the background while more interesting characters are trying to have a discussion. Case in point, the reunion between Thor and Jane should have been a monumental moment, but Darcy’s squawking in the background dwarfs the scene completely. Speaking of Jane, her relationship with Thor still isn’t compelling and comes off as even more shallow than in the first film. Natalie Portman is a fantastic actress and even in this film she turns in a terrific performance, but the chemistry between the characters still is non-existent, making the romantic scenes between the two a chore to watch.
Another problem with The Dark World is caused by the weak premise the film establishes, which comes off as lazy with many coincidences and strokes of luck enabling the plot to progress. The most notable instance of this is in how the film manages to make Jane more integral to the plot by having her just so happen to discover the Aether during her research. This discovery never felt organic, but instead seemed like an obvious way to maintain Jane’s relevance in the story. Another example of this laziness occurs during a scene towards the end of the film in which after confronting Malekith, Thor and Jane serendipitously stumble upon a cave that allows them to travel back to Earth when it was essential they are able to do exactly this in order to save the universe.
Speaking of which, Malekith has to be one of the most forgettable villains in all of the MCU. His master plan as well as any rationale for committing to it were barely touched upon and additionally the power the Aether granted him was ill-defined at best. The Aether was visually fantastic and I was very interested to learn more about what it was capable of, but the film decided to leave its abilities vague, making the object barely discernable from the other infinity stones present in other Marvel films apart from it being the color red.
While The Dark World has many problems, it does manage to improve upon a few aspects from the first film. Probably the biggest strength of the film is Hiddleston’s portrayal of Loki and his ever-evolving relationship with Thor. Hiddleston brings even more vulnerability to the character this time around, whereby it becomes possible to somehow feel sympathy for Loki even after the betrayal and atrocities he committed in the last two films he appeared in.
Chris Hemsworth is also great here as he conveys a more mature and responsible version of Thor in stark contrast with the immature arrogance he displayed in the prior film. I was disappointed that Hemsworth wasn’t provided with more to do though as it felt as though many of the blander supporting characters would frequently occupy the spotlight instead. Hemsworth has revealed himself to be a great comedic actor, so it was frustrating for him to have very few scenes where he could demonstrate this. There is a glimmer of this capability during an amusing scene in which Thor enters a subway towards the end of the film, but it won’t be until the next Thor film that Hemsworth is finally able to reach his full comedic potential.
The beautiful cinematography is another one of the film’s greatest strengths as the film managed to make the world of Asgard a lot more visually impressive than in the first film. Although still aesthetically pleasing in Thor, Asgard never felt truly authentic as it seemed to be composed of simply the Bifröst and the throne room. In The Dark World many other locations in Asgard are presented, resulting in the kingdom feeling more realistic to the audience. The climactic battle was also memorable as the way in which Thor and Malekith would continually transport to different realms during their battle was extremely entertaining. Despite the emotional stakes being much lower, this creative final battle was a technical step up from the abrupt showdown between Loki and Thor in the first film.
As I admitted earlier, this review is a bit harsh as The Dark World is an entertaining film that features Marvel’s trademark humor while balancing stunning action sequences and terrific acting. In fact, if the film weren’t part of the MCU series in which the bar is already set very high, the film might have earned a higher score. However, the biggest point of criticism is that the film squandered its potential to be a superior film to its predecessor by playing it safe and presenting a similar story to the first film. Additionally, the film’s refusal to learn from the flaws of the first Thor film leads to these problems becoming magnified rather than improved upon. Thankfully Thor: Ragnarok finally revealed that with some bold changes to the tone and the story, the character of Thor is more than capable of headlining a movie that can rank amongst the best in the entire MCU.
