"When do we get started?"

Rating: 6/10 (3 April 2014)

After "The Avengers", Thor is back in Asgard; however, a new threat arrives that is much older and more powerful than he ever imagined. Thor will take on a journey both dangerous and personal, and he may team up with some people he never would have imagined he would do so.
Where Kenneth Branagh's introduction to Thor was a charming, cheesy, even campy fish-out-of- water type of comic book film, Alan Taylor's "The Dark World" is tonally, visually, and thematically a different type of film, on a much bigger scale than the relatively low-key first installment. At times it even feels like a sci-fi war movie.
On a positive note, it seemed just as grandiose and big as the first one but in a different way. Plus, I enjoyed the character development and interaction between Thor and Loki. They were interesting characters, and I wanted to see their progress as brothers after "The Avengers". Tom Hiddleston as Loki is a show stealer; he delivers such great lines with such a great delivery that it's hard not to enjoy. My one issue with the character arc is that when he's brought back to live in the end (disguised as Odin), I have many thoughts about this: how did he live? How did he come back to Asgard? Where is Odin? Is he alive or dead? I wish that was explored more.
I also like the mother. She played a more substantial role in being both nurturing and able to stand her ground. When she died, I legitimately felt sadness in seeing a great character pass away. The funeral scene was also very well done and shot. Another positive note was the comic relief characters (the humans) being somewhat tolerable in this one than in the first one. Some scenes with them are annoying, but some (especially the ending) is well done that I really enjoyed their performance.
However, my problems with the movie are two things: one is the villain and the other is the actual dark world. For me, the villain was weak and forgettable. Even though Loki was kind of weak in the first Thor movie, he grew on me. This villain is so forgettable and uninspiring that I forgot what he looked like, as well as his motive being very underwhelming. Secondly, the Dark World, a world that has been built up and is in the title of the movie, is so generic and bland that it could've been called anything else.
On the whole, it's got problems and issues with the villain, and it's location. However, as a fun comic book movie, it's very enjoyable. I think this is better than the first one because the stuff I enjoyed from the first one is expanded in this movie whilst the things I didn't like from the first movie are either tossed to the side or not brought up that often. It's a fun movie with some problems, but still enjoyable.