Thor: The Dark World Spoiler-Free Review

Thor: The Dark World

Patrick looks at Thor: The Dark World and feels you will like what you will see.

Thor: The Dark World is a great movie, very confident and self-assured. It’s great to see Thor: TDW taking on its franchise’s mantel as well as Iron Man 3 did after The Avengers. This movie ticks all the boxes: inks to MCU, builds on the aftermath of The Avengers and it gives us a good indication of where Phase Two’s other instalments are going. Here is why I think it’s great.

The Dark Elves

The Dark Elves are great bad guys for Thor to face off against. This is important because it’s important for all threats to be plausible for one Avenger to take down but also they need to make sense for it to be that specific Avenger and not a different one. It worked in Iron Man 3 and it works here too. The Dark Elves are formidable but they are also few and therefore there was never going to be another attack like that in The Avengers. Malekith as well, being the main antagonist works well. His goal and the Dark Elves’ goal, is simple: return the universe to darkness using the Aether. All of this explained in the movie and I don’t want to get bogged down in exposition here as it could lead to spoilers I am trying to avoid. The simplicity of their goal is quite welcome. Unlike in Iron Man 3, where the bad guy’s motivation was hard to see, the simplicity of the Dark Elves’ goal makes room for story and keeps it moving along nicely. We know the Dark Elves= Bad Guys. World in Darkness= Bad and that is actually welcome. The other function of the Dark Elves is that they add to the Thor mythos and in a way that is actually understandable. Other movies like this could add complicated explanations and leave you exhausted by trying to remember everything about them. It also builds from the first Thor outing that Thor is from a different realm and although it wasn’t forgotten about in The Avengers it helps to have that idea fortified in this movie.

This guy here, he's the bad guy.

Relationship Development

Loki's relationship with Thor is developed nicely

Iron Man 3 was lucky that most of its major relationships had been already established and it was easy to pick up after the attack on New York. Thor: TDW had to deal with the fact that with one movie outing relationships need to be re-established. I think it did this well. We all know why Jane likes Thor. He’s a superhero. But why would Thor like Jane? It’s the Superman/ Lois Lane conundrum. Odin even asks Thor this in the movie. You also wonder why would he not go with Sif who has obvious feelings for him. This is handled well in the movie. Like Clarke (who loves Lois and not Superman) is a geek who loves Lois’ feisty side, Thor likes Jane for what she represents: humanity. Jane is, in Thor’s eyes, the essence of humanity and the reason why he is the way he is today. Parts of the relationship are glossed over but that is again a small thing in the grand scheme of things.

Thor’s other relationships with Odin and Loki are also put under the microscope. Thor and Loki bond fairly rounded and developed from the first one. I could say more but I think both Thor fans and Loki fans will like the direction the movie has taken it. Any further information could cause spoilers.

Thor and Odin’s relationship is interesting as well. Odin still questions Thor’s mentality and it seems clear after this movie that Odin is unstable and the weight of being king is playing on him. It seems in a way that he is resentful of both Loki and Thor in a way. It seems that Odin and Thor are at loggerheads because Odin expects it. I would be interested to see how other’s read it but it will be interesting to see how, if Thor 3 happens, how it could develop further.

Humour

This movie has an abundance of humour generally from Darcy. Kat Dennings steals every scene with her irreverent style of acting and is almost the female equivalent of Robert Downey Jr. The movie eases in and out of being funny and action really well. The nods to the MCU are also really funny and it helps to keep everything linked nicely as well.

Game of Thrones influence

This is not a major thing but Alan Taylor paces the movie really well and we can see that from his experiences on the show tell here. There is a confidence and self-assuredness that helps the movie. It asks the audience to stick with the story and most audiences I think will accept this pace and sense of story. I also think that we get a better grasp of Asgard in this film and the gap between worlds doesn’t seem quite as big after this movie.

Thor: TDW builds towards this

What next?

Thor: TDW really gives us a glimpse of Phase Two’s end game and links in what will probably be the parallel running Guardians of The Galaxy. The end game of Phase Two fast approaching and as the Winter Solider trailer shows, the whole thing is coming to a climax and fast. What we get from Thor: TDW more than perhaps Iron Man 3 couldn’t was that it gives Phase Two a shape of what things are to come.

VERDICT: 4/5

Confident, Self-assured and full of jokes. With thrills and spills AND SHOCKS! There are questions too that will have fans calling for Thor 3. It sets up Guardians of the Galaxy and it’s a nice lead in to Age of Ultron. With some nice inks to the extended MCU I think most fans will love Thor: TDW. The lost point is due to the final battle being slightly overcooked and hard to follow but besides that a definite must see for Marvel Fans. 

Thor will return.