THOR: THE DARK WORLD – The Red Right Hand Movie Reviews [Matthew Stogdon]

Darkness Has Survived

Starring
Chris Hemsworth
Natalie Portman
Christopher Eccleston
Tom Hiddleston

The latest Marvel film opens with the Asgardian legend of the Dark Elf Malekith [Eccleston], who forged a weapon of pure malevolence, called the Aether. With it, he planned to revert the universe back to a state of darkness and kill all life on every known world. His plan was thwarted by Odin’s father Bor and Malekith sacrificed the majority of his own people to make his escape, waiting in darkness and silence for his day of vengeance. Much like The Lord Of The Rings, it was in the Asgardian’s power to destroy the Aether but instead they buried it and removed its existence from the history books. The morons, what could possibly go wrong with a plan like that? Cut to the present day and bar his appearance in New York to recover Loki [Hiddleston] in The Avengers, Thor [Hemsworth] has not returned to Earth in nearly two years. Subsequently, Jane Foster [Portman] has moved to London in an attempt to track down anomalies with similar patterns and signatures to the one seen in New Mexico, during the events of Thor. Thor, however, has been preoccupied with keeping peace in the nine realms, after the destruction of the bifrost in the first film. But when Jane makes a discovery in London that coincides with a galactic convergence, Malekith’s awakening and the mysterious but powerful Aether, Thor is forced to intervene and set in motion a series of epic events, filled with revelation, disparity and loss.

Continuing the Marvel film formula of equal parts action, drama and humour, Thor: The Dark World feels like a wonderful follow-up to the events of The Avengers; big enough that a global threat is implied but not to the degree that the audience quietly murmurs ‘where are SHIELD and the Avengers?’, as they did in Iron Man 3. Although there are several climactic and expository scenes on Earth, this story doesn’t make the mistake of Green Lantern and favour a localised setting over a fantastical one. Instead, the film revels in its cosmic locations, hinting at all of the nine realms and the various creatures that inhabit them, while demonstrating the sheer vastness of the ever-expanding Marvel cinematic universe. First thing to note is the production redesign. Not to batter Kenneth Branagh’s Thor film (’cause I still like it) but everything felt far too shiny and clean and new and ..to be honest.. CGI. Finally, Asgard lives and breathes as a sprawling city of columns, wood and rock. Everything feels elemental and real, affording the fantastical touches (specifically the bifrost and floating skiffs) a sense of grounded realism – to a degree. The costumes are equally nice, ditching the clear pristine colours and slightly fake plasticy aesthetic to one of hard-wearing, long-worn, flowing leather and fabric. Then there’s the new addition of the Dark Elves, who have a subtly terrifying visual presence with their tall proud stance, unrelenting drive and eerie expressionless masks.

Of course, no matter how pretty the film is, without a decent story or the right actors to portray it, the film would be lost. From the returning cast, to the new additions, each and every role is played out adequately but it’s clear, Hemsworth and Hiddleston more than happily steal the show; even at the expense of the central villain. While his range may feel arguably a little two-dimensional, Hemsworth plays Thor decently but a lot of the charm and humour is missing in this outing. If anything, his role as space cop and heir apparent is weighing heavily on him and his loyalties between his duties and his heart are constantly torn – which mostly explains the shift in tone. Then there’s Hiddleston as the infinitely charismatic and enchanting Loki. The man is beyond wondrous. The fun he has playing the role is so unbelievably evident but rather than simply rinsing-and-repeating the same one liners and actions (a very comic book mindset, I might add), the actor insisted there would no point in returning unless there’s something new to tell. Here we see the front that Loki puts up for others and his internal struggle with being a true villain or simply a mischievous child but I’ll go into that more later. Portman’s return as Jane Foster is both confident and sincere, ensuring that she has something different to do this time, while being treated with contempt by the surrounding Asgardians. At times, we do get the feeling she is simply running around fawning over Thor, but largely plays an active role in each of the action/drama/comedy events and proves herself braver than most. Then we have the new villain (or old villain as the story suggests), the Dark Elf Malekith, played by Christopher Eccleston. I’m not really an Eccleston fan and every time he’s cast in something I roll my eyes and prepare for the worst. But on occasion I’ll see him in said role and he will surprise me. Malekith should driven, malicious and merciless but with the focus on Hiddleston, his presence is unfortunately lacking. The supports also provide pleasing bursts of excitement and laughs without hindering the story or feeling too silly or out of place.

The film is mired by plain direction and therefore the film lacks a signature. The story has good pacing, graceful camera movements (shying away from Branagh’s many many Dutch angles), stellar cinematography, neat editing, well choreographed fights and action and yet the whole thing feels flat and the director’s personality doesn’t really come through. In other words, I could say anyone directed this film and you’d have a hard time disproving it. Equally, Brian Tyler’s score, which was a perfect match for Iron Man 3 was a little drab and uneventful. Sure it fit, sure it didn’t feel as cheesy as Patrick Doyle’s but it lacked presence. There’s also a huge amount of fantasy science fiction at work here and if that’s not your thing, you’re going to hate every minute of this. And then there’s the running MCU trend of minor backstory dialogue, so if you haven’t seen the previous Marvel films (specifically Thor and The Avengers) you may be a bit lost. Personally, I hate when sequels feel the need to pander to new audiences or insult the returning ones. But yes, as a standalone film, it’s a bit much and very exclusionary.

To my mind, Thor: The Dark World simply provides us with a continuing story. It has proven that you don’t need Robert Downey Jnr to make a really entertaining, successful comic movie and that the stories and characters that can be drawn upon are infinite and so unbelievably rich that the potential for great movies, in the right hands, is limitless. Providing the execution is handled well.

Release Date:
30th October 2013

The Scene To Look Out For:
Trying to remain spoiler free is going to be tricky here but I will give it my utmost. The effects of the convergence mean that physics between the nine realms shifts erratically; gravity warps, transportation portals appear and disappear and general chaos ensues. The whole thing is edited wonderfully, giving a really broad scope without feeling over-the-top. Furthermore, despite setting it in the heart of London (and Svartalfheim and Vanaheim… and Jotunheim) the typical memorable monument thing (Oh look, St. Paul’s Cathedral right next to Tower Bridge and the Palace of Westminster! Yey London) is kept to a minimum and the comedy still runs throughout like a vein. One particular moment sees Thor falling down 30 St Mary Axe and his hammer, Mjolnir, chasing after its master before Thor disappears into a portal and reappears on the wasteland of Svartalfheim. The hammer immediately changes course and accelerates upward into space. Only for Thor to reappear on a platform of the Charing Cross underground. Slowly stepping onto the train he asks, “How do I get to Greenwich?” To which a passenger calmly responds, “This train, three stops.” Glorious stuff that legitimately feels like something out of the comics.

Notable Characters:
As much as the characters have grown and developed, Loki is still the ultimate scene-stealer. I think Marvel are well aware of what they have with Hiddleston’s rendition of Loki and will do everything in their power to give him some sort of spin-off release. But Loki’s more than just one-liners and a sea of grins, he is a deeply troubled individual; which is something that really comes across in his various illusions. No longer just a way to duplicate himself tricking people to charging off cliffs or into glass prisons, he uses them to mock, to deceive and to hide his own frailty. Utilising a simple gimmick like this to expand the character’s very core is incredibly clever and unfolds sublimely throughout.

Highlighted Quote:
“Bringing a mortal here is like brining a goat to a banquet table”

In A Few Words:
“A reasonable follow-up that stumbles at times in trying to drive Marvel’s reach”

Total Score: 3/5

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