Thor: The Dark World
2/4
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Eccleston, Kat Dennings, Rene Russo
Rated PG-13 for Sequences of Intense Sci-Fi Action and Violence, and Some Suggestive Content
Was anyone really wanting this movie? I mean seriously, I know that "The Avengers" dominated the box office (sadly, it's the all-time box office champ after "Avatar" and "Titanic"), but did the Norse God need another movie of his own? I recall seeing a poll on iMDb a while back about which superhero movies people were pumped up to see, and "Thor: The Dark World" was at the bottom of a list of 10.
The reason "Thor: The Dark World" exists is because...drumroll please...money. Hollywood's number one incentive. It's certainly not because anyone felt there was another story to tell, because based on the evidence, no one is particularly excited to be a part of it. Except Stan Lee, who once again shows how large his ego is by appearing in yet another cameo (although his acting skills have improved over the last year).
In the time before time, there was a war between the Asgardians and an evil race known as the Dark Elves. Their leader, Malekith (Eccleston), wants to use something called the Aether to take control of the Nine Realms. He is stopped by Odin's (Hopkins) father, but now the time has come for Malekith and the Dark Elves to try and take over once again. Now it's up to Thor (Hemsworth), his new girlfriend Jane Foster (Portman) and, surprisingly, Loki (Hiddleston) to stop him.
The original "Thor," directed by Kenneth Branagh, was entertaining. It told a complete story, and it worked. This one, however, isn't as much fun. The story, which appeared to be cool in the trailers, isn't very interesting, and no one seems invested in the project. A movie will never be good if the actors don't care about what they're doing.
The original cast is back, and all of them appear to be sleepwalking. Chris Hemsworth reprises his role easily. Natalie Portman seems to be doing this just for the money. Anthony Hopkins is awful. As strange as it is to say that, the legendary actor is rarely convincing. Tom Hiddleston is the most interesting character onscreen (not that there's much competition), but the character is at times poorly written. It is a testament to Hiddleston's talent that he does so much with such an inconsistent character. Rene Russo is flat as Frigga. Christopher Eccleston makes Malekith into a pretty generic villain, although considering that he's buried under a lot of makeup and a distorted voice, it's kind of useless to have an actor of his talent. I blame the writing; it's not as if Eccleston is incapable of playing a villain (see "Elizabeth" or "A Price Above Rubies" if you don't believe me).
"Thor: The Dark World" was directed by Alan Taylor, whose credits are mainly of the TV variety. His inexperience at handling a big budget film are obvious. The fight scenes are either too anemic or too over-the-top, and he can't hide the fact that the film's plot blatantly steals from "The Lord of the Rings" and some of the air fight scenes steal from "Star Wars: Episode 1." Plus the plot doesn't always make sense.
At least it's not an abomination. It is watchable and on some level engaging. But I didn't care about anyone or anything in this movie. And that's its fatal flaw.
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Hopkins, Christopher Eccleston, Kat Dennings, Rene Russo
Rated PG-13 for Sequences of Intense Sci-Fi Action and Violence, and Some Suggestive Content
Was anyone really wanting this movie? I mean seriously, I know that "The Avengers" dominated the box office (sadly, it's the all-time box office champ after "Avatar" and "Titanic"), but did the Norse God need another movie of his own? I recall seeing a poll on iMDb a while back about which superhero movies people were pumped up to see, and "Thor: The Dark World" was at the bottom of a list of 10.
The reason "Thor: The Dark World" exists is because...drumroll please...money. Hollywood's number one incentive. It's certainly not because anyone felt there was another story to tell, because based on the evidence, no one is particularly excited to be a part of it. Except Stan Lee, who once again shows how large his ego is by appearing in yet another cameo (although his acting skills have improved over the last year).
In the time before time, there was a war between the Asgardians and an evil race known as the Dark Elves. Their leader, Malekith (Eccleston), wants to use something called the Aether to take control of the Nine Realms. He is stopped by Odin's (Hopkins) father, but now the time has come for Malekith and the Dark Elves to try and take over once again. Now it's up to Thor (Hemsworth), his new girlfriend Jane Foster (Portman) and, surprisingly, Loki (Hiddleston) to stop him.
The original "Thor," directed by Kenneth Branagh, was entertaining. It told a complete story, and it worked. This one, however, isn't as much fun. The story, which appeared to be cool in the trailers, isn't very interesting, and no one seems invested in the project. A movie will never be good if the actors don't care about what they're doing.
The original cast is back, and all of them appear to be sleepwalking. Chris Hemsworth reprises his role easily. Natalie Portman seems to be doing this just for the money. Anthony Hopkins is awful. As strange as it is to say that, the legendary actor is rarely convincing. Tom Hiddleston is the most interesting character onscreen (not that there's much competition), but the character is at times poorly written. It is a testament to Hiddleston's talent that he does so much with such an inconsistent character. Rene Russo is flat as Frigga. Christopher Eccleston makes Malekith into a pretty generic villain, although considering that he's buried under a lot of makeup and a distorted voice, it's kind of useless to have an actor of his talent. I blame the writing; it's not as if Eccleston is incapable of playing a villain (see "Elizabeth" or "A Price Above Rubies" if you don't believe me).
"Thor: The Dark World" was directed by Alan Taylor, whose credits are mainly of the TV variety. His inexperience at handling a big budget film are obvious. The fight scenes are either too anemic or too over-the-top, and he can't hide the fact that the film's plot blatantly steals from "The Lord of the Rings" and some of the air fight scenes steal from "Star Wars: Episode 1." Plus the plot doesn't always make sense.
At least it's not an abomination. It is watchable and on some level engaging. But I didn't care about anyone or anything in this movie. And that's its fatal flaw.
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