Thor: The Dark World (12A.)
Directed by Alan Taylor.
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgard, Idris Elba, Kat Denning and Anthony Hopkins. 112 mins
The second Thor film is set in London, but only partly. For much of its running length the film chooses to clump around on his home planet of Asgard and various other non-descript barren worlds; locations that will have you yearning for another gratuitous shot of The Gherkin, or even The Shard.
Thor, the Nordic God who becomes an earthly superhero, is one of Marvel’s less compelling creations but after a shaky first film the character (and Chris Hemsworth’s interpretation of it) really came good in The Avengers. What that film showed was that when he is a fish out of water, down on Earth interacting with humans, he is an immensely engaging and enjoyable character. What his two solo films show is that when he’s with his own kind, bellowing oaths in oversized banqueting halls and gravely discussing Dark Elves and the alignment of the Nine Realms, he can be a rather dull fellow.
The film skims along entertainingly enough because it has a great sense of fun, some genuine wit, moments of visual flair and charming performers. Good as Hemsworth is, Hiddleston’s turn as traitorous brother Loki is now so popular with audiences that it risks unbalancing the series. After The Avengers and Iron Man 3 it had seemed like Marvel had committed itself to a giant leap forward in quality and the London scenes are of that standard. (The film concludes with a multi-dimensional, intergalactic punch up at Greenwich which is one of the most thrilling and inventive finales in recent fantasy cinemas.) Overall though this is a return to the kind of eye grabbing but insubstantial bursts of energy and colour that Marvel were getting by with prior to The Avengers.
Directed by Alan Taylor.
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgard, Idris Elba, Kat Denning and Anthony Hopkins. 112 mins
The second Thor film is set in London, but only partly. For much of its running length the film chooses to clump around on his home planet of Asgard and various other non-descript barren worlds; locations that will have you yearning for another gratuitous shot of The Gherkin, or even The Shard.
Thor, the Nordic God who becomes an earthly superhero, is one of Marvel’s less compelling creations but after a shaky first film the character (and Chris Hemsworth’s interpretation of it) really came good in The Avengers. What that film showed was that when he is a fish out of water, down on Earth interacting with humans, he is an immensely engaging and enjoyable character. What his two solo films show is that when he’s with his own kind, bellowing oaths in oversized banqueting halls and gravely discussing Dark Elves and the alignment of the Nine Realms, he can be a rather dull fellow.
The film skims along entertainingly enough because it has a great sense of fun, some genuine wit, moments of visual flair and charming performers. Good as Hemsworth is, Hiddleston’s turn as traitorous brother Loki is now so popular with audiences that it risks unbalancing the series. After The Avengers and Iron Man 3 it had seemed like Marvel had committed itself to a giant leap forward in quality and the London scenes are of that standard. (The film concludes with a multi-dimensional, intergalactic punch up at Greenwich which is one of the most thrilling and inventive finales in recent fantasy cinemas.) Overall though this is a return to the kind of eye grabbing but insubstantial bursts of energy and colour that Marvel were getting by with prior to The Avengers.
