Thor: The Dark World

The other night, Mrs. Nerd and I went to watch Thor: The Dark World with some friends at the Irvine Spectrum in IMAX 3D. It was 52x72 feet worth of Asgardian gods kicking major butt. I really enjoyed this flick despite some naysayers out there regarding the weakness of the villain which I will address.

This time, Thor and company, are up against a returning army of dark elves who are looking for their WMD, which was locked away by Odin's dad after the dark elves lost in the last war against the Asgardians, in order to plunge the nine realms back into darkness.

The production value was clearly stepped this time around and just the look and feel of the movie felt not campy, but as real as comic book world with nine realms with one of them being a realm of Norse-ish gods could be. I guess the first Thor didn't have much to work with in settings since the scenes on earth were in New Mexico, but the scenes in Asgard looked sooooo cartoony. Having more settings to shoot in like different planets and realms as well as the backdrop of gloomy London really helped out BIG TIME. 

Chris Hemsworth once again fills the boots of the mighty Asgardian god of thunder very well. Natalie Portman's Jane Foster also gets much more screen time and a much bigger presence in this movie which seriously improves on what was an awkward character in the first Thor. That awkwardness showed in what I felt was a lack of chemistry between Thor and Jane in the first movie. NOT THIS TIME, their chemistry was great. The villain, Malekith the Accursed, is played by Christopher Eccleston which in my book is enough said, but that maybe because I am a fan of his work as the Doctor. I think the reason why people gave his character so much flack is because Thor in general isn't really a well known franchise. For seasoned Thor readers, Malekith has been a perennial in the Marvel Comics universe, but honestly I'm not that seasoned. Needless to say, Sir Anthony Hopkins and Rene Russo once again do a great job of playing Moms and Pops to Thor. Actually, one of my favorite lines of the movie comes from Odin who tells Loki as he is being sentenced to prison that they are not gods since they eat, sleep, breathe, and die just like humans, to which Loki quips "give or take 5000 years". I just thought it was neat that not even Odin can boast of being eternal and immortal, but I know God who says in Revelation 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." My God is eternal and all powerful. Okay, speaking of Loki, the show stealer award goes to Tom Hiddleston who plays Loki. Man this guy is deep and intense. You get to see just how much of a professional deceiver Loki is and yet there are times where he is able to show you hints and nuances of Loki's emotional depth especially when it comes to how he feels about his mother. His notes of rage and sorrow even win Thor over halfway through the movie. 

Seems like I have nothing but praises when it comes to the casting and acting right? Erm no. Stellan Skarsgård who plays Dr. Erik Selvig is reduced to a lunatic streaking around stonehenge after the events of the Avengers which I though was a terrible waste of his talents. And Kat Dennings had more screen time, but unfortunately that screen time was filled mostly with quippy one liners that eventually got old. They were the comedy relief. I get it, and without getting too critical (I am a very easy movie goer, and I feel like there's too much criticism in the world anyways) I will say, that salt is used as a seasoning. Used at the right proportions, it can enhance the flavor of any dish, but too much and it's too salty. 

Having said that, the story is great. There are some great twists and the after credit scenes are interest piquing for the future of Thor and the Avengers. The action without saying is awesome. I would highly recommend you watch this movie…in the theater. Movies like this are meant to be enjoyed in a theater. Not on your computer, not even on the normal home theater. WATCH IT. EXPERIENCE IT.

But what did y'all think about the movie? Comment below!