Nees A lot More Energy

Rating: Null/10 (11 December 2013)

Thor: The Dark World (2013)
** (out of 4)
Thor (Chris Hemsworth) must team up once again with Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) as the two must battle something that could destroy Asgard. I'm really not going to waste any time going over a "plot" because there really isn't much of one. I'm sure die-hard fans of Marvel are going to love this film but to me it was just very pretty looking but rather hollow. I was surprised at how effective the first film was and looking back on it, it's clear that director Kenneth Branagh had a lot to do with that. The first film had a very strong story, great characters, good performances and an energy that not many action films have. This one here is pretty much missing all of that stuff and instead we're just given routine action scenes that are quite loud coming from the speakers but they contain very little else. You know you're in trouble whenever an action picture has non-stop action and yet you continue to yawn. The entire movie just seemed so flat from an energy standpoint and to me it was clear that director Alan Taylor just wasn't able to pump up any emotion. The action scenes are incredibly flat and even the better than average CGI effects couldn't make up for it. Even worse is that the characters are all rather one-note with no real surprises to be found. There's no question that Hemsworth is perfect for Thor and he manages to turn in another good performance. Portman seems rather bored or just doing the film due to a contract forcing her. Even Anthony Hopkins and Rene Russo appear bored this time out. Tom Hiddleston does a very good job in the role of Loki and he's without question the best thing in the picture. Kat Dennings offers up the only amount of energy in the film. Thankfully, unlike many other Marvel movies, this one here keeps its running time rather short and for that I'm very thankful.