Well I finally went out and saw Thor: The Dark World. I’ve
heard a lot of good things about this one, so my expectations were high-
perhaps too high. This will be a spoiler-y post so if you have not seen the
movie yet, just a heads- up. I’d really love to hear your thoughts on the
movie, so please feel free to comment and let me know what you liked or didn't like. How does this one stack up with the other Marvel movies we've seen thus far?
The movie started out on a mixed note with me. The seemingly
obligatory prologue sets up the conflict and shows us what happened ages ago. I
didn’t care for this, these prologues where we’re introduced to the big bad guy
seem so chintzy to me with their growling and blustering about vengeance or
returning the universe to darkness or whatever. Yawn. I know this is a comic
book movie, but come on. Does that mean the script has to automatically suck?
Also the sight of dark elves shooting laser cannons immediately felt jarring to
me, dark elves and Asgardians fighting to me conjures up images of swords and
shields, and sure there is some of that, but it just felt off. Anyway moving
on.
We then segue to Sif and the Warriors Three fighting some…
bad guys. Whoever they are. Doesn’t really matter. Thor shows up to help out
and we have a bit of humor. Pretty good. So I’m thinking OK this is getting
better. This happened a lot for me in this movie- I’d see a scene I didn’t
like, then something a little better came along. Kind of a yo- yo effect. There
were never really any wow moments though- nothing that blew me away, like in
Avengers with those prolonged action sequences in the helicarrier and in New York .
Chris Hemsworth is fine as Thor and Tom Hiddleston is, of course, great as Loki. Many people have said Loki steals all the scenes he's in, and I agree with that for the most part. Maybe I was expecting him to be MORE awesome given all the hype, but I didn't really think he had that much to do. He sat in a cell for a large chunk of the movie, then he gets out, commiserates with Thor for a bit and they fight together. I was like, that's it? This movie needed way more Loki and way less, or better yet NONE of, Malekith and those silly dark elves.
Things I liked:
Sif. More Sif please. I don’t know what the Odinson sees in
Jane Foster, I mean Natalie Portman is fine in the role, but Sif is where its at.
More Volstagg- yeah he’s not the blundering oaf with a heart of gold from the
comics, but he’s good here and has a bit of charisma. He did a fine job.
The Thor/ Loki show- yeah that’s the saving grace of this
picture. In fact from all the build- up I thought there would be more. Having
watched the trailer and TV spots, I really had seen all the best lines already-
another classic case of the trailers showing the best of the movie.
Frigga- kicked Malekith’s ass. Too bad she didn’t take him
out right there- would have saved me from watching this super lame-o villain
for another hour or so.
Things I didn’t like:
Malekith and the whole dark elves thing. Again the script-
the bad guy goes on about restoring the universe to darkness and so on. Why?
Who knows. Totally one dimensional, I did not feel anything for the villain at all.
Odin- he was OK I guess, but not very effective at
protecting Asgard. Less of him and more of Frigga I say.
Grim Hogun- or is it happy Hogun? In the comics Hogun never smiles, hence the name. Always carries a mace, a big one with little knobby things on it- probably hurts when he bonks you with it. They really should get these details right. Hogun was absent almost the entire movie. Why?
Grim Hogun- or is it happy Hogun? In the comics Hogun never smiles, hence the name. Always carries a mace, a big one with little knobby things on it- probably hurts when he bonks you with it. They really should get these details right. Hogun was absent almost the entire movie. Why?
So on balance what did I think? If I had to grade it I would say a "C". Strictly pedestrian, nothing really wowed me- in fact I was pretty disappointed. Long stretches of ho- hum punctuated by a few promising scenes, but I just could not get excited about this movie. Marginally better than Iron Man 3, but not even in the same league as The Avengers.
What do you think?
I was disappointed in this movie as well. I feel that Jane Foster could have been a more awesome character, but they made her just a damsel. She stopped doing research because Thor left? She stops being angry with Thor because he never came back (even though he could), because he gave her dreamy eyes? Ugh. It made me sad.
ReplyDeleteI know, totally agree. She didn't do anything, just became a victim. And it took Thor 2 years (?) to come back to her? geez. I like when she slapped Loki and that's about it.
DeleteI liked Sif but they hardly developed her either.
I really liked the first movie, maybe I'll wait for the DVD on this one. nice review.
ReplyDeleteYou know I really thought I would like this one, yeah I was pretty disappointed. The performances were good, but just all the mindless battling fell flat for me. Thanks Kelley!
DeleteGood review Greg. Cool to see Thor get another movie that fully-fleshes him out, without making him seem like nothing other than just a total meat-head. With a hammer, of course.
ReplyDeleteThank you, I thought he was portrayed better this time around as well, had a little bit more to do and expanded upon his supporting cast a bit too. Wasn't crazy about it, but they did some things well and I'm just happy to have a Thor movie to complain about. :)
DeleteI can see your points especially about the villains. They're bad...just because. A little motivation would be nice. And something other than 'We were here long before you turds showed up and we want everything dark again.' Ok. What else ya got? 'Cause I'm not feeling that. Anyway, we really enjoyed it and I'll tell you why...we love CGI, fighting and stuff blowing up. We're fairly simple creatures here. LOL I wish there had been more between Thor and Loki because what there was I really got the sense they were brothers. I think those were the best scenes.
ReplyDeleteAnd Jane Foster was a total damsel. Boo-hoo. My man left me and didn't come back, I'll just toss everything I've done and mope. Did she change her name to Bella and I missed it?
Anyway, we enjoyed it, so it was money well spent for this family. :)
I totally agree about Thor and Loki- those scenes were great. I also wanted more- maybe more time with them just talking or working together or something. They were the best part of the movie.
DeleteLove the Bella comment! :)
Glad you liked it. As much as I bitched about it, just the fact that we can go see a pretty good Thor movie is kinda cool. :)
I really enjoyed it...but that's probably because of Loki. I mean overall without thinking about the movie in a comic book to movie comparison it was decent, lol. But as soon as you start comparing you just kind of get eh out of it. Thor is one of my favorite Marvel heroes, and Loki one of my favorite villains. One of my big irritations with the first one (and Avengers) was how much they 'nerfed' their powers. I mean Loki has some serious power, but he rarely shows it in these movies. In fact he rarely even uses magic, so I was happy that he at least got some use out of it in this one. Thor could decimate, but they don't let him. Don't even get me started on Jane...it seems like every time someone died she was there with this O_O face and I wanted to smack her. And yes more Frigga!! I loved seeing the interaction with Loki and learning a bit more about her in relation to both sons....of course we don't much of it, but it was nice. Odin is just Odin, terrible father...so-so leader. If I think back on it, Loki made the movie. Though the one scene with the arrows is probably one of the most memorable for me *sniffles*.
ReplyDeleteSee, I just told you I really enjoyed the movie and then I started ripping it a part. This is why I can't have nice things.
LOL! I know what you mean! You really have to go into it with the right expectations- I do tend to compare to the comic and then I'm disappointed, since I often feel they change the stories around and not for the better. And I felt the same way about their powers- like in Avengers when Thor unleashed the lightning at one point, and I thought why doesn't he keep doing that? Problem is solved. :) Instead they powered him down...
DeleteThere are lots of instances in the comic where he cuts loose and you get a sense of how powerful he is. Not so much in the movies though...
I liked Frigga and Loki too, more of that please! His relationship with Thor as well as his parents has always been fascinating, the whole half brother element. Lots of potential there.
I was pretty hard on it I guess, but it did have its moments. :)
I need to see this, because I did enjoy the first Thor movie and The Avengers. But I think I'll wait until it shows up on Netflix.
ReplyDeleteI don't think you miss much by waiting, I was disappointed in it but I know lots of people loved it. If you've seen the trailers you may have seen the best parts. :) I liked the Avengers but have been largely disappointed in the individual movies.
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