Friday, November 8, 2013
THOR -The Dark World' review: It's thunderous fun
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In the two years that have passed since he was banished to the desert of New Mexico, and the year-and-change since he helped defend Manhattan from space invaders, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has grown from a cocky, impulsive warrior prince to a man worthy of the trusty hammer he carries into battle. That’s great news for Asgard, the magical space kingdom from which he hails, but less-than-great news for Thor: The Dark World, the second solo outing for this blond-locked, muscle-ripped deity. Pigheaded arrogance, on full display in the first Thor film and last summer’s crossover bonanza The Avengers, is one of the qualities that gave Hemsworth’s hero a spark of real personality. Without it, he seems faintly duller—more square-jawed and noble, a superman as pious as he is formidable. There’s nothing like maturity to ruin a good rogue.
THOR -The Dark World' review: It's thunderous fun, outlandish
Like its predecessor, The Dark World leaps back and forth between Earth and Asgard, though the fish-out-of-water comedy that enlivened the original has gone missing. Actually, that’s not entirely true: This time, it’s love interest Jane (Natalie Portman) who’s humorously out of her element, but seeing her nervously meet the parents (Anthony Hopkins and Rene Russo) is less amusing than watching the Thunder God try to buy a horse at a pet store. How does a human end up walking the golden halls of Asgard? The answer involves vengeful elves, gravitational anomalies, inter-dimensional portals, and a vague, gaseous MacGuffin called the Aether. Most of these elements are introduced during another Hopkins-narrated prologue, this one skewing even closer to Lord Of The Rings territory. When not barking mythological exposition at one another, the characters are breathlessly exchanging pseudo-science that would make the late Gene Roddenberry proud.
But every step the series takes isn’t a backward one. In fact, as is the case with most good superhero sequels, The Dark World escapes the oppressive duty of franchise building, finally getting to play in the world its origin-story predecessor established. Replacing Kenneth Branagh in the director’s chair, TV-trained Alan Taylor (Game Of Thrones) adapts more gracefully to the Marvel house style; for once, the action is cleanly and coherently staged, and Taylor brings some of the gravity and grandeur of Westeros to this universe. (Without instituting a redesign, he’s somehow made Asgard seem less Emerald City-chintzy.) Filling in the cracks of the perfunctory narrative is a wealth of Whedonesque comedy, delivered by Thor’s returning, Earthbound cavalry: not just Jane, still flustered by her beefcake suitor, but also a quip-firing Darcy (Kat Dennings) and a ranting, pantsless Dr. Selvig (Stellan Skarsgård). This being a Marvel movie, there’s also a surprise cameo, this time by a character who doesn’t actually appear in the film. Confused? Just wait for it.
But would it kill the makers of these splash-panel blockbusters to dream up a bad guy with a little menace, a little flavor? As if to match Thor’s increasingly flawless virtue, the heavy here is a bland force of ancient evil, determined to destroy the universe because… well, that’s what forces of ancient evil try to do. Consequently, the movie’s most valuable asset may be Tom Hiddleston, reprising the role of Thor’s jealous, treacherous brother, Loki. He’s the only person onscreen with truly complicated motives, and Hiddleston reveals new depths to the character once The Dark World, in its most fruitful development, forces this black sheep into an uneasy alliance with the favorite son. Forget the fairy-tale romance between Jane and her hammer-wielding hunk. The real emotional center of the Thor series is this sibling rivalry, more compelling than any climactic battle royale or winking teaser for the next chapter.
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Marvel has done an extremely effective job over the past few years of grounding its movie universe in a recognizable reality. Tony Stark is an eccentric billionaire seemingly pulled from the latest headlines; Captain America is a well-intentioned hero that gets appropriated for wartime propaganda. The characters are all just one step away from our own world… and then there’s Thor.
Between his mythological underpinnings and almost magical powers, it’s no surprise that the Asgardian prince feels slightly out of step with the rest of the big-screen Avengers. There’s an inescapable comic book feel baked into him at the conceptual level, and while that has the potential to turn off new fans it also makes Thor a sort of bellwether character: if audiences can get behind Chris Hemsworth and a flying hammer, Marvel’s formula is right on target. In that regard Thor: The Dark World is a direct hit, an exercise in diligent execution that delivers exactly what fans of the first film will be looking for — though not much more....
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Things pick up some time after the events in The Avengers, with Thor methodically restoring order to the Nine Realms at the behest of his father, Odin (Anthony Hopkins, showing some restraint in a role that seems designed for scene-chewing). His brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) sits in the dungeons of Asgard for that whole trying-to-destroy-the-Earth thing, and while Thor should be in good spirits he’s restless, hung up on Natalie Portman’s Jane Foster.
It’s not until Jane just coincidentally happens to be infected by a long-lost weapon called the Aether that Thor returns to Earth to help. Soon after he discovers that the ancient enemies of Asgard, the Dark Elves, aren’t extinct as once thought, and Thor finds himself teaming up with Loki to prevent the Elves from — yes, you guessed it — destroying the entire universe.
It all sounds rather ridiculous, but it’s difficult to argue with a movie that works this hard to be entertaining. Thor may not come off as the most nuanced character in film history, but Hemsworth makes it work by bringing the full force of his charisma to the role. As the Dark Elf leader Malekith, Christopher Eccleston (Doctor Who) goes full Nosferatu, though he ultimately doesn’t have much to do other than vow vengeance in a menacing voice. The standout, just like last time, is Tom Hiddleston.
As Loki, Hiddleston brings a humor and dark empathy that doesn’t just play off of Thor’s monolithic stoicism; it tempers it. Loki’s court-jester antics make it feel like he’s having more fun than anybody else in the room, and I found myself feeling the same way whenever he was on screen. When Hiddleston gets the chance to add some new layers to the character, he’s able to take advantage without overplaying the moment or descending into caricature. On the human side of the equation Kat Dennings and Stellan Skarsgård return as Jane’s intern and mentor, respectively, providing some real fun and charm as the comedic counterweights to Portman’s less-than-energetic performance.
Shepherded by longtime television director Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones, Mad Men), The Dark World swiftly moves from moment to moment, never spending time to dig too deep before moving on to the next crowd-pleasing beat. Is Eccleston’s demonic summoning too intense? Don’t worry, a gag will be along in mere moments. Is that scene with Odin too dialogue-heavy? There’s some epic destruction just around the corner. There’s something for everyone, and while there may not be a lot of personality it does all feel vaguely, safely Marvel. It prevents the film from having any sharp edges — there’s none of the angst or emotional turmoil that ran through Iron Man 3 — but that’s not what Thor: The Dark World is aiming for. It’s an escapist comic-book movie, without apology.
After the incredible success of The Avengers it almost felt like Marvel was under more pressure than ever before. President of production Kevin Feige had shown that the company could pull off the near-impossible by creating an interconnected cinematic universe spanning multiple franchises; the question was whether it could repeat the trick on the way to The Avengers: Age of Ultron. Two films into Marvel’s second wave, the company continues to prove it knows how to entertain audiences — and if the post-credits teaser in Thor: The Dark World is any indication, there’s going to be even more fun in the year ahead.
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