Thor: The Dark World

So Wednesday night I saw Thor: The Dark World. It was a spur of the moment kind of thing, really. 

Yeah, I'd been wanting to see it, but I hadn't really had the opportunity or the energy. I have been really impressed with Marvel's handling of The Avengers-related material so far (I can't say anything about Agents of S.H.I.EL.D because I haven't seen it) and the second Thor movie is certainly another impressive entry. Had X-Men (as a whole) or Spider-man (I personally don't care for either live action version of Spider-man... and I find it all the more astonishing that The Amazing Spider-man 2 is actually happening) been given this kind of attention than D.C. wouldn't be in the sole lead with their superhero adaptations thanks to The Dark Knight Trilogy and Man of Steel. 

However, if the Ben Affleck-driven Batman movie flops (a la The Green Lantern) and Marvel can keep up the standard with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, the inevitable Iron Man 4, and The Avengers 2 then I think we'll see a serious changing of the guard. X-Men: Days of Future Past will have something to say about this, too.

While this particular superhero movie doesn't necessarily break any new ground (although it does break dimensions), it does what it does quite well. In fact, a lot of this movie's plot can be summed up by saying "I should have expected that." I mean, I knew that Loki was going to try to do something. And when he did... Well, I found myself saying "I knew it would happen, but I thought for sure it wouldn't happen this time." 

I suppose that's one of those funny things about villains... they're crafty little bastards. But if they are too crafty they can get annoying and that is always a danger zone. 

Anyway, if you are a little bit tired of Loki's shenanigans then you might want to miss this movie or at least come back to it later. But if you still hold a lukewarm interest in all things Loki then I think you could be rewarded by this movie. Sort of. 

I've heard some folks call the movie a little bit Game of Thrones-y and I suppose that's fair. The same guy that directed this movie also helmed a few episodes of the series. The direction is a little bit weak, too. The underdeveloped overacted dramatic moments (what happened to Loki and Thor's mother comes to mind), the very last scene pre-credits, and the ever zig-zagging dimensional travel climax/fight scene seem a bit forced.  

A lot of these superhero movies are all about being over the top and being kind of cheesy, though. So it's all par for the course, really. Unlike The Dark Knight or Man of Steel (for the most part), the Marvel movies aren't focused as much on a sense of realism as they are on making the ride fun. When these Marvel movies get too dramatic they don't really fly and when they get too silly they can get annoying. It's a fine line, really. Not understanding this balance is why so many superhero movies fail. 

Hearing about Loki getting passed over in favor of Thor gets annoying after a while, too. (Not to sound too crude, but Loki needs to quit being a whiny little bitch and *SPOILER* get killed off already or completely written out of the story. He's starting to become a bit like Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees without the "being intimidating" part.) 

If you liked the first Thor movie then the chances are pretty good you will like this one. However, if you are all "superhero-ed" out or "Loki-ed" out then this film isn't really for you. Feel free to re-watch whatever your favorite superhero movie is instead.

With some reservations I will place this movie in my Blog House Catalog of Greatness. I just hope that the mid-credits scene isn't something I have to watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D to understand. I don't have time for that.