Movie Review: Thor: The Dark World

I had the rare treat of leaving work early yesterday to attend the AMC event where the original Thor movie, the Avengers movie that came out last year and the new Thor movie were played back-to-back.  The effect of such a marathon, while tiring, helps keep the stories continuous and doesn’t overwork your brain to remember something from a movie you saw over two years ago.

In Thor: The Dark World, the movie picks up much as the original did, citing a hidden threat that is reignited by a cosmic alliance that happens once every five thousand years.  The story moves back through time to the present, showing our astrophysicist Jane Foster looking for Thor and finding something dark instead.  The entity becomes a part of her and only those seeking the power are the ones that can remove it from her.  Thor comes down to earth, seeing Jane in peril and takes her back to Asgard, which is then attacked by these same beings.

The story continues on at a rapid pace, introducing old characters, giving them more depth than seen in previous movies.  The relationship between Thor and Jane is the central piece of the story and while it is compelling at times by great acting from the two leads, it also felt inauthentic at times.  I didn’t believe that Thor would really sacrifice his life for Jane, nor the other way around.  I did enjoy the very unpredictable appearance of Chris Evans.  I do love that Marvel and Disney are going to great lengths to keep the continuity up in all the movies.  The trailer for the next Captain America movie also appeared before this one.

Overall, this was a fun action, adventure movie, but the staying power of the story didn’t hold and I had forgotten about it as soon as I went to bed.  It was well worth seeing in 3D, though.