Thor: The Dark World (2013)

"Well done, you just decapitated your grandfather!", 10 August 2017

A powerful, ancient force known as the Aether is uncovered on Earth and finds its way into an unsuspecting host, Dr. Jane Foster. Thor takes Jane to Asgard for answers and help. Unbeknownst to anyone in Asgard (or in the rest of the Universe for that matter), the reemergence of the Aether has woken Malekith, a Dark Elf intent on gaining the Aether's power. He'll destroy all of Asgard if need be to get what he wants. As expected, it's up to Thor to save Jane, Asgard, and all of creation.

Overall, Thor: The Dark World (or Thor 2 as I'll call it for the rest of this) is an entertaining film. It has a few problems that keep me from calling it one of Marvel's best, but it's not a bad movie. Despite most of what I'm about to write sounding negative, I'm rating Thor 2 a 7/10. I honestly like the movie.

There are at least three things in Thor 2 that could have been better. First, the relationship between Jane and Thor has about as much life as a dead fish. There's no spark or chemistry that I could feel. It reminded me of another ill-fated on-screen romance featuring Natalie Portman – Padme and Anakin. The on-screen chemistry isn't helped by Portman's acting. It seemed obvious to me that Portman would have rather have been just about anywhere other than making another Thor movie. She looked disinterested in the whole thing. Second, the plot is thin and never really drew me in the way I'd hoped. Maybe others felt different, but it just didn't work on me. Maybe it was the villain that I didn't find engaging or Portman's off-putting performance or events I the movie that required huge amounts of exposition – whatever, the plot was a weak point for me. Third, Thor 2 could have been better with more Loki. For me, the highlight of both Thor movies has been Tom Hiddleston as Loki. He's so good. I'm not sure what kind of plot the MCU folks could come up with, but I would love to see a stand-alone Loki movie. How awesome would that be!

7/10