--Odin
"We are not gods. We are born, we live, we die. Just as humans do."
--Odin
One of the most underrated MCU movies, alongside The Incredible Hulk [1], Thor: The Dark World does not deserve all of the harsh criticism that has been meted out upon it since 2013. Though it lacks a developed and complex villain, as many MCU films do, its strengths stand out plainly: the acting, scenery, and effects are superb. It also lacks the atmosphere of relentless, childish comedy that started overpopulating many of the MCU offerings from the end of Phase Two onward--a trend that Black Panther [2] and Infinity War [3] are just starting to reverse. As with the greatest films in the MCU (like The Incredible Hulk, The Winter Soldier [4], and the aforementioned 2018 movies), there are actual stakes in the story, which honors the first Thor film while subtly suggesting at the coming events of the third.
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Production Values
The scenery, costumes, and effects are gorgeous. Thor: The Dark World portrays barren landscapes and areas of vibrant colors, the contrast accentuating the stark colors of the scenes on Asgard, with many scenes involving Asgard standing out because of the city's foreign technologies, all of which are animated beautifully. The brilliant visuals enhance some great action scenes. Thankfully, the acting is also excellent all around. Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston have an incredibly lifelike relationship onscreen, one that exhibits complexity, nuance, and emotion. They are immersed in their roles in the best way. Both actors are capable of conveying layered characterization with either their words or their body language, each one contributing to some of the movie's most significant narrative scenes. Anthony Hopkins (Odin), Jaimie Alexander (Lady Sif), and Idris Elba (Heimdall) offer great performances of their own, despite having much less screentime. Even Natalie Portman does a great job handling many of her lines, easily surpassing her acting from the first two Star Wars prequels. Also, Kat Dennings' character Darcy Lewis, whom the role of providing comedy regularly falls to, is able to deliver her humor in a way that doesn't detract from the legitimate seriousness of the story's events. Marvel movies need more of that!
Story
As usual, spoilers are below.
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In the aftermath of Loki's destructive behavior in The Avengers, the god of mischief is brought before Odin and sentenced to life incarceration in the dungeons of Asgard. While Asgard experiences renewed peace, thanks to the efforts of Thor and several of his friends, an event called the Convergence approaches: an alignment of the Nine Realms that occurs every few thousand years. Due to abnormal gravitational phenomena foreshadowing the Convergence, Jane Foster, Thor's human lover, ends up indwelt by the Aether, a powerful weapon once used by the Dark Elf Malekith in an attempt to plunge the universe into darkness.
As the Aether enters Jane's body, Malekith awakens, having survived his last battle with Asgardians thousands of years ago. He brings elite warriors to Asgard in search of the Aether, killing Thor's mother Frigga when she refuses to disclose Jane's location. Though Thor chases Malekith away, Asgard is left defenseless and full of uncertainty. Amidst the tension, Thor turns to Loki, freeing him in exchange for Loki bringing him and Jane to meet Malekith away from Asgard. In the resulting confrontation, Malekith removes the Aether from Jane, with Loki being mortally impaled and Thor and Jane being abandoned.
The duo escape and return to earth via a portal between the realms, allowing them to reunite with some human allies. Thor, aided by Jane and some of her equipment, then defeats Malekith by teleporting him away from earth. He returns to Asgard, speaks with Odin, and rejects an offer of the throne, saying that he would rather be a good man than a great king. As he walks away, Odin changes form into Loki, who now sits upon the throne he previously coveted.
Intellectual Content
There isn't much in the film that could merit a worthwhile discussion about philosophy, save for a few scattered lines--but, when Jane is brought to Asgard after the Aether infects her, Odin says that the Aether is one of several relics that "predate the universe," also adding that the Dark Elves existed before the Nine Realms. Since the creation of the universe is the creation of matter, it would be impossible for there to be anything material prior to the existence of the universe. No material object can predate the physical cosmos, for then a component of the universe would exist before the universe existed!
Conclusion
It is unfortunate that The Dark World has such a negative reputation, because it has actual gravity, some very impactful character moments, and some very skilled acting on the parts of both lead and supporting actors. The final scene alone, even isolated from the rest of the movie, is absolutely splendid in its execution, setting up the comedy film Thor: Ragnarok without even slightly betraying the consistently serious tone the previous scenes built up. Yes, Malekith is an extremely weak villain, teetering at or around the same ground as Justice League's woefully undeveloped Steppenwolf. The rest of the movie makes up for it, though! I wish more MCU movies were like The Dark World, not fewer.
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Content:
1. Violence: The usual non-graphic Marvel action is on display here. The most brutal moments are those when Malekith's arms are detached from his body via teleportation.
2. Profanity: Only very infrequently does anyone use profanity.
[1]. https://thechristianrationalist.blogspot.com/2017/08/movie-review-incredible-hulk.html
[2]. https://thechristianrationalist.blogspot.com/2018/02/movie-review-black-panther.html
[3]. https://thechristianrationalist.blogspot.com/2018/04/movie-review-avengers-infinity-war.html
[4]. https://thechristianrationalist.blogspot.com/2018/07/movie-review-captain-america-winter.html
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