Thor: The Dark World

Thor: The Dark World (2013)

Directed by Alan Taylor

Screenplay by Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus, and Stephen McFeely

Story by Don Payne and Robert Rodat

Adapted from the comic book series created by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, and Jack Kirby

Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Rene Russo, Kat Dennings, Stellan Skarsgård

After Thor’s (Hemsworth) involvement in the Avenger‘s intergalactic battle in New York, he’s returned home to help the people of Asgard heal. His brother Loki (Hiddleston) has been jailed as a traitor, and Thor’s heart is torn between his duty and his love for Jane Foster (Portman). This must all be put aside when an ancient weapon awakens, becoming the object of desire for a dangerous enemy. Now Thor has to reevaluate his loyalties in order to save the universe.

This is the latest installment in the series of films based on the Marvel comic book characters known as the Avengers. The film follows the events from The Avengers, and serves as a nice sequel to 2011’s Thor. Despite the events between Thor and this film, the transition works nicely since those events are a part of the world of this film. Director Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones) does a nice job keeping the feel of this film in line with the first movie. He’s fortunate to have a nice screenplay, written by a team of people including Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus (Captain America: The First Avenger), and Stephen McFeely (You Kill Me). They succeeded in keeping the world of the Avengers alive without taking the focus away from Thor.

The cast of this movie does a nice job as well. The film brought back all the familiar faces from Thor including Chris Hemsworth (The Cabin in the Woods), Natalie Portman (Black Swan), Tom Hiddleston (Midnight in Paris), and Anthony Hopkins (Amistad). The film also features Rene Russo (The Thomas Crown Affair), Kat Dennings (Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist), and Stellan Skarsgård (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). The acting works nicely with the story, and the chemistry between the characters is obvious throughout. The movie does suffer from a bit of kookiness at times, thanks to the addition of characters that don’t really fit into the plot. This isn’t a major issue, but it feels a bit like some moments were added as an afterthought.

The action and the visual effects in this one are awesome. The story is great, but it’s brought to a higher level thanks to the intense visuals and action sequences. The visuals benefit from nicely done special effects, CGI, and a number of other technical skills. Thankfully, this movie also shows restraint with the techniques. The camera work and set design round out the look and style of this fun film.

This is a good film with a nice story.  All the aspects are there to make this one for the whole family. If you’re a fan of the other Marvel-based films, this is one you’ll want to see. I give this one 4.6 out of 5 stars.

Rating: PG-13

Running Time: 112 Minutes