Surprisingly good

Rating: 9/10 (5 November 2013)

Let's start by saying that I'm a big Marvel fan and I'm loving what they are doing with this film series. Having said that, the first Thor film was a little 'meh'. I'm glad to say this one improves on it in every possible sense. It starts off slow but builds into an engaging and thoroughly enjoyable story.
The story is pretty good for a film that makes no logical sense, the characters are well-developed, the action is excellent, the script is good and the jokes are amusing throughout. There is less overacting and the overly Shakespearian language has been toned down a bit, but still present as it should be. And I'm glad to say that there is only one moment for girls to swoon over a shirtless Chris Hemsworth.
The CGI and effects were excellent but, for an effects-driven film, they were almost overshadowed by the quiet intense moments between Loki, Odin and Thor. The acting was solid throughout from pretty much every cast member, Hemsworth doing a good job as the hero, Tom Hiddleston and Anthony Hopkins with solid performances and Ecclestone excellent as the menacing villain, even if his motivations and plan don't make much sense.
The most surprising thing about this film was its successful attempts to be funny. It could almost be called an action-comedy, with many laugh- out-loud moments. A film that is fairly dark, hence the title, but still doesn't take itself too seriously. There are missteps; I might be the only one who didn't realise that Charing Cross isn't 3 stops from Greenwich, and frankly I didn't care, it was still an amusing scene
The film itself is littered with Easter eggs and references to other Marvel characters and films, which make it very enjoyable for fans of the comics. The best part of this film was the ending, with a few huge reveals, teases and WTF moments for anyone with knowledge of the comic books. This is simply a well-made superhero film, possibly one of the best ever. Certainly one of the best films of this year.