I'm not an avid comic book reader. I have enjoyed this huge Marvel Cinematic Universe that the company has tried to build over the past half decade. But I couldn't get this nagging feeling out of my mind that the mythology for Thor (the superhero, not the Norse god) is very strange. You have to be able to accept the strange in order to enjoy Thor: The Dark World, otherwise it wouldn't make much sense if viewed from outside the scope of a comic book universe. It is a movie that is largely set in the world of Asgard. Since it's not a familiar place like Earth is, it becomes difficult to latch onto the stakes being laid out with the war between the Dark Elves and heroes of Asgard. When it eventually gets back to Earth, things do get better, but then the film just ends as it was about to get going. So goes another chapter in "Phase Two" for Marvel Studios.

The beginning of the film lays out the main plot. Malekith (the Accursed) (Christopher Eccleston) leads a race called the "Dark Elves" and he tried to bring darkness to the universe by using the Aether during the "Covergence" of the Nine Realms. He was beaten once before by the father of Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and now that the Convergence has come again, the forces of Asgard will try to stop Malekith for good this time. Thor (Chris Hemsworth) returns from Earth with brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in tow. Loki is to face punishment for his attempted takeover of Earth and Thor is slated to inherit his father's throne and rule Asgard. Meanwhile, Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) eagerly awaits Thor's return to Earth along with Darcy (Kat Dennings) and Dr. Erik Selvig (Stellan Skarsgaard).

This film takes its time to get going, in effect spending much of the first act putting various pieces in place. It has to check in on what's happening with Asgard, Earth, and Malekith, who is stuck in a space between the Nine Realms. I think. It's not really clear where he is. Director Alan Taylor has more experience with television, and it's evident that he was hired for this project based on his work on Game of Thrones. Asgard has this aged, dirty feel to it, which is in direct contrast to the grand, cold, but majestic feel from the first Thor film. It's a much more dangerous place; One that is under constant attack, whether it be from the Dark Elves or even Loki himself.



The writers try to establish what the Aether does, though that becomes increasingly unclear as the film goes along. It's much like the Tesseract: A source of infinite power that basically can destroy or at least wreak havoc on the universe. So Malekith is determined to get his hands on it as soon as Jane enters Asgard with the Aether in her body. There's no way to stop Malekith until Thor makes the tough decision to release Loki from prison. Until that happens, the film feels like it's stuck in neutral. Occurrences on Earth are a little better, simply because it's more familiar territory. Darcy is there primarily as comic relief, with many great jokes and one-liners, although she and the other characters around her don't have much to do but wait until Thor and Jane come back to Earth.

Once the pieces are set in place, the film moves towards its protracted third act. This requires a lot of movement, which does prevent any boredom that could set in. Frankly, Loki once again steals the show, much as he did in the first Thor film. He's a wild card here, what with the failed takeover attempt on Earth hanging over his head. Loki and Thor are forced to interact with each other and it makes for lively entertainment. This includes a surprise cameo that is sure to draw the biggest laughs from the audience. Thor has also gained a nobility that does make him a bit bland in Asgard, but somehow plays as comedic gold when he comes back to Earth.



The final faceoff between Thor and Malekith in central London is a fun action setpiece with multiple moving parts around it. That involves complicated and inexplicable tasks undertaken by Jane, Darcy, Selvig, and company. You throw in a mix of Star Wars (the aerial chase through Asgard reminded me of the Death Star sequence from the end of A New Hope) and Superman and this is the result. The film also sidesteps the common sense solution to the problem (Thor calling on his Avenger friends) by mostly keeping the battle away from Earth. When Thor is on Earth, the fish-out-of-water element from the first film is in play. There is a brilliant sequence towards the end of the film where he and Jane are reunited with their Earth friends and Thor generates laughs by literally hanging up his hammer. Or there is one point where he ends up in London's Underground and has to take the Tube to get back into the battle with Malekith. That was a personal favorite moment of the film for me.



It's those little things that make the film stand out from the usual superhero epics. The enormous success of The Avengers has made Marvel's Phase Two films struggle to stand out from under its shadow. The singular hero just isn't enough. The main plot will go through the standard motions while underdeveloping other subplots because it has to pay lip service to what devoted fans want. Thor: The Dark World isn't markedly better than the first film, but it isn't worse either. It is full of fantastical things that only a true fan would appreciate so it leaves the ordinary fan out in the cold. Marvel is really biding time until the next Avengers adventure. Since that's two years away, we're left with this slate of films (plus Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) to build its brand with the hope that the audience doesn't get superhero fatigue. That requires an amazing film to draw people in, and this just isn't it.