Entertaining sequel brings Asgard to life

Rating: 7/10 (9 December 2016)

Released in 2013 and directed by Alan Taylor, "Thor: The Dark World" stars Chris Hemsworth in his second solo movie as the Thunder God. Natalie Portman returns as an astrophysicist and Thor's earth babe, Jane Porter, who's infected by an eerie otherworldly substance called aether. After Thor brings Jane to Asgard, war breaks out when the dark elf, Malekith (Christopher Eccleston), comes for the powerful substance.
The Thor comic was unique in that the stories regularly involved three realms: the mythical Asgard and neighboring areas, uncharted expanses across the universe, and Earth. I rarely appreciated the Asgardian segments, but I often enjoyed the many creative cosmic explorations and the Earth-centered stories. Like the first movie, this sequel is amazing in that it successfully recreates Asgard and its main characters for the screen, not to mention that it actually makes them interesting (I never found Odin, Sif or the Warrior's Three interesting).
The bulk of the movie takes place on Asgard and the sci-fi effects are just mind-blowing; I particularly like Malekith's spacecrafts and the Asgardian ship-crafts. Thankfully, there are some Earth sequences, including the dynamic climax in London. Bottom Line: This is a thrilling sequel; if you like the first movie you'll appreciate this one too.
ADDITIONAL CAST: Anthony Hopkins appears as Odin, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Rene Russo as Frigga, Idris Elba as Heimdall, Jaimie Alexander as Sif, Zachary Levi as Fandral, Ray Stevenson as Volstaag, Tadanobu Asano as Hogan, Kat Dennings as Darcy and Stellan Skarsgård as Eric.
The movie runs 112 minutes and was shot in England and Iceland, with additional studio work done in Manhattan Beach, California.
GRADE: B+