Good for action, but lacking the emotional depth of the first film

Rating: 7/10 (15 December 2013)

Thor: The Dark World has a lot going for it: charismatic leads, strong supporting characters, lots of great action sequences, and a straightforward story. It's entertaining and is a decent, solid entry in Marvel's cinematic universe.
But it could have been so much more. I see in this movie yet more evidence of a troubling habit in Hollywood action films: cutting vital character moments for the sake of inserting more action.
The emotional underpinning of the first Thor film was the title character's growing maturity and redemption. In its follow-up, the heart of the film should have been Thor and Jane's growing romance. In particular, we had the opportunity for a compelling love triangle (Thor-Jane-Sif) that would underscore the differences between Asgard and Earth, between making the safe, obvious choice (Sif, the practically-immortal warrior maiden) and the hard, risky one (Jane, the vulnerable, short-lived human). But aside from a few seemingly throwaway lines that hinted at what could have been a much better story, we get none of this. This is a problem, because what is it that's driving Thor in this movie? It's his quest to save the woman he loves, even if it means betraying the realm where he grew up and is destined to rule. At least it's supposed to be, but we never get more than token acknowledgement of Thor's inner struggle--unlike the first film.
Instead, what we do get is a pretty standard action movie: seemingly unstoppable bad guys; the stalwart good guy and his spunky love interest; their quirky helpers; clever one-liners; and, of course, action, action, special effects, action. It all holds together well enough, but the first Thor movie had so much more of an emotional foundation. This one feels rushed, as though several important (quiet, emotional) scenes are missing. Apparently some of those will show up on the DVD; I certainly hope so.
Marvel should learn not to be afraid of making its movies a little longer. Thor, with his basis in mythology, deserves a big, epic canvas, and if it takes an extra 10-20 minutes or more of screen time to fit in the whole story, then so be it.