“Thor: The Dark World” opened in theaters Nov. 8, the sequel to the original movie “Thor”. Kenneth Branagh directed the original movie, whereas, the second is directed by Alan Taylor, director of HBO’s hit television series “The Game of Thrones.” Between the two movies, “The Dark World” is certainly better than the first installment when it comes to the plot.
Branagh and Taylor both did a strikingly well job keeping the movie based on the comic series of “Thor,” but the success of the two films can be attributed to Thor’s actors and actresses. Reprising their roles from the original movie, Chris Hemsworth (Thor), Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), Tom Hiddleston (Loki), Anthony Hopkins (Odin) and Idris Elba (Heimdall) all returned to continue the series.
The sequel sends the God of Thunder upon his most dangerous and personal journey yet for the sake of restoring order to the cosmos. The movie begins where “The Avengers” had left off in the aftermath of Loki’s crimes. After returning from Earth, Thor has become the savior of the Universe by bringing peace to all the Nine Realms, but it doesn’t last long when the “Convergence”, a rare alignment of the Nine Realms, is imminent. Upon her discovery, Jane becomes infected with a dark energy known as the Aether, making her the damsel in distress to which Thor rescues and brings back to his home. Malekith, the new antagonist, is awakened by the Aether’s release and follows them back putting the realm in danger of a darkness that even Odin can’t protect Asgard from. With Thor now being “truly desperate” he turns to Loki for help, a choice many would say is foolish. Now that Loki is free, the plot takes many twists-and-turns, compelling the audience to follow along in awe.
Taylor reflects a “Game of Thrones” atmosphere to this Marvel film while still holding the sequel true to the comic series. Layering the two similar genres can make a film monotonous, but Taylor did an impressive job keeping it interesting. Although inexperienced with sci-fi fantasy, Taylor’s first attempt was astonishingly well done. Not only was the storyline superb, the film utilized a variety of realistic elements. Almost all of the filming was done in Europe, specifically in England and Iceland. Of course not everything in this film could be realistically done, which is where the CGI (computer generated images) came in to make up the rest of the film, so that it seems like it was in Asgard.
This action adventure sci-fi fantasy is a must see film for Marvel fans, but it won’t be the last time that we see Thor. Hemsworth has stated that he will return as the captivating hero in “Thor: Guardians of the Galaxy,” “The Avengers: Age of Ultron” (2015) and in the third Avengers continuation, whose title is yet to be known.
