MCU Rewind #8 - Thor: The Dark World - Review
Release date (US): November 8th, 2013
Directed By: Alan Taylor
Rating: PG-13
Directed By: Alan Taylor
Rating: PG-13
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, Tom HIddleston, Idris Elba, Jamie Alexander, Kat Dennings, Christopher Eccleston, Stellan Skarsgard, Ene Russo
MCU REWIND REVIEW EXPLANATION: In these reviews, I will be going back to all the Marvel Cinematic Universe Films that have been released to date, reviewing each one in a retrospective manner. Expectations and background will detail how I felt about the film before the repeat viewing. This review will contain spoilers for these movies. You have been warned.
Previous Rating: 7.8/10
MCU REWIND REVIEW EXPLANATION: In these reviews, I will be going back to all the Marvel Cinematic Universe Films that have been released to date, reviewing each one in a retrospective manner. Expectations and background will detail how I felt about the film before the repeat viewing. This review will contain spoilers for these movies. You have been warned.
Previous Rating: 7.8/10
Expectations/Background: I remember back when this movie came out, I was really excited. And after watching it, I was satisfied. I think this was around the time though where I was able to critique a film for what it was without letting the hype completely get to me. And when I saw this film for the second time, I began to see the flaws in this film. I will admit, before this rewatch, I hadn't seen this film since a few months after its release. But everyone loves to hate on this film as the worst one in the MCU. And coming off of Thor, which I personally extremely dislike, I was wondering how much I would hate/like this film - couldn't be that bad right?
The Movie: So I'm going to be straight up - I don't mind this film at all. For those people who say that this film is downright awful, I respect their opinions, but I will also respectfully disagree - I equate this film to an Incredible Hulk in that the plot is very bland, generic, and boring, but the difference between that movie and this movie is that this film is visually much, much more appealing, and we have characters that we love who are returning, and much like Iron Man 2, their chemistry saves this from entering the abyss of pure boredom.
Positives: I think this was the film where Chris Hemsworth asserted himself as Thor. The previous two films were merely introductions - when we find Thor in this film, he's casually fighting Kronins and in general, being the god of thunder that we wanted to see.
Of course, we have the wonderful Tom Hiddleston as the god of mischief, Loki. Despite the limited role that he is given, and the cheap arc (we'll get to that in the next section), he takes his character, which he established in The Avengers, and completely owned every single scene that he was in. Hiddleston took his character, he knew his strengths, and he just ran with it, which made watching him and Hemsworth's Thor together such a treat.
This is a very safe film. When I write points in my "Positive" section, I want to write about things that I really liked about the given film, and to be quite honest, there's not much. That's not to say that I think that this is a bad film. This is a film where absolutely nothing stands out, but where nothing really goes horribly wrong. I think that Taylor played very safe with the characters and the story, and for the most part, it works. There are a couple moments where he attempts to go for the emotions, and I really appreciate that. I think that Thor took some time to establish emotion, but also took too much time with odd, fish-out-of water, humor.
Speaking of humor, I don't mind Kat Dennings. Is she the best comic relief? No. But when critics say that she's one of the worst things that have ever happened to the MCU, I will again respectfully disagree. I won't defend her character with my life, but I didn't mind her at all.
Negatives: I think that one of the "highlights" for many in the first Thor film was the chemistry between Thor and Jane. Natalie Portman is a world-class actress, but unfortunately, she wasn't given the best character arc throughout the film (mostly sleeping and fainting) and she didn't do the best with the character either. The romance this time around was ham-fisted, in your face, and it wasn't earned either.
The villains (more on them later) are weak. I would not want them to come back again in the MCU, but then again, they're not laughably bad like a Whiplash. They're just not good in any way.
I also think that, like I alluded to in the "positive" section, there is nothing memorable about this film. From beginning to end, you watch the movie but there isn't any one moment which you can define the film from (except for Loki as Captain America, that was pure gold).
And even though this film wasn't as disjointed, in my opinion, as the first film, I still feel there are many inconsistencies throughout the films. There are scenes with Jane talking to little kids with floating trucks, and then it transitions to scenes in Asgard with Thor and Loki. I'm not talking about the scenes themselves, I think that together they work fine - but I feel that when watching the film, when watching the two different storylines, it's almost as if you're watching two different movies.
What can I say about this movie? There's nothing really memorable. Nothing awful, nothing great. Overall, this film felt like an "introduce an infinity stone" film, not a Thor film.
The Villain(s): Again, Malekith isn't anywhere near as bad as Whiplash (the worst MCU villain in my opinion). But you could look up the word generic in the dictionary and find his picture. His motivation is generic, his dialogue is so boring and generic, and he himself is boring. And in the end he starts making random portals? I have no idea what his character was, and by the time the film was over and they killed his character off, I felt absolutely nothing. Also Kurse is there, and he looks cool. But he's just the muscle, and he's just there to look cool.
Positives: I think this was the film where Chris Hemsworth asserted himself as Thor. The previous two films were merely introductions - when we find Thor in this film, he's casually fighting Kronins and in general, being the god of thunder that we wanted to see.
Of course, we have the wonderful Tom Hiddleston as the god of mischief, Loki. Despite the limited role that he is given, and the cheap arc (we'll get to that in the next section), he takes his character, which he established in The Avengers, and completely owned every single scene that he was in. Hiddleston took his character, he knew his strengths, and he just ran with it, which made watching him and Hemsworth's Thor together such a treat.
This is a very safe film. When I write points in my "Positive" section, I want to write about things that I really liked about the given film, and to be quite honest, there's not much. That's not to say that I think that this is a bad film. This is a film where absolutely nothing stands out, but where nothing really goes horribly wrong. I think that Taylor played very safe with the characters and the story, and for the most part, it works. There are a couple moments where he attempts to go for the emotions, and I really appreciate that. I think that Thor took some time to establish emotion, but also took too much time with odd, fish-out-of water, humor.
Speaking of humor, I don't mind Kat Dennings. Is she the best comic relief? No. But when critics say that she's one of the worst things that have ever happened to the MCU, I will again respectfully disagree. I won't defend her character with my life, but I didn't mind her at all.
Negatives: I think that one of the "highlights" for many in the first Thor film was the chemistry between Thor and Jane. Natalie Portman is a world-class actress, but unfortunately, she wasn't given the best character arc throughout the film (mostly sleeping and fainting) and she didn't do the best with the character either. The romance this time around was ham-fisted, in your face, and it wasn't earned either.
The villains (more on them later) are weak. I would not want them to come back again in the MCU, but then again, they're not laughably bad like a Whiplash. They're just not good in any way.
I also think that, like I alluded to in the "positive" section, there is nothing memorable about this film. From beginning to end, you watch the movie but there isn't any one moment which you can define the film from (except for Loki as Captain America, that was pure gold).
And even though this film wasn't as disjointed, in my opinion, as the first film, I still feel there are many inconsistencies throughout the films. There are scenes with Jane talking to little kids with floating trucks, and then it transitions to scenes in Asgard with Thor and Loki. I'm not talking about the scenes themselves, I think that together they work fine - but I feel that when watching the film, when watching the two different storylines, it's almost as if you're watching two different movies.
What can I say about this movie? There's nothing really memorable. Nothing awful, nothing great. Overall, this film felt like an "introduce an infinity stone" film, not a Thor film.
The Villain(s): Again, Malekith isn't anywhere near as bad as Whiplash (the worst MCU villain in my opinion). But you could look up the word generic in the dictionary and find his picture. His motivation is generic, his dialogue is so boring and generic, and he himself is boring. And in the end he starts making random portals? I have no idea what his character was, and by the time the film was over and they killed his character off, I felt absolutely nothing. Also Kurse is there, and he looks cool. But he's just the muscle, and he's just there to look cool.
The Verdict: I know I'm in the vast minority when I say that I vastly prefer watching this film over Thor. I think that while there isn't anything memorable about this movie, I think that as compared to the first film, I didn't feel a sense of dislike while watching it. When Loki is on screen, he eats it up, and those scenes are the best. Chris Hemsworth establishes himself as Thor, but overall other than the great recurring characters, this movie is a whole lot of nothing. Letter Grade: C+. Number Score: 7.2/10
Should I Skip?: Here's the interesting thing. While this film is not good, not by any stretch of the imagination, do not skip this movie. Because the work that it does setting up the rest of the MCU is vital. It sets up moments in Ragnarok so well, which pay off great. And additionally, this is the second Infinity Stone, and while we haven't seen Infinity War, I'm sure the Aether will play a huge part. And again, this film isn't the worst out of all of them, so I think that it's worth watching.
TLDR: Loki returns to Asgard and is imprisoned for his crimes. Thor is off fighting various enemies when the Aether resurfaces and manifests itself in Jane Foster. With the Aether, Malekith awakens, and attempts to extract the Aether from Jane. Loki is "killed", and Thor confronts Malekith in Greenwich, England, and defeats him, preventing catastrophe. Jane and Thor reunite on Earth, and it is revealed that Loki is sitting on the throne of Asgard masquerading as Odin. In the credits, we see Sif and Volstagg (Thor's comrades) visiting the Collector and delivering the Aether to him, where it is revealed that it is an Infinity Stone.
9-10: Nearly Perfect
Should I Skip?: Here's the interesting thing. While this film is not good, not by any stretch of the imagination, do not skip this movie. Because the work that it does setting up the rest of the MCU is vital. It sets up moments in Ragnarok so well, which pay off great. And additionally, this is the second Infinity Stone, and while we haven't seen Infinity War, I'm sure the Aether will play a huge part. And again, this film isn't the worst out of all of them, so I think that it's worth watching.
TLDR: Loki returns to Asgard and is imprisoned for his crimes. Thor is off fighting various enemies when the Aether resurfaces and manifests itself in Jane Foster. With the Aether, Malekith awakens, and attempts to extract the Aether from Jane. Loki is "killed", and Thor confronts Malekith in Greenwich, England, and defeats him, preventing catastrophe. Jane and Thor reunite on Earth, and it is revealed that Loki is sitting on the throne of Asgard masquerading as Odin. In the credits, we see Sif and Volstagg (Thor's comrades) visiting the Collector and delivering the Aether to him, where it is revealed that it is an Infinity Stone.
**IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER**: Letter grades and Number grades do not mean the same thing. Just because I give a film an A does not mean it gets a 9.5 or above. They do not line up like a traditional school grading system To see specifics, see below.
A- to A+: Amazing
B- to B+: Enjoyable, but Flawed
C- to C+: Redeemable in some cases, but heavily Flawed
D- to D+: Nothing but Flaws
F: A Failure of a Film
8-9: Very Good
7-8: Good
6-7: Okay
5-6: Average/Mediocre
4-5: Apparently Flawed
3-4: Heavily Flawed
2-3: A complete and utter mess
0-2: A Failure of a Film
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