Nggakcuma diharapkan film ini bukan cuma Thor: Ragnarok part 2 (alias mengulang formula kocak-kocakan yang sama), tapi juga Thor jadi superhero MCU pertama yang punya empat film. Penyelamat Taika adalah Christian Bale. Aktingnya sebagai Gorr the God Butcher bikin film ini bukan sekedar karya komedi belaka. NewMovie News, Movie Trailers & upcoming Movie Reviews Home; Comics; Comic News Thor #2 Review. By Brian Cronin . Published Aug 01, 2007. Share Share Tweet Share Email. After an absolutely dreadful first issue, J. Michael Straczynski recovers nicely in this second issue, which delivers a nice set-up for Thor's return to the Marvel Universe MightyThor. Film ini kemudian memperkenalkan kembali kepada karakter Jane Foster, love interest Thor dari film-film sebelumnya. Kali ini Jane Foster yang telah membuat patah hati Thor, tampil sebagai karakter 'heroine' yang perkasa, di mana dia dapat menyatukan potongan-potongan dari palu Mjolnir dan berubah menjadi Mighty Thor. Thor Love And Thunder Movie Review: Critics Rating: 3.5 stars, click to give your rating/review,This genre fluid romcom is helluva fun but also underwhelming in scale for a Marvel film. Thor#2 Review. She be worthy. By The David F. Sandberg-directed film, a sequel to the 2019 film Shazam!, continues the story of teenage Billy Batson who, upon reciting the magic word apa manfaat dari perencanaan usaha budidaya unggas petelur. Thor The Dark WorldPERHATIAN!Artikel ini mengandung spoiler mengenai jalan cerita dari film/drama ini. Karena pada ending film ini Thor kembali bersatu dengan Jane, kesannya jadi seperti film super hero klasik. Mirip dengan Spiderman yang pada akhirnya selalu berakhir dengan Mary Jane. Baik dalam film Spiderman maupun Thor, karakter pendamping wanita begitu kuat kehadirannya. Tapi, ini adalah penampilan terakhir Jane di serial film Thor. Karena, pada Thor 3, karakter Jane sudah tidak ada lagi. Mereka diceritakan putus begitu saja. Bahkan Thor juga tidak mengambil tahtanya karena ingin bersama Jane di Bumi, kan? Menurut selentingan beberapa surat kabar online, absennya karakter Jane pada Thor 3 didukung oleh ketidakpuasan Natalie Portman pada karakter yang ia dapatkan dalam MCU. Ada juga yang bilang karena Natalie syuting film Star Wars. Ada juga teori kalau terus bersama, Thor dan Jane hanya akan menyakiti satu sama lain, karena mereka telah melalui kematian ibunya Thor. Tapi menurut rumor yang beredar, Jane Foster bakal kembali di film Thor 4 yang berjudul Thor Love and Thunder coming soon akhir tahun 2021. Walaupun di judulnya ada kata Love, film ini tidak akan berfokus pada cinta-cintaan, loh. Penasaran? Tonton saja nanti kalau filmnya sudah tayang, ya. Spoiler Setelah Endgame, Thor tidak menjadi pemimpin Asgard karena ia menyerahkan tahtanya pada Valkyrie. Thor pun bergabung dengan tim Guardian of the Galaxy! So, kira-kira yang bakal menjadi 'Thor' di film ke-4 siapa, ya? Menarik! Menggabungkan Tiga Latar Tempat Malekith tinggal di Svartalfheim alias Dark World, tapi tempat itu telah hancur akibat peperangannya dengan Bor ayah Odin, kakek Thor sehingga tempat ini digambarkan sepagai padang pasir yang tandus dan suram. Kita juga mendapatkan visual Asgard dengan bangungan ala Eropa zaman dulu yang mewah, dan tentunya ada scene berlatarkan Bumi juga. Dialog yang Seru Saya pikir daripada jalan ceritanya, yang lebih seru dari film ini adalah dialognya. Seperti film MCU pada umumnya, terutama Thor, sering banget diselipi komedi. Kita tahu Thor dan Loki sering banter, saling membalas omongan dengan sarkastik, sehingga menyenangkan untuk penonton. Tidak hanya dengan Loki, Thor juga kadang berbalas ucapan dengan Jane Foster dengan voucher streaming Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, Viu, dll murah di Lazada Saya juga sangat menikmati adegan 'rapat pembelot Asgard' di film Thor 2 ini. Pergantian scene ketika Thor memimpin rapat dan mengeluarkan idenya, lalu berganti dengan scene sekarang di mana rencana Thor sedang terjadi. Itu seru, sih. Apalagi diselipi komedi di mana-mana dan obrolan singkat antar pemainnya yang terkesan 'nyambung'. Belum lagi kameo Captain Amerika, yang walau singkat cukup mewarnai film ini. Loki & Darcy, The Scene Stealer Selain para karakter utama, saya pikir Loki dan Darcy sangat 'menyala' dalam film ini. Tentu Loki memang memiliki banyak penggemar sebagai anti-hero atau anti-villain yang memiliki kepribadian unik. Kita bisa cukup puas menonton Loki dalam film Thor 2 ini karena adegannya cukup banyak. Kita juga bisa melihat Loki beberapa kali melakukan kekuatan ilusinya. Kamu akan terus dibuat bingung, sebenarnya Loki akan menjadi 'baik' atau tetap menjadi Loki. Karena setiap adegan ia selalu berubah-ubah, it's fun to guess what will he do next. Selanjutnya, Darcy Lewis, asisten magangnya Jane Foster. Ia memiliki karakter yang nyeleneh, serampangan, juga bermulut lemes. Setiap kali ada Darcy, adegan itu pasti jadi lucu. Saya pikir pantas jika Darcy dikatakan sebagai scene stealer. Sedikit Membahas Tentang Infinity Stone di Mid-Credit Kalau menonton film MCU itu memang tidak boleh melewatkan post credit, karena selalu ada spoiler untuk film yang akan datang. Walau, kadang bukan dari film inti yang sama. Kalau film Thor 2 ada dua bocoran, yaitu mid-credit dan post credit. Kalau post-credit Thor 2 memberi tahu penonton kalau Thor akhirnya bersama dengan Jane di Bumi. Sedangkan mid-credit, tepat setelah film selesai dan sebelum daftar credit muncul, ada adegan di mana dua pejuang Asgard mengunjungi The Collector. Adegan ini berhubungan dengan film Avengers, Guardian of the Galaxy, dan Doctor Strange karena membahas infinity stone. Menurut saya, Thor 2 ini bukan film terbaik dari keseluruhan serial film Thor yang sudah ada. Saya tidak akan berpikir "Ingin nonton ulang film Thor 2, ah!" karena filmnya tidak seseru itu, tidak ngangenin. Saya kira menonton satu kali saja sudah cukup agar kamu mengetahui plot cerita tentang Thor dan MCU, atau beberapa kali untuk refresh your memory. Ada juga beberapa adegan yang saya rasa kurang lama, atau mungkin kurang jelas, sehingga penonton belum bisa sepenuhnya masuk untuk meresapi itu. Seperti kematian Frigga, ibunda Thor, misalnya. Belum sempat kita mengenal Frigga lebih dalam, eh sudah mati saja karakternya. Kita juga tidak bisa ikut sedih karena scene sudah berganti lagi ke Thor yang ingin menghancurkan Malekith. Sedangkan film ini memiliki waktu untuk membuat punch line sana-sini yang walau lucu, tapi tidak selalu semuanya berhasil. Film ini mendapat tinjauan yang beragam secara kritis, tetapi jelas sukses secara komersial. Film ini termasuk film yang terlaris pada tahun 2013 dan mendapatkan keuntungan lebih dari $ Jarak antara film Thor 2 ke 3 cukup lama, yaitu 4 tahun. Thor Ragnarok film ke-3 Thor rilis pada November 2017. Anyway, film Thor 2 ini cukup menghibur menurut saya, karena walau judulnya The Dark World, film ini tidak terlalu 'gelap'. Well, kecuali adegan kematian Frigga dan Loki yang hilang akal akibat kematian ibu angkatnya tersebut, sisanya dibuat 'tidak terlalu serius' sehingga tidak menakutkan. Bahkan adegan perang Thor dan Melekith saja ada sisi komedinya. Jadi, saya akan memberikan rating untuk film Thor The Dark World. Kalau menurut kamu, bagaimana keseluruhan film Thor yang ke-2 ini? “Thor Love and Thunder” is more or less a victory lap for all that director Taika Waititi achieved with his previous Marvel film, the often hilarious, rousing, and plainly refreshing “Thor Ragnarok.” And while it has too many familiar flourishes and jokes, this entertaining sequel is still a force for good, with enough visual ambition and heart in front of and behind the camera to stand on its own. We meet our space Viking hero and thunderous Norse god Thor Chris Hemsworth on a path of healing. Going “from dad bod to god bod” to quote Waititi’s voiceover recap, delivered by his still-charming rock-bodied softy character Korg, Thor has lost the gut he had in “Avengers Endgame,” and the people of Asgard have settled into a port town called New Asgard after their home realm was trashed in “Thor Ragnarok.” Their leader, the charismatic King Valkyrie Tessa Thompson, has helped them acclimate to life on Earth, which includes being a tourist attraction. With the assistance from the Guardians of the Galaxy in a brief appearance, Thor gets back into worlds-saving shape, and in a Guns N' Roses-accompanied moment, in the beginning, he unleashes stylized, high-flying slaughter a la many scenes in “Thor Ragnarok,” wielding his axe Stormbreaker. But he has no one to share the victory with, and for all of the hundreds of years Thor has lived, he has resigned to not finding true love. The film then re-introduces a more interesting hero in Jane Foster Natalie Portman, Thor's past human love interest from the previous films during his more serious days. Now, she wields the restored pieces of Thor’s hammer Mjolnir, turning into the Mighty Thor with helmet and cape, but all with a price. Every time she uses the power, it takes away from her human capacity, which is all the more devastating given that we learn she has Stage Four cancer. “Thor Love and Thunder” thoughtfully reinstates Jane into the action, while giving some more depth to her relationship with Thor. In both her human and her heroic state, Portman’s performance conveys why it's great to see Jane again. The adversary this time around is Gorr the God Butcher, a tortured character filled with vengeance who provides the shadows to the movie's immense moments of light. After the death of his daughter turns him into a non-believer, Gorr is chosen by a weapon called the Necrosword, and creates an army of shapeshifting black beasts to kill all gods, starting with the one who ignored his cries for help. Christian Bale is striking in the role, fluctuating between high and low voices, relishing the chance to brandish his sharp teeth. It’s the closest we’ll get to seeing him play Pennywise the Clown, with a dash of Voldemort, but tethered to the same humility Bale brings to his most human, humbled characters. He can be mighty fun to watch, even when “Thor Love and Thunder” undersells his god butchering for the sake of a more sentimental message, and to make him share scenes with frightened children. Co-written by Waititi and Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, “Thor Love and Thunder” just doesn’t truly flourish as it could. Part of its messiness kicks in with its big conflict when Gorr the God Butcher attacks New Asgard at night in a frantic impromptu fight scene that has Waititi's usually stable vision for Thor action losing control. The supposedly scary scene just happens, and it’s difficult to follow in the dark what’s going on, as shadow creatures wage battle on the Asgardians and kidnap their children. The sequence is so disjointed that a visual gag involving a collapsing burning building in the background—timed for when Thor meets cute again with Jane as a hammer-wielding, ass-kicking, Mighty Thor—just doesn’t work. In order to stop Gorr and save the stolen children, Jane, Thor, King Valkyrie, and Korg visit the god of lightning Zeus and the other Gods, who laze about in a golden forum and talk about the next orgy, unafraid of what Gorr is looking to do to them. Like a golden and white version of the Galactic Senate in “Star Wars,” with a grab-bag of goofy creatures one has furry feet and a face, that's it; another is a Korg relative it makes for one of the more eye-popping set pieces. But it’s also a moment in which the movie is building toward future “Thor” stories at the detriment of this one, including a shrugging cameo seen in the post-credits. It’s also a passage among many in which it's clear that Tessa Thompson’s character of King Valkyrie, though important with the goings-on of New Asgard, has oddly been pushed to the side despite her established importance and swagger in “Thor Ragnarok.” “Thor Love and Thunder” flirts with when a call-back story beat or joke is just playing the hits, the same way that there are a million Guns N' Roses nods and needle drops in this movie just because, and you’re expected to head-bang each time. All of its pop culture ad-libs, or punched-up superhero stuff about coming up with catchphrases—when those jokes feel safe instead of left-field, they fall particularly flat. “Thor Love and Thunder” is a blockbuster comedy sequel at its core, and its weaker material reminds you of that even when it’s still good for a sporadic laugh or two. Lacking the overall freshness that defined the previous movie, “Thor Love and Thunder” is better with its bolder, dramatic sequences that are like mini-movies about how love comes with the price of loss. Gorr is introduced in a harrowing piece of bubble gum Ingmar Bergman, cradling his dead child and renouncing his god before killing him, all before the Marvel Studios credit card kicks in with electric guitars. Later on, Waititi presents us the Jane and Thor romance—its coziness and later its isolation—like a spin-off of his own quirky indie “Eagle vs. Shark.” It's very funny in some moments, but with a brutal honesty always in frame, especially as the two then see if love is salvageable in the current dwindling timeline. Along with Jane’s striking cancer storyline, it's these heartfelt moments too that reveal the true motivators behind “Thor Love and Thunder,” even if everything is later treated in too quaint, or too eagerly crowd-pleasing a fashion to hit as hard as they clearly meant to. The biggest takeaway from “Thor Love and Thunder,” aside from how Waititi really should get that “Star Wars” trilogy he’s been teasing, involves his bold usage of color, visually and thematically. It’s not just the eye-popping hues, which here include soldiers for Zeus who spew golden blood or a bravura black-and-white fight sequence between Gorr and Thor on a tiny color-draining planet that uses select flashes of blue light with great effect. It’s that assured sense of tone that preaches how a movie can mix god-killing and kid-friendly crowd-pleasing moments with a gooey message about love. This sequel is not without its reservations, but Waititi continues to show just how unique these blockbusters can still be, provided their storytellers keep embracing some of their heaviest and funniest ideas. Available in theaters on July 8th. Nick Allen Nick Allen is the Senior Editor at and a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association. Now playing Film Credits Thor Love and Thunder 2022 Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence and action, language, some suggestive material and partial nudity. 119 minutes Latest blog posts about 3 hours ago about 3 hours ago about 24 hours ago 1 day ago Comments Chris Hemsworth as Thor. I didn't attend the critics' screening for "Thor" because it was at the same time Ebertfest was showing "A Small Act," about an 88-year-old woman named Hilde Back. She'd flown from Sweden, and I wanted be onstage to present her with the Golden Thumb. Missing "Thor 3D" was not an inconsolable loss, because I was able to see it in Chicago in nice, bright 2D. The house was surprisingly well-populated for a 850 screening on a Monday, suggesting that some people, at least, will make an effort to avoid 3D. "Thor" is failure as a movie, but a success as marketing, an illustration of the ancient carnival tactic of telling the rubes anything to get them into the tent. "You won't believe what these girls take off!" a carny barker promised me and my horny pals one steamy night at the Champaign County Fair. He was close. We didn't believe what they left on. The failure of "Thor" begins at the story level, with a screenplay that essentially links special effects. Some of the dialog is mock heroic "You are unworthy of your title, and I'll take from you your power!" and some of it winks ironically "You know, for a crazy homeless person he's pretty cut." It adapts the original Stan Lee strategy for Marvel, where characters sometimes spoke out of character. The story might perhaps be adequate for an animated film for children, with Thor, Odin and the others played by piglets. In the arena of movies about comic book superheroes, it is a desolate vastation. Nothing exciting happens, nothing of interest is said, and the special effects evoke not a place or a time but simply special effects. Thor to begin with is not an interesting character. The gods of Greek, Roman and Norse mythology share the same problem, which is that what you see is what you get. They're defined by their attributes, not their personalities. Odin is Odin and acts as Odin and cannot act as other than Odin, and so on. Thor is a particularly limited case. What does he do? He wields a hammer. That is what he does. You don't have to be especially intelligent to wield a hammer, which is just as well, because in the film Thor Chris Hemsworth doesn't seem to be the brightest bulb in Asgard. The land sphere? state of mind? heaven? known as Asgard is described in Norse mythology as being near Troy, or perhaps in Asia Minor. In the movie, as nearly as I can gather, it is not of this earth and must be elsewhere in the universe. It consists of towering spires and skyscrapers linked by bridges and buttresses and betraying no sign of a population, except when untold thousands of Asgardians are required to line up at attention like robotic Nazis to receive dictates from the throne of Odin Anthony Hopkins. Asgard's ancient enemies are the Frost Giants, whose home is Jotunheim. I believe, but cannot promise you, that Jotunheim and Asgard are linked by a bridge, although this bridge also seems to be the way Thor reaches Earth, so perhaps it's more of a gateway through time and space, which would explain why Asgardians hurtle across intergalactic light-years and land in New Mexico without a hair out of place. Thor is the first to arrive, and encounters three human scientists. Whether he is human himself is a question the film sidesteps. We know from mythology that gods sometimes mated with humans, which is a hopeful sign. The humans are astrophysicist Jane Foster Natalie Portman, her friend Darcy Kat Dennings and the distinguished Dr. Erik Sevig Stellan Skarsgard. I mention she's an astrophysicist because behaves more like a Storm Chaser, cruising the desert in a van and peering into the skies, which won't get you far in astrophysics. Their van hits Thor after he unluckily lands in front of it. This is not a Meet Cute for the gods. Later there's a meteoric event in which Thor's hammer hurtles to earth and becomes embedded so firmly that it can't be pulled lose by a pickup truck or even the federal government. So now Thor is on Earth, his hammer is stuck, and I am underwhelmed. Thor luckily speaks English and Jane and her friends take him to the local diner, where he eats lots of Pop Tarts and, when he finishes his coffee, smashes the empty cup to the ground. "We don't do that," Jane explains as if to a child, and advises him to simply order another cup, after which he apparently absorbs human behavior and the movie drops the Taming of the Thor angle. The three scientists are thin soup. Jane flirts demurely with Thor, Kay stands next to her and does nothing very important, and Dr. Sevig regards them gravely and looms slightly above a low-angle camera while looking on with wise concern. There is also a government agent Clark Gregg, whose every action is the remedy to an immediate requirement of the plot. Superhero movies live and die on the quality of their villains. "Thor" has a shabby crew. The Frost Giants spend most of their time being frosty in their subzero sphere of Jotunheim and occasionally freezing their enemies. Thor's brother Loki Tom Hiddleston is dark-haired, skinny, shifty-eyed and sadly lacking in charisma. He might as well be wearing a name tag "Hi! I can't be trusted!" These villains lack adequate interest to supply a climactic battle, so the movie fabricates a Metal Giant, sends him to the New Mexico town, and has him blast fiery rays that blow up gas stations real good but always miss his targets. He is apparently killed by a sword through his spine, but why does he need a spine since when his mask lifts we can see his head is an empty cavern? And what about that town? It seems to be partly a set with two interiors the diner and Jane's office and partly CGI. It seems to go for a few blocks and then end abruptly in barren desert. Not even any suburbs or strip malls. I know aliens from other worlds are required to arrive in New Mexico, but why stay there? Why can't the Metal Giant attack the Golden Gate Bridge or scale a Trump Tower somewhere? Who cares he if turns a 7-Eleven into a fireball? Here is a film that is scoring 79% on Rotten Tomatoes. For what? The standards for comic book superhero movies have been established by "Superman," "The Dark Knight," "Spider-Man 2" and "Iron Man." In that company "Thor" is pitiful. Consider even the comparable villains Lex Luthor, the Joker, Doc Ock and Obadiah Stane. Memories of all four come instantly to mind. Will you be thinking of Loki six minutes after this movie is over? The director given this project, Kenneth Branagh, once obtained funding for a magnificent 70mm version of "Hamlet." Now he makes "Thor." I wonder with a dread fear if someone in Hollywood, stuck with a movie about a Norse god, said "Get Branagh. He deals with that Shakespeare crap." Roger Ebert Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism. Now playing Film Credits Thor 2011 Rated PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence 115 minutes Latest blog posts about 3 hours ago about 6 hours ago about 6 hours ago 1 day ago Comments TRAILER 216 Play all videos What to know A dazzling blockbuster that tempers its sweeping scope with wit, humor, and human drama, Thor is mighty Marvel entertainment. Read critic reviews Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows Captain America The First Avenger Rent/buy Rent/buy Subscription Buy Thor videos Most Surprising Movie Cameos 2258 Thor Trailer 1 TRAILER 216 Thor Photos Movie Info As the son of Odin Anthony Hopkins, king of the Norse gods, Thor Chris Hemsworth will soon inherit the throne of Asgard from his aging father. However, on the day that he is to be crowned, Thor reacts with brutality when the gods' enemies, the Frost Giants, enter the palace in violation of their treaty. As punishment, Odin banishes Thor to Earth. While Loki Tom Hiddleston, Thor's brother, plots mischief in Asgard, Thor, now stripped of his powers, faces his greatest threat. Rating PG-13 Intense Sci-Fi Action/Violence Genre Action, Adventure, Fantasy Original Language English Director Kenneth Branagh Producer Kevin Feige Writer Ashley Miller, Zack Stentz, Don Payne Release Date Theaters May 6, 2011 wide Release Date Streaming Sep 13, 2011 Box Office Gross USA $ Runtime 1h 53m Distributor Paramount Pictures Production Co Marvel Studios Sound Mix Dolby Digital, Datasat, SDDS View the collection Marvel Cinematic Universe Cast & Crew News & Interviews for Thor Critic Reviews for Thor Audience Reviews for Thor Oct 02, 2016 ready the popcorn! fun! Super Reviewer Apr 27, 2016 Thor was a really solid film, I had a good time watching it and it was quite a bit of fun. But there are some shortcomings with it. Positives 1. Characters; Chris Hemsworth was awesome as Thor! He had this charisma about his character, appropriate timed humor and I honestly felt for his character during serious moments. Tom Hiddleston was great as Loki and so also Anthony Hopkins was fantastic as Odin! Natalie Portman was fine I wouldn't say she stole the show but for what she had to be for this film she worked. Everyone else was fine as well. The humor was very good especially the scene where Thor breaks the coffee mug. The dramatic scenes are very investing as well. 2. Visuals; this movie looks nice especially the scenes at Asgard which are stunning. The special effects are good and the make up surprisingly was awesome on the Ice Giants. 3. What I admired was how different this film felt compared to all the other MCU films we've gotten. This film felt a lot like Lord of the Rings and it just felt different and unique compared to all the other Marvel titles. Negatives 1. The tone inconsistencies; the film sometimes doesn't know what it wants to be, the humor and serious aspects sometimes don't blend in well and it does make the overall tone feel wonky. 2. Wasn't a fan of the dutch angles, I felt they didn't add anything to the film stylistically and they were just unnecessary. They got kind of annoying at times and distracting. Its not a major flaw but it kind of bugged me. Overall Thor is a very solid entry to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is not a perfect movie of course but it was quite a bit of fun, it had good action, some well timed humor and a interesting story. This film is technically a comic book film but honestly I think regular audiences will also enjoy this film as well as fans of epics. Super Reviewer Mar 29, 2016 This is a movie that stands very differently with a lot of people, but to me, it is a very entertaining and well-directed film about a God needs to learn what it means to be a man. Kenneth Branagh is a visionary and every single shot in this movie is beautifully made and you get the feeling that he really put his heart and soul into this. The performances of Chris Hemsworth and Anthony Hopkins are great, but it is Tom Hiddleston's Loki that totally steals the movie. Super Reviewer Mar 26, 2016 Thor is a film that takes risks - and they pay off wonderfully. The movie grounds itself in reality while keeping a mythological and fantasy-esqe tone, and it never loses sight of the humanity within the characters, with elevates this above standard superhero fare. Super Reviewer "Thor The Dark World" Late in "Thor The Dark World," Chris Hemsworth's title character crash-lands on a British Underground platform. He's dazed but knows that he has to get back to fighting Malekith ex-Doctor Who Christopher Eccleston, a malevolent dark elf. Thor asks for directions back to Greenwich, and promptly boards the train. As the train lurches forward, a woman falls onto his broad chest. He smiles knowingly. This scene is one of several high points in "Thor The Dark World," a blocky fantasy-adventure whose plot is never as exciting as its characters. All three "Iron Man" films have this same basic problem, but story was never more important than personality in those earlier films. "Thor The Dark World"'s characters are often very charming, but they're only so much fun when they're stuck going through the motions. "Thor The Dark World" mostly concerns Malekith's "Transformers"-worthy schemes. Malekith was previously put in his place by Bor, Thor's grandfather, when he tried to turn matter back into anti-matter using Aether, an ancient, all-powerful energy source. Now, after Jane Foster Natalie Portman, Thor's super-smart human scientist not-quite-girlfriend, stumbles upon some Aether, Malekith returns. Leading an armada of black splinter-shaped spaceships, he sets out for Asgard, home of Thor and his fellow Norse Gods. But the Asgardians are still recovering from Thor's half-brother Loki's Tom Hiddleston recent failed coup. Now, Thor and Loki must team up to save Jane, Earth, Asgard, and the other eight realms of existence from complete may be a major threat to life and the universe as we know it, but he's just one of a handful of characters who are run through their paces in "Thor The Dark World." This sequel is consistently unfocused in that sense major characters get to flex their muscles for a scene or two, but only when they're absolutely needed. There are a couple of scenes where characters get to be both important and exciting, like when Kurse Adewale "Mr. Eko" Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Malekith's super-powered henchman, breaks into Asgard, and starts a prison riot. But there are just as many scenes where inherently exciting characters, like Thor, kill time connecting plot points. Watching Thor make quick work of an inconsequential enemy in an opening scene should be fun. But the scene has no flair to it, and feels like a perfunctory introduction to the character. The first scene in the film where Hemsworth gets to be really charming comes later, when he's squabbling with Hiddleston about operating a commandeered dark-elven space-ship. The squabbling itself isn't that funny, but the scene's pay-off is. Hemsworth's eyes light up as he gets the ship to fly, instantly reminding you why you came in the first place. Still, more often than not, "Thor The Dark World" is more busy than exciting. There are a couple sub-plots too many, like the one with frequently-naked super-scientist Erik Selvig Stellan Skarsgard. And too many characters that are introduced with a promising scene, like Rainbow Bridge guardian Heimdall Idris Elba, are forgotten during the film's climactic battle. The film's world also generally looks slapped together, especially the dark elves, who look like a cross between "Land of the Lost"'s Sleestaks and "Doctor Who"'s Cybermen. Visually, "Thor The Dark World" is a step back after "Thor," which at least looked unique in most other respects, "Thor The Dark World" is a step in the right direction. The scene where Thor enlists Loki's help is a perfect example of the film's slight but memorable improvements. The conversation they have is inconsequential, but watching a defeated Loki surrounded by over-turned furniture and a reddish-brown PG-13 blood-substitute on his prison cell's walls makes the scene worthwhile. Hemsworth and Hiddleston have such good chemistry that it sometimes looks like Thor and Loki will kiss before Thor and Jane will. There's just enough tension and humor in "Thor The Dark World" to make the film's otherwise listless proceedings worth watching, but only just. Simon Abrams Simon Abrams is a native New Yorker and freelance film critic whose work has been featured in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, The Village Voice, and elsewhere. Now playing Film Credits Thor The Dark World 2013 Rated PG-13 112 minutes Latest blog posts about 8 hours ago about 11 hours ago about 12 hours ago 1 day ago Comments

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