Movie Review: Thor – The Dark World

  Hello all! A couple weeks ago,  I got a request for this review, and I’m super excited to write about this one. 😀 It’s one I regret missing the chance to review when it first came out.

Lol, by now you all know of my deep and abiding love of all things superhero, sci-fi, and fantasy.

Brace yourselves. XD

Welcome to my review of Thor: The Dark World! 😀

  Starring: Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Natalie Portman (Jane), Christopher Eccleston (Malekith), Anthony Hopkins (Odin), Rene Russo (Frigga), Idris Elba (Heimdall), Jaimie Alexander (Sif), Ray Stevenson (Volstagg), Zachary Levi (Fandral), Kat Dennings (Darcy), Stellan Skarsgard (Erik)

Plot (taken from IMDb):

“When Jane Foster is possessed by a great power, Thor must protect her from a new threat of old times: the Dark Elves.”

Trailer:

Characters:

Chris Hemsworth (Thor) is, as always, amazing. He’s a lot more balanced than he was in the first movie, and he seems to have a slightly different outlook than he did before. Lol, he still does his own thing though, always trying to do what’s right. And I love his relationship with Jane. 🙂

Tom Hiddleston (Loki) is. Amazing. I love to hate him, and hate the moments that I end up feeling sorry for him. He’s a sympathetic villain, and I think they really drive that home in this movie. I think part of what makes him such a great villain is how complicated he is, and also how unpredictable he is.

Natalie Portman (Jane) is a great heroine, and a good match for Thor. She’s human, and much weaker than the Asgardians and their enemies, but that doesn’t stop her from standing up to Loki, or from fighting beside her man the best she can. She’s a different kind of tough from Sifa, but she’s just as brave.

Christopher Eccleston (Malekith) is a great villain. He has just the right balance of darkness and an intimidating aura. And, I love the way he fights!

Anthony Hopkins (Odin) is epic, as always. No matter what, I always love this actor. And, just like in the first Thor, he plays a great Odin. Tough and a little stubborn, and an intimidating ruler. Very cool. 😀

Rene Russo (Frigga) plays an amazing and powerful queen. I love this character – she’s as tough as Sif, but in a more composed, quiet way, and it’s obvious how much she loves her family. She goes out of her way to try and protect them. In some cases, even from themselves.

Idris Elba (Heimdall) is awesome. There is one scene where he single-handedly rains some serious doom upon the enemy – and it. Is. Amazing. 😀 This guy is someone you really, really don’t want to piss off, lol.

Jaimie Alexander (Sif) plays one of Thor’s loyal friends. She’s one tough lady, which I love, and she fights beside Thor. She does also add just a little bit of drama in a couple scenes. 🙂

Ray Stevenson (Volstagg) is another of Thor’s friends, who always fights beside him. He has a smaller part in this one.

Zachary Levi (Fandral) is another of Thor’s friends, and always fights beside him as well. As with the other friends, he plays a smaller part in this one.

Kat Dennings (Darcy) plays Jane’s quirky friend. Lol, she has a smaller part in this one too, but I totally love her.

Stellan Skarsgard (Erik) plays a great character, who I love. And, like Darcy, is great comic relief. 😀

Review:

Okay – deep breath in, deep breath out.

I won’t fangirl out, dammit. I won’t do it.

I’ll just say… calmly… collectedly…

OM-GOSH this movie was so awesome! It was all epic battles and romance and despair, oh my! And then Thor was like: “I wish I could trust you…” And then they were all *BOOM! SLASH! THUD!* And I was all “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Fix it! FIX IT NOW!!”

Times 3!!

There was almost a meltdown of Star Trek: Into Darkness proportions!

*ahem*

Please allow me to rephrase (meaning translate) that into some semblance of sense. 🙂

*taking on a calmer, much more reasonable tone*

I totally loved this movie, lol, in case you hadn’t noticed. 😀 It had all the components that bring me complete geeky joy. And – it even had romance. A bonus for me!

The battles and CG were amazing. Lol, over the top – just the way I like them! 😀

The parts that were more hand-to-hand were also impressive, and smoothly done. And, they included a really interesting mechanic to the last big fight scene. Just in case you haven’t seen it yet, I won’t give it away, but it’s really cool. And it gave me a great deal of geeky joy. XD

And then there was the romance. You know I was just waiting for them to get into that part of the storyline! 😀

I really like the dynamic between Jane and Thor, and I’m wondering what will happen later on with them. Even though they’re from different worlds (literally), I really want to see a happily ever after here. 😀

And did I mention all the feels??

Like this one?

Or this one?

Or most definitely this one?

They didn’t skimp on the emotional depth in this storyline. I was able to feel angry, sad, or scared right along with the characters, which says something about the story and characters.

There were some touching, and even heartbreaking, moments in this movie.

One in particular was definitely a “NoooooooooOOOOOOoooooooOOOOOO!!” moment for me. And it was also a big turning point for some of the characters.

It was also the point in the movie at which I had a mini-meltdown of almost Star Trek magnitude. I had an overwhelming, blood-thirsty need for vengeance. I was just waiting for certain people to get exactly what they deserve in graphic and painful ways, definitely not appropriate for polite conversation. Or even impolite conversation, for that matter.

And this is also the point in the film where I ALMOST, just a little, tiny bit, wanted to think that there’s some sort of hope for Loki. Not that he’s really redeemable, after the whole mass murder, trying to kill his own brother, thing. But it made me feel just the smallest bit bad for him, and I could really relate to Thor when he said: “I wish I could trust you.”

*ugh*

I both love and hate sympathetic villains. Lol, they really complicate everything – but they also really add something to the story, if they’re done right. 🙂

My Rating for Thor – The Dark World: Epic – I am so in love with all of the Avengers, and Thor is no exception. This is a great addition to the Avengers series of movies, and it has a special place on my shelf. 🙂 Check this one out if you liked the first Thor and the Avengers series of movies, or if you like superhero movies in general, especially those based on comic books. 🙂

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My Rating System:

Epic: This movie is so mind-bogglingly awesome that I may go see it twice. This one will have a place of honor on my shelf.

Cash-Worthy: Good stuff. This will most likely find a place on my shelf.

Not Bad: I liked it. I’m glad I saw it, and it may or may not end up on my shelf at some point. I would say rent it first to be safe.

Meh: Rent it first. You may love it or hate it, but I’m indifferent probably because it’s not my type of movie. I’m glad I saw it, but it won’t end up on my shelf.

Emergency Cake: I have an emotional reaction to movies sometimes, especially to tragedies. If a movie makes me sad or angry, sometimes it will stick with me for a while. At these times, only chocolate cake can save me. Chocolate cake makes everything better. No shelf for you. Ever.

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Artwork Credits:

The artwork in my greeting is “Moon Goddess” by Josephine Wall.

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