The first real disappointment of the MCU.

Rating: 4/10 (16 April 2016)

I am going to skip my usual format and just have an open dialog about this film. I found it incredibly hard to come up with any "The good"s let alone some "The great"s. Simply put, I think this is the first MCU film that I don't like at all.
If you read my review for Thor (2011), you will know that I really loved that film. I loved the cast, the humor (in particular the physical comedy), the redemption story, the introduction of Hawkeye, pretty much everything about it. The Dark World trashes everything that was great about the first movie, and I don't even know why.
To start, the comedy of the first movie is almost entirely around Thor and how he doesn't understand the world he has been thrust into without his powers. He is hit by cars and subdued by orderlies. He smashes cups and drinks his new found friends under the table. His ego is the joke and we laugh and smile along with him as he finds his feet (and his place) in a new world. In TDW, the jokes are much meaner and, to me at least, far less funny.
One of the principal sources of supposed humor in TDW is Dr. Erik Selvig's mental breakdown. We see an absolute shell of the brilliant scientist we saw in Thor. He runs around naked, gives lectures to a group of disinterested mental patients, and takes off his trousers to think. This is funny how? His mind was almost destroyed by being forced to create a device that killed thousands and practically caused the downfall of his own planet. Har Har.
Another source of "humor" is Darcy's Intern...cause picking on/abusing people is funny.
Unfortunately, the fantastic ensemble cast is entirely wasted. Sif is turned into some sort of love rival and the Warriors Three are turned into mindless, characterless drones who do what Thor tells them, no matter how dumb. Darcy is a joke, a caricature of her character in Thor, and the chemistry between Thor and Jane is as flat as ever.
There are so many other problems with this movie. The plot doesn't make sense and relies on so many outrageous coincidences. Death happens too easily and with little real emotional impact. Unnecessary twists happen for no reason. It treats the viewer with such little respect, I could go on for pages.
In summary, did not like, won't watch again anytime soon.