Captain Obvious Revisits: THOR: THE DARK WORLD

Iron Man 3 largely ignored the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That changes here with Thor: The Dark World. It acknowledges the world it inhabits and sets up for future films, which are pretty much requirements for all Marvel films at this point. Despite being the shortest film in Phase Two so far, it manages to be entertaining for its duration and those looking for simple escapist entertainment will have no problems here.

Is it acceptable? Maybe. Is it underwhelming? Definitely.

Thousands of years ago, Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) and his race of Dark Elves attempted to use the power of the Aether, a force of destruction that predates the universe, to consume the universe in darkness (For no other reason than because he’s evil) during the Convergence, an alignment of all the Nine Realms that happens once every 5,000 years (It’s okay if you don’t understand at first. The movie goes out its way to explain it more times than necessary). But his plans are thwarted when the forces of Asgard took the Aether from him and hid it where no one will ever find it (It’s found within the first 25 minutes). Malekith and a small army of Dark Elves survived, but at the cost of sacrificing most of their army. In the present, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) spends his time restoring balance to the Nine Realms and winning the favor of his people. But Thor’s heart still longs for Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), who stumbles across the Aether while searching for him. This sets off a chain of events where Thor and Jane are reunited and Thor is forced to team up with his now imprisoned brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) in order to save the universe.

Detractors of Marvel Studios have criticized their franchise for producing films that are homogenized; with every film looking and feeling exactly the same as the other without a personal touch in sight. While I respectfully disagree with a lot of that argument, just because Marvel has a formula that works doesn’t mean that formula is exempt from criticism. When these detractors usually back up their claims, they tend to point to this film as the prime suspect. And it’s hard not to see why.

Thor: The Dark World doesn’t seem to care much about being a film. It’s far more interested in world building than character building. It doesn’t care that Thor and Jane’s relationship is woefully underdeveloped nor does it care its antagonist is barely qualifies as a one-dimensional bad guy. It’s bad enough Malekith doesn’t have a personality or anything resembling a character. It’s even worse that he has no motivation for what he’s doing. He wants to destroy the universe with darkness just because, which will make or give him something. Give Ronan from Guardians of the Galaxy some credit; at least he had a motivation even if it was murky at best.

The film feels like it’s just going through motions; checking off a series of boxes that are required for a Marvel film: Villain exists not as a character but as a plot device for the hero. Check. Aerial ship crashes into a large structure. Check. Character supposedly dies and is later revealed to be alive. Check. Lots of comedy. Check. In fact, let’s address the comedy. To make things clear, I love humor. I’m not some dreary, bleak person who thinks there is no place for lightness in stories and everything has to be cast in shadows. But there is a time and place for humor, and knowing when to be funny is crucial. However, The Dark World takes the comedy way too far to the point where it starts to affect the film’s more dramatic and emotional moments. Not only does it make these character-driven scenes less punctual, but the humor pokes its head at the absolute wrong time. There are several moments where a supporting character dies or many innocents have lost their lives, and the film immediately follows them with a joke. Not later. Not after some time to allow the film and audience to breathe, but immediately after. Not only is this shift in tone sudden and jarring, but it’s also quite inappropriate.

To make matters worse, this poor pacing results in a climax that doesn’t feel as grand and epic as it should. The characters are facing a universe-ending threat, yet it never feels like that. There is no real sense of danger. No semblances of stakes are present. It’s just a climax with lots of explosions and is occasionally interrupted by a joke (Though to his credit, director Alan Taylor is able to make Asgard look like a living, breathing community). The only times where the film has weight are the scenes between Thor and Loki. These two characters continue to be the pillars of the Thor movies. They’re both brothers who have a long history of hurting each other. And while the both have their fair points, neither one of them is necessarily right. This conflict amongst them is where just about all the film’s emotional and personal stakes lie. It also helps that both characters are played by two actors who complement one another. Tom Hiddleston provides great contrast to Chris Hemsworth while the latter humanizes the former.

In retrospect, this is the weakest link in Phase Two thus far. It’s everything audiences fear a Marvel Studios film can be: A product with a made-by-a-committee feel that lacks a personal flair. The film’s ending hints at a much better film. Hopefully, Thor: Ragnarok proves to be the next step in Thor’s story that The Dark World failed to be. Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait long for a better sequel. That would instead come from The First Avenger himself.

Final Rating- 5 out of 10

Tomorrow- Captain America: The Winter Soldier