I've gone through my old blog and the trend tends to be that I always review comic book movies. Most of those reviews are positive, and I am always pretty much showing mad love to Marvel, as I appreciate the amazing work that they have done in translating the Marvel Universe on screen in a way that builds a meaningful continuity and an interweaving story-line that brings to life all the amazing characters and stories that we have grown to love with the Marvel Universe. That being said, I can be critical of Marvel movies, and i will prove it with a semi-scathing review of Thor: The Dark World.
So, there's a lot thats good about Thor. It's entertaining from a narrative perspective, coherent, broadens the universe and, of course, the obligatory film-stealing turn from Tom Hiddleston as Loki. There's also a substantial amount in the movie thats somewhat dissappointing: excess cheesiness in Thor's interactions with Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), a really irritating subplot with Darcy (Kat Dennings) and her intern - a sub-narrative punctuated by weak dialogue and bad acting, and then one shocking scene when one of the Warrior's Three gives Thor a cheeky salute. This salute shot was almost as cheesy as Spiderman's notorious hop in front of the US Flag in Spiderman 3.
That all said, I have to be true to my fanboy nature. Did Thor: The Dark World broaden the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Yes. Did Marvel hint at a super exciting future and begin planting seeds for the Avengers: Age of Ultron and Guardians of the Galaxy? Yes. Was the action cool? Yes.
In short, Thor: The Dark World ticks all the boxes of Marvel Comic Book movie, which makes it passable. The film just doesn't do much more than that, and is pretty lame at times. You're inevitably going to watch it anyway but its not, in my opinion, a memorable film.
