Pure entertainment, but lacks any emotional punch

Rating: 4/10 (18 November 2013)

When the original Thor was released back in 2010, it had everything, gutsy action sequences, humor, heart, you name it, it had it. Thor was a thoroughly enjoyable comic book adaptation. Now, Thor: The Dark World has just been released and while it maintains some awesome action sequences and some humor to keep it going, it does lack some of the emotion that made its predecessor so good. Not by any means is Thor: The Dark World a bad film, quite the contrary, it is a very well made film and features some of the coolest action sequences we've seen in 2013. However, this sequel seems to dwell on the coattails of the original and never seems to fully stand on its own two legs. Featuring one awesome performance from Tom Hiddleston as Loki, the rest of actors seem to fall beneath him and end up being lackluster compared to him. Chris Hemsworth does what he can with the role but there isn't too much more that he could do with the character of Thor that he didn't do in the original, so therefore, I can't fully put him at fault. The rest of the cast ends up being an afterthought when the end credits roll. The biggest failure of Thor: The Dark World is that it tries to best the original by adding more action and less story (something that sequels are infamous for). Now, while the action sequences are undeniably cool and entertaining, there isn't much more to it. The threat doesn't feel real in this outing and that brings the film down from where it could have been. With that being said, the bright side is that the action sequences are so well done and Hiddleston is outstanding as Loki, I can't fully disregard this film. As for the holiday season coming along, Thor: The Dark World is an awesome outing to take the family to. Other than that, it is pure eye candy and there isn't anything wrong with that.