A Hairy ordeal that is less Epic nonetheless fun!

Rating: Null/10 (24 December 2013)

If there ever was one character from The Avengers that I was least interested in, that'd be.(No not HawkEye, cmon give that guy a break) Thor. Yes the Asgardian Odinson, the God of Thunder. And blame that on the 2010 movie Thor. Compared to other Marvel movies at the time, I found Thor to be lackluster. There was action, there were epic set- pieces, there was fish-outta-water comedy and most of all was the origin story of Thor and Loki who'd be seen more in the upcoming The Avengers. But while Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk set the perfect stage for The Avengers, Thor's origin story faltered at it. I could only see it as a companion piece to the Marvel Phase One and nothing else.
Directed by Alan Taylor, who's directed a whole bunch of HBO Shows, Thor The Dark World's story takes place in Asgard and London, presumably coz New York was still in ruins post the incidents from The Avengers. And our world's once again at stake, all thanks to the Dark Elf Malekith and Thor is instinctively called upon by Jane Foster who, of all the people, stumbles on the very thing Malekith wantssome gooey evil thing called the Aether. We are once again counting on Thor to save the day (or save Jane). Thor The Dark World is as drab as the original but I was impressed with the pacing of the movie. It had a lot of fun moments as well touchy drama sprinkled around. Usually I'd be taking mental notes when the movie gets drab but Thor The Dark World didn't give a chance for that. Was it coz the movie was that good? NO! Was it entertaining? YES! I was constantly thrown around from one set piece to another. The movie also cleverly manages to incorporate several nods to The Avengers and its upcoming sequel as well S.H.I.E.L.D., as the story progressed.
Chris Hemsworth once again dorns his Asgardian armor and cape as the Thor and he was very much in character and makes me wonder if he's always so. Then again, having seen his Red Dawn, I need not raise a bet. I was not a Loki fan, neither in Thor nor in The Avengers. But here he was just mind blowing. I'd say this one is one of his finest performances ever. A real show stealer! And a particular scene with a grief stricken Loki showed every bit of it. An immediate comparison would be to Heath Ledger's Joker but we all know that ain't so.
To my surprise, the gorgeous Natalie Portman, once again takes up the role of Jane Foster. Is she being a good Samaritan not leaving the role for somebody else? Or is she really rooting to play the role again? An actress of such caliber does need her own break and I suppose Jane Foster makes for a wonderful one. Christopher Eccleston plays Malekith with admirable sincerity but I felt his character was severely underwritten and towards the end he felt lesser and lesser intimidating.
Kat Dennings is just plain annoying. I don't know why. Despite the few smirks that her Darcy delivered, she felt more like a character which was being dragged onto this one just coz she was there in the first one. Other notable roles include Zachary Levi's Fandral, Idris Elba's Heimdall and an old but exceptionally well-acted Odin by Anthony Hopkins. And btw I feel Jaimie Alexander would make a spectacular Diana (Wonder Woman).
If you can forgive the weak story and its tendency to inject humor at odd moments, Thor The Dark World is thoroughly enjoyable and will be entertaining even for people not keeping up with the Marvel Phases. I for one, was glad that as a stand alone movie, it entertains and excels more than its predecessor.
PS: Stay back for two shawarmas after the credits roll.