The corniness of dialogue and convoluted elements don't keep The Dark World from being an entertaining and appropriately funny addition to the Avengers universe.

Rating: 6/10 (24 November 2013)

"Thor: The Dark World" has problems. Actually, it has a few problems. The battle scenes are generic. The editing is sloppy. There are moments of cheese, and the dialogue needs some spicing up. Most dubious is the confusing main conflict with the forgettable villain, Malekith. However, despite the corniness and the convoluted elements plaguing it, "The Dark World" is a highly entertaining, engaging, and surprisingly funny addition to The Avengers universe. In order to buy into these Thor films, one must be okay with Thor being a stupid, albeit fun, Marvel character. Sure, his entire lore is hokey, but it is intentionally so, and the filmmakers behind this installment are well aware of this, using it to their benefit in great humorous effect. And while Portman seems bored playing love interest Jane, most other performances are strong and lively. Hemsworth, Dennings, and Skarsgard are better fleshed out and play their roles with ease. However, the real winner here is Hiddleston, gleefully villainous as Loki, one of the most complex and sympathetic baddies in years. Outside of "Star Trek", this is the best big franchise film of the year. Even though Marvel slightly missed the mark with "Iron Man 3", they have returned to solid filmmaking form here through great cartoony graphics, unique superhero cinematography and a solid action movie score. So while it won't win over many new fans for Thor, it will satisfy old ones biding their time until the next Avengers movie.