Laying the Hammer Down on ‘Thor’s Day’

by J.D. Cook

I was not really hyped up for Thor: The Dark World. I mean I certainly wasn’t going to miss it but much like the first Thor I didn’t quite know what to expect. The previews were pretty lite on the details side. They essentially just told us Loki (Tom Hiddleston) and Thor (Chris Hemsworth) would team up. I certainly wasn’t expecting the emotional depth of feeling that occurred early in the film or the amazing cameo midway through and I certainly did not see the ending coming. If you haven’t seen the film yet and do not want the plot spoiled I will simply say it was well worth the price of admission and extremely funny.

Still here? Ok let’s jump into the minute details other sites won’t touch! The first Thor is probably my favorite Marvel movie behind the Avengers which is, of course, in some other league of films. I mean I love Iron Man and have always been a bigger fan of his going back to reading Warren Ellis’s run on Extremis but something about the first Thor just worked so brilliantly. I think it was the heart that Kenneth Branagh injected into what could have easily devolved into a special effects extravaganza. Instead it stayed grounded. When Odin (Anthony Hopkins) takes away Thor’s power and casts him out you really feel for both of them. When Loki discovers his origins you can’t help but understand his anger and when he finally fades into a black hole you completely understand Thor’s feeling of loss. Thor: The Dark World didn’t quite live up to the first’s level.

The dialogue just didn’t sound as great as the firsts or the Avengers. Except for the moment Loki transformed into Captain America of course. That was amazing! The action seemed a bit wonky at times and hard to follow. I mean I couldn’t quite tell what happened in the climactic moment where Thor defeats Malekith (Christopher Eccleston). Did he simply stab him? Did he hammer him? Did he stab and then hammer him? Well all of those sounded bad but if you saw the movie you get what I’m saying. That scene would have been a great moment for some slow motion to fully feel the impact of Thor’s final blow. That said I definitely felt the emotion in the film when Thor and Loki’s mother died. That Asgardian funeral was fantastic but it sadly tied the Asgardians of the Marvel Cinematic Universe down to mortality. I would have loved some kind of circular cycle like in the comics and Norse mythology. Ok the ending. I’m ashamed to say I didn’t see it coming.  I loved everything about it and I really can’t wait to find out if Odin has been killed or imprisoned by Loki.

That leads me into the theories section. Did Loki order Lady Sif and Volstagg to deliver the Infinity Gem to the Collector or did they do it to hide it? If they did it to hide it shouldn’t they be running to tell Thor what Loki’s done? Hopefully their motivation is touched upon in the Guardians of the Galaxy, or Thor 3. Speaking of, why did they put the scene where Thor returns to Earth after the credits? I mean people are going to need to know that so they understand that A. he is not in Asgard totally ignorant to the fact that Loki is ruling it and B. know why he is on Earth during the Avengers: Age of Ultron. The Collector scene was the true after credits scene for the film anyway. I Didn’t understand why they put them in the order they did. Ok I know I picked at the film a bit but I really did enjoy just about everything about it. The plot was perfect in my book, even if it didn’t fully delve into the nine realms as much as I wanted. It established a credible threat that only Thor had the means to take on and made Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) a really appealing and interesting female lead for the second time. Oh and let’s not forget the naked antics of Stellen Skarsgard! Lastly both Hemsworth and Hiddleston were amazing. Their chemistry is great and I can’t wait for it to come to a head in the next film. Then we get the Ballad of Beta Ray Bill in Thor 4 right?

Past Comic Book Commentaries
Boycott X-Men: Days of Future Past
Uncanny Venom, Hilarious Captain America
Batman Still the Crown Jewel of the New 52
The Superior Spider-Man
The 1st Comic Book Commentary
Defending Remender and Attacking Racism