The return of the Australian Norse god

Phase 2 of Marvel’s grand scheme to take over the world (sorry, “make really good movies”) continues apace with this, the second entry in the series about everyone’s second-favourite Norse god (if you’re about to tell me Loki isn’t your favourite, I’m going to stop you there and tell you you’re a really bad liar). With Game of Thrones director Alan Taylor taking over the reins from Kenneth Branagh, it seems reasonable to expect things to take a darker, grimier tone than the rather camp, light-hearted original and, well, they do. After the standard opening monologue from Odin (Anthony Hopkins), events instantly launch into a full-scale battle (one of many), which looks far prettier than it has any right to be, considering it takes place in a world quite literally entitled The Dark World (why yes, it is that Dark World from the title, however did you guess). This grimy yet weirdly pretty quality seeps through the entire film – Asgard is absolutely beautiful, and the FX are second to none (the 3D’s even kind of good, in that ‘doesn’t quite justify the extra price of entry but still looks nice’ way). The design of the Dark Elves feels a bit generic (although their ship interiors bear more than a few similarities to the feel of the Xenomorphs from Alien, which gives them bonus creepiness), but since the focus is less on them and more on the action, it’s not a major issue. Speaking of the action (of which there is a lot), it’s just as good as anything that’s come before in the Marvel film universe, and in some cases goes on to better it. It’s as quippy as you’d expect from a Marvel film (as evidenced within the first two minutes of Thor’s (Chris Hemsworth) introductory fight), but it also ranges from the large-scale battles that echo those in Avengers Assemble to epic one-on-ones, including both a barnstorming action sequence on the Dark World and the finale, a inter-dimensional battle between Thor and Malekith (Chris Eccleston) that consistently wrong-foots everyone involved, from the participants to the audience (and is all the more fantastic for it). The twisty-turny nature of the finale is representative of the plot as a whole – there’s a lot going on here, and while it’s not exactly difficult to follow it can mean that the two major, surprisingly powerful emotional sequences feel a little weakened. On the flip-side: much more time spent on them would have dragged the film down into an over-long, intolerable mess, so taking it as it is is definitely the better option here. Of course, all this prettiness and delightful plot would count for naught were the actors completely useless, and that’s definitely not the case here. Hemsworth is as comfortable with Mjolnir as he’s ever been, Tom Hiddleston is the undeniable highlight as the wise-cracking Loki (who provides the vast majority of laughs throughout the film, despite only appearing in less than half), and the supporting cast give as good as they can with predominantly limited screen-time (particularly for the Lady Sif and the Warriors Three, who appear even less than they did the first time). Chris Eccleston feels a little wasted as Malekith considering he spends most of his time just making strange noises, though, as does Natalie Portman when her role is mostly reduced to damsel-in-distress replete with bonus sarky assistant (Kat Dennings, still fantastic). There are plenty of additional treats throughout the film – from one completely predictable cameo to one (hilarious) surprise one – and it’s definitely another Marvel film that demands a rewatch just to fully appreciate it all. A couple of plot points do go missing in action (namely the potential for a Sif-Thor-Jane love triangle), but on the whole it’s all wrapped up nicely in one of the year’s best films. As for the stings: well, see them for yourself. There are two, after all…