Great action, hilarious comedy, and character improvement make this a hit

Rating: 8/10 (6 November 2013)

Thor: The Dark World is, in short, a hit. With a new and different threat, the battle takes place behind the lines, in wastelands, and on metropolis Earth, rather than the cold world and small town scene of the first film. Trickery, subtlety, and cunning take the place of brute force this time, and it's a good direction to take.
The characters, for the large part now established, were furthered well. Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) was played well, but could have spoken up a great deal more near the end. It should have been more shocking when he finally spoke English, in fact I don't recall the exact moment he started.
The action in this film was great, but skipped a few beats at times, which is forgivable this time with Loki's interchanges with Thor. Marvel did meet my expectations with intermittent comedy, once again. This sequel was full of it, and each time it was written and performed very well, and got a laugh from the whole audience.
The movie is family-friendly except for fantasy violence, two moments of direct violence, partial nudity (a character is shown in public on television, but is thankfully censored), and less worrying details seen here. See it in 3D, see it in 2D, either works. 3D doesn't stand out, for better or worse. All in all, Thor: The Dark World is worth seeing in cinemas.
P.S. Stay after all the credits roll, and you'll be doubly rewarded.
I was given early access to see the film by Walt Disney Studious. I was not required to write a positive review, and the opinions here are my own.