Thor: The Dark World

Is this a huge stepup from the original "Thor" movie. No, unfortunately not. Is it another watchable, fun superhero movie; yes, definitely. It's a really good movie and if we look at the way Alan Taylor directs this movie, it's actually not that much different from what Branagh did back in 2011. Chris Hemsworth is good as usual and Tom Hiddleston is more wonderful than ever as Loki, but the villain Malekith, played by Christopher Eccleston, unfortunately, is a bit of a disappointment, mostly because of the lack of motivation.

I know this film has been ragged on by many people, but I really enjoyed it. Was great seeing Asgard, and how Mjolnir followed Thor around was wonderful. Hey, Thos has always been one of my favorite characters, and Hemsworth plays him so well.

The acting was solid. The production value was superb. Everything else was really poor.

The back story and character motivations are laughably sparse. Most of the characters are completely one-dimensional, with the possible exception of Loki. The plot is the most boring and typical of all action plots - some "bad dudes who happen to be really ugly" decide to "destroy the world for no reason other than being evil" and "only our hero can save us all", etc. Moreover, it was lazy writing - whenever an absolute miracle needed to happen, it conveniently did, every time.

Of course this is a mindless blockbuster Marvel movie so we shouldn't expect much. But the thing is that these kinds of films CAN be made with a reasonable plot, pacing, and character development. The writers were obviously just going through the motions to cash in on the surefire moneymaker sequel, and from a business perspective it is hard to fault them. But it says a lot about the sad state of Hollywood in 2013 that this film currently has a 7.7 on IMDb.

Well I was so looking forward to seeing this movie when I went last night, and although it was reasonably good it was not at all what I expected.

Watch the official movie trailer and you see what looks like quite a dark fantasy, so you can imagine my surprise when throughout the movie the audience was laughing out loud at the stupid one liners. Yes I know this is entertainment, and this movie was moderately entertaining, but once again the makers have tried to please everyone by adding a bit of everything; action, special effects, romance and humour, just far too much of the latter for my taste in a genre that does not require hilarity to succeed.

Although it has a lower IMDb score I much preferred the 2011 Thor, a stronger storyline, darker and no laughing matter!

Infinitely better than the first (which I liked) because of better action, humor and emotion. All those people who were worried about Thor being underpowered are going to be pleased. The effects are wonderful and it is indeed a very funny and a very moving movie in places. I'm happy to report that neither factor is overused or gets in the way of the feel or story. It's the right amount of humor and right amount of angst. Cinematography is great and the score is amazing. Whoever scored this film should do so for the rest of the Marvel movies in my opinion.

I knew they would nail the pathos but was pleasantly surprised by the creative fight sequences. They are phenomenal. Not overly long but when they rage, THEY RAGE. Also, Kurse can rival the Hulk in terms of scary power. He was better utilized than the Destroyer was in the first film. Loki is the scene stealer that was all hoped to see! Jane and Sif add more than eye candy but you would expect no less from Marvel. Hemsworth has cemented his legend as Thor with this effort. My only real disappointed is a minor one. They didn't really show the nine realms in any real detail. It seemed a cop out that hey're just open landscapes. Yet, maybe they didn't want to commit to anything for future movies.

Overall, this is a wonderful movie and maybe Marvel's best solo film.