Simply spectacular...

Rating: 10/10 (9 November 2013)

Thor: The Dark World 9.5 out of 10.0
Simply spectacular
To start, the Marvel superhero franchise is the one of the few second only to Pirates of the Caribbean, to figure out how to make a captivating film. By the end, they leave you with a feeling of breathlessness and exhilaration that is rare to find in movies these days. You feel as though you were with the characters on their journey, felt what they felt. They accomplish what any great film should—to make the audience feel as though they lived the movie for those two hours. Those kind of films excite and inspire me in a way that cannot be described, something rare that you cannot put a price on.
Thor: The Dark World manages to do just this quite effortlessly (so to speak). The characters in my opinion are the backbone of the film, and they are beautifully written and portrayed. Particularly if you watch its predecessor beforehand, you can see the evolution and development of the characters. Thor has learned humility and sacrifice, and to deal with a pain brought on too soon. Loki is evolving as well, and it is exciting to watch Tom Hiddleston deliver a performance that opens your heart to what may arguably be the most well-written antihero of all time. Loki is so conflicted, torn between his heart and his drive for power, continually struggling to control the onslaught of emotions swirling around inside him. Always sly and manipulative, he finds an advantage and a witty retort for every tense situation. Even though he is devious and cannot be trusted, the pain and torment he endures pulls at your heart, and like Thor, you just can't help but hold onto a glimmer of hope that he is still in there and can be reached. This film offers both answers and questions to where Loki's true allegiance lies. Without revealing too much, it is absolutely marvelous seeing a little piece of the good inside bubble up to the surface.
The direction was a nice change of pace with Alan Taylor taking over for Kenneth Branagh. Usually directorial changes are at the detriment of the sequel, but not so in this case. He gives the film a feeling of depth and a much broader scope than the first. It's visually stunning, and only wish we got to explore Asgard a little more. The CG is *far* improved in this one as well, lending itself to helping the audience submerse themselves.
The transitions from action to drama to comedy were so quick and yet so seamless. It is a testament to the screen writing that we can feel engrossed the pain and loss in one scene and then laughing in the next.
I also love that Anthony Hopkins as Odin and Rene Russo as Frigga got more screen time. I only lament that we did not get to see Thor, Loki, and Odin fighting side by side, but perhaps such novelty is reserved for the third installment.
Furthermore, I also find fascinating that in theory, the anti-gravitational fields caused by the convergence offer an explanation to otherwise unexplainable things that happen in our own world, and as they state, may be another offering to the fact that in some cases science fiction turns out to be science that we had yet to understand. There is an intelligence and curiosity involved in this film that was grossly lacking in the first.
The one complaint I would say I probably have is the lack of character development of Jane Foster. She seems to just be kind of there, with no particular conflict other than the Aether running through her veins. She does show strength, but for the most part is portrayed as nothing more than a woman pining after a man—well, Thor that is. I also thought there would be more of a complication regarding removing the Aether from her without killing her. Furthermore, Dr. Erik Servig's eccentricities I think were a bit over-exaggerated, but it brought humor nonetheless. One could also argue that more elaboration should have been offered regarding Malekith and the Dark Elves, but being as though there were so many shades of gray and eccentricities surrounding Loki that were far more fascinating, there is much less need for it.
And I'm not sure if it was just me, but despite all the overall success of the execution of the film, I couldn't help but feel as though some scenes were cut out. It seemed as though we missed something in Asgard with Thor and Jane, and also the bifrost was destroyed and now suddenly it's just there with no explanation?
There is a transformation starting to take place in this film as it evolved from the first, and I can't wait to see what direction they take in the next one. I'm not entirely sure how I'm going to last waiting two years to see what happens next
9.5 out of 10.0
-HM