Another fun entry for the Marvel franchise

Rating: 7/10 (5 February 2014)

Two years after the events of 'The Avengers', Loki has been imprisoned in Asgard and Thor is restoring peace through the realms. As the realms are about to converge and an older-than-the-universe evil awakens again, it's up to Thor to protect his girlfriend Jane, who has the key power needed for the villain to triumph.
Part of the 'Phase Two' of Marvel's cinematic universe, 'Thor: The Dark World' is the second solo adventure of superhero and Norse deity played by Chris Hemsworth. It stands strong mostly thanks to a cast that is already more used to their roles.
Hemsworth, by now, has already mastered his role. He managed to find the right balance for his character, far more mature and leader-like than in his previous appearances. As before, Tom Hiddleston dominates every time he is on screen as Loki, being responsible for some of the film's best moments. Anthony Hopkins is good, but flawed; his Odin acts a bit too out of character later on, considering how he was established in the first film it is hard to believe he would get so carried away by grief and risk the entire universe for a relatively petty revenge.
Earth-wise, once again the film suffers from the same problems. Natalie Portman is quite weak here (as much as in the first), which is problematic considering she has a larger role; meanwhile, Kat Dennings and Stellan Skarsgard once again serve as nothing but a sad attempt at comic relief. Skarsgard, in particular; his character, so serious and intelligent on 'The Avengers', has been reduced to a pathetic loon that has little to do with how his character had been presented before.
The plot is inventive, and the expanding on the Marvel universe was nice. The whole Dark Elves storyline was good, the villains were menacing and challenging (Christopher Eccleston and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje were very good) and the concept of the Aether, while somewhat underdeveloped, was nice. Sif and the Warriors Three, as well as Heimdall, were fun to watch if a bit underused.
The special effects and action scenes were nice as always, and even without Kenneth Branagh Asgard kept the same fantastic-yet-medieval look from the first film. The final battle, with the characters moving through dimensions, was a particularly good visual feast.
My main problem with the film, though, is not the weak comedic try or the underuse of certain aspects. Main problem is the fact this is an established universe where Thor is not the only hero.
In 'The Avengers', it took multiple heroes (Thor amongst them) and a super-secret spy agency to stop an otherwordly invasion. In here, you have an otherwordly being, even more powerful than the one before, who is not wanting to rule the world but to DESTROY IT and ALL OF EXISTENCE... Yet Thor tackles him by himself, and ENDS UP VICTORIOUS?!
Considering a 'nobody' astrophysicist like Jane (Portman) could track the dimensional rifting, wouldn't SHIELD do the same and investigate a possible threat? Where is Iron Man, who has been shown to go around the world relatively fast? It is not like no one knows what is happening, as there is a lot of people watching and filming the battle.
When you consider it by itself, 'Thor: The Dark World' is a very good and fun superhero film, only dragged down by its weak attempts at humor (8/10). Franchise-wise, however, the film ends up with some plot- holes and continuity illogicality (6/10).
The ending was very good, foreshadowed but not overly predictable. The mid-credits scene expands the Marvel universe further, and creates hype for their future works.