Thor: The Dark World 2013 (Movie Review)

Dir: Alan Taylor
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman
Dur: 1 hr 50 mins
Genre: Superhero/Action
Rating: 3/5
PG: A few kisses; violence.

The Thor series is a bit confounding because of its other-worldliness but it tries hard to remain at the this-world level. This film picks up from the first part of Avengers. The world is enjoying some kind of transient peace but terror is brewing in space. We are shown in a flashback the object of interest: The power of ether which was taken away from the dark elves and stowed in a place where it would be difficult to find by the father of Odin. The elves were crushed and destroyed, or so it was thought.

Malekith, the leader of the elves and a few loyal henchmen escaped the onslaught and hibernated for centuries. Their slumber ended when Jane (Natalie Portman) accidentally discovered the ether after being sucked into a portal. The elves begin to organize themselves and plan to recapture what is theirs. The ensuing battle sees the near fall of Asgard and Washington. The Convergence, i.e. the alignment of the nine realms, which occurs once in god-knows how many years makes it possible to travel across realms. This adds to the confusion of the unintelligent spectator but is ultimately what enables the destruction to be limited to a few thousand acres. Loki plays an impish and ambiguous role, using his skill of illusion in uncanny ways.


Thor delivers a lot of action and may cause a slight headache (as it did for me) with its other-worldly touch. The film is entertaining and ends ambiguously- promising much yet to come. Chris is under-utilized, in my opinion. Natalie is brilliant. The last word: I don’t think this is one of Marvel’s best superhero flicks.  

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