# Osage at the Cineplex: THOR: THE DARK WORLD



## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

[img]http://bigfanboy.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Thor-The-Dark-World-Poster-003.jpg[/img]Saw this opening night (last night, Friday, November 8 for U.S. theaters) upon anticipation being a fan of the first, of course, and I’d like to share my thoughts (and perhaps begin a discussion thread here for those who have seen it). Not nearly the absolute bomb Marvel/Paramount’s _Iron Man 3_ was, the sequel to _Thor_ has all the elements that normally comprise a big budget follow up film: More action, enhanced effects, more powerful enemies for our hero to fight (in the case of comic adaptation sequels) and a somewhat more complex (not for its own good) plot. In the case of _Thor: The Dark World_, the notions and mythos from the first film are taken up a couple of notches; if you were confused about the “Nine Realms” and the “World’s Tree” and all that in the original, this one knocks you over the head with the science fiction and keeps going (and it seemingly is going to get even thicker in the sci fi/alien-esque territory if the teaser after the credits is any indication of what’s to come in a third film). Everyone from the first film – save for one of Thor’s “henchmen” that quips _”Complicated fellow, isn’t he…”_ in the original when the gatekeeper makes a sort of contradicting statement – returns for this one including Chris Hemsworth, of course, in the lead; Rene Russo as Thor’s mother; Tom Hiddleston as the campy and always-mischievous Loki; Anthony Hopkins as Odin, Thor’s father; Natalie Portman as the gorgeous Jane Foster; the yummy Jaimie Alexander as Sif and Stellan Skarsgard as the scientist Erik Selvig, who has truly gone off the reservation in this one. We get chilling performances from the bad guys here in the form of Christopher Eccleston, playing leader of the “Dark Elves” Malekith and one of his henchmen Algrim/Kurse, played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. 

Here’s the storyline, according to _IMDb_:

_Thousands of years ago, a race of beings known as Dark Elves tried to send the universe into darkness by using a weapon known as the Aether. But warriors from Asgard stop them but their leader Malekith escapes to wait for another opportunity. The warriors find the Aether and since it can't be destroyed, they try to hide it. In the present day, Jane Foster awaits the return of Thor but it's been two years. He's trying to bring peace to the nine realms. Jane discovers an anomaly similar to the one that brought Thor to Earth. She goes to investigate and finds a wormhole and is sucked into it. Thor wishes to return to Earth but his father, Odin refuses to let him. Thor learns from Heimdall, the one who can see into all of the realms that Jane disappeared. Thor then returns to Earth just as Jane returns. But when some policemen try to arrest her, some kind of energy repulses them. Thor then brings her to Asgard to find out what happened to Earth._

The essential plot of _Thor: The Dark World_ suggests that somehow Jane comes in contact with this “Aether” when exploring some vortex anomaly in London, sending her into another dimension to a world where this weapon was buried by Odin’s own father and his warriors centuries earlier in a battle with the Dark Elves. The power of the Aether somehow gets into Jane’s body and acts like a massive defense system, seriously attacking anyone who approaches her and attempts to examine the force within her (discovered when she’s taken before Odin himself on Asgard). But before we get into that, the film opens with Anthony Hopkins narrating, again, for us a story regarding the Dark Elves and how they attempted to send the entire universe into darkness with this Aether, their leader “Malekith” lying dormant in space within a strange-looking vessel waiting to escape to attempt another go at casting the world into a dark abyss. Odin’s own father, leading a band of powerful Asgard warriors, eventually beat the Dark Elves and their armies and the situation fast-forwards to present day where Thor, Sif and the other top Asgard fighters are battling to get the Nine Realms in order – it seems with the destruction of the Rainbow Bridge in the first film, the universe had been thrown into chaos and to make matters worse, there is an “alignment” of the universe approaching which will allow alien hostiles such as the Dark Elves, if awoken, to jump from realm to realm as easily as we consume Papa John’s pizza. Be that as it may, the opening battle sequence depicting Asgard’s warriors and Thor battling hordes of alien creatures on other realms – or a realm – was fascinating to watch in its scope, if a bit _Dungeons and Dragons_-esque in nature. Thor utilizes his hammer in clever ways, again delivering witty, daring threats and instigating commentary to the aliens he faces…until a massive, rock-like beast arrives, smashing everything in his path and wielding a giant spiked club. When “it” and Thor meet face to face, the creature hovering above the Asgard God of Thunder like he’s an ant in comparison, our hero merely says _”Hello.”_ and proceeds to utilize his hammer to smash the creature into a million pebble-like pieces…with one uppercut of a move. He then asks, _”Anyone else?”_, looking around at the aliens that have worshipped this creature, but the armies rightfully throw down their weapons and surrender. It was a very cool kick-off moment for the film.

On Earth, Jane (Portman, looking as lovely as ever) is on a first date in London when the pain-in-her-side Darcy (Kat Dennings) runs up to their restaurant table with some new news. Another space anomaly is taking place, leading them to a group of children playing in an abandoned building structure of some kind who claim they have stumbled upon something extraordinary. When Jane witnesses one of the kids turning a gigantic cement truck upside down with merely a finger’s touch, we know something isn’t right – she, Darcy and Darcy’s assistant intern climb some steps to where other children are waiting to show them what else they’ve discovered, which turns out to be an invisible portal to another dimension of some kind. This is evidenced by objects such as cans, keys and shoes being dropped from one of the floors they’re on into the empty center of the abandoned structure where they completely disappear and then re-appear from above them. When some objects end up not returning, Jane does some further investigating around the building until she’s sucked into another dimension herself by a windstorm that develops. Now in the realm containing the Dark Elves’ Aether, she comes in contact with the red-colored “substance” which ends up taking over her body and getting inside her, and when she’s sent back through the invisible vortex to London where Darcy has been waiting for her for five hours, she begins to exhibit strange behaviors.

Dr. Erik Selvig (Skarsgard), meanwhile, has become a raving loon since his encounter with Loki and his magic influence in New York during _The Avengers_ (there’s a few references to the events of that film in this) and ends up on worldwide news when he strips down naked and runs through Stonehenge like a psychopathic madman, eyes widened by some kind of mental mania. He spends his days in a retirement home, hair unkempt and wearing outrageous outfits (later, he runs around in tidy whitties without any pants) babbling to the old people about what he “discovered” now; we get another cool cameo by Stan “The Man” Lee, of Marvel fame, in this scene as one of the old men at the home. Against his father’s wishes, Thor goes to Earth to seek out Jane (it’s never explained how the Rainbow Bridge is repaired after he destroyed it in the first film, which would have theoretically made contact with other realms impossible) and stumbles upon her in London, where he gets a first-hand look at the “new powers” within her from her contact with the other realm and the Aether. He takes her to Asgard to be examined by their medical staff only to be verbally lashed and put down by Odin himself, telling Thor she has no business being on their world so much as a “goat belongs at a banquet.” But that’s not the worst of it – Asgard’s “doctors” can’t figure out what this power and source is inside Jane, only that it has its own violent defense mechanism towards anyone attempting anything remotely aggressive against the girl. Thor keeps Jane on Asgard until they can figure out what they’re dealing with, which is explained to them in short order before they know it.

Loki (Hiddleston), in the midst of it all, has been transferred to a maximum security brig on Asgard for his crimes against Earth, still up to his mischievous plotting and still making obscure, random threats against his own adoptive family members. I have always said that Loki is way too dangerous to be kept alive – whether by SHIELD agents on Earth or by Asgardians – but everyone always has to find out the hard way in all these films; he is, after all, the God of Mischief. Once behind the futuristic, _Star Trek_-like brig security screen, Loki is left to rot for eternity for his crimes – until a rebellion by some other prisoners in the Asgardian “jail” leads to the escape of a hideous Dark Elves creature that breaks other aliens in the Asgardian collection out of their “cells.” While not immediately broken out of his cell by the creature leading the breakout, Loki is eventually confronted by Thor after the rampaging monster and the other escapees overrun Asgard’s security warriors and make off. Why does he go to Loki? It seems his half-brother knows some secrets about wizardry and the Dark Elves and their legacy that no one else does, and so Thor is again forced to trust the always-unstable Loki. This time, however, Loki is warned by everyone in Thor’s close warrior team that if he even thinks about betraying his brother again, they will kill him. 

With Loki out of his cell and now supposedly helping Thor and Jane, the plot unwinds to expose a storyline that has Asgard defenseless against a newly-uprising Dark Elves attack…what woke them from their slumber (the ones that were left since the last battle with Asgard, that is)? The power of the Aether inside Jane, that’s been “calling” to them. The final frames of the film get a little over-the-top in execution and border on silly when Jane devises a method which allows everyone to “jump” from world to world, realm to realm, while the planets are in alignment – but nonetheless they’re exciting, as we witness Thor and Jane return to Earth to battle Malekith and the Dark Elves who have arrived to begin their project of throwing the universe into total darkness…beginning with Earth. Back on Asgard, a _Star Wars_-esque battle erupts between attacking Elves and the Asgardians, the shield around the Asgard kingdom eventually falling and leaving it open to attack and infiltration by the alien creatures. The Elves prove too strong and overwhelming for even the best of the Asgardian warriors and weaponry, but Thor attempts to stop the battle at the source – and the final fight sequence begins in London. Thor sees his hands full, even for a powerful “god” such as himself, what with battling the strong Malekith and his monstrous sidekick that broke out of the Asgard prison and who’s now seething to fight Thor. The sequence in which Thor engages this creature was the typical comic film adaptation sequel material – the creature proves way too strong and overpowering even for our hero to handle, smashing Thor this way and that and sending him flying through solid mountains like they’re warm butter. The monster even ends up smashing his iconic hammer far away from Thor’s reaches when the hero attempts to swing it at him, reminding me a little of Batman’s outmatched situation with Bane in _Dark Knight Rises_. I would have liked to have seen Thor eventually gain the upper hand in this fight and beat the creature himself after honing all his strength and power, but instead Loki comes in to save the day, ramming a dagger into the monster from behind (key things transpire here which I won’t give away, as well as on Asgard earlier in the film with Rene Russo’s character); it’s suggested that Loki, once out of his Asgard prisoner cuffs, would again betray Thor and double-cross him to help in the Elves’ taking over of the universe but apparently this isn’t the case. 

Most annoying to me, after awhile, in this end sequence of the film was the way in which Jane Foster's "gravity field manipulating" device opens these portals to other realms when the planet alignment is taking place, sending Thor, the creatures and aliens he's battling, cars, other people and other objects flying from one realm to another; the whole thing got a bit much after awhile and sometimes I couldn't even tell what I was looking at or where they were. Once you see the film, you'll know what I'm referring to. 

There’s also an underlying theme of some jealousy on the part of Jaimie Alexander’s character, who has a massive crush on Thor, and the Earth mortal he really loves, Jane; the trailers for the film suggested there were going to be “problems” between these two once Jane arrives on Asgard, but this is never really fleshed out. Further, the film concludes with what we think is Odin on the throne in the Asgard kingdom palace but who quickly transforms into Loki – making us wonder what is next with the God of Mischief and what he has done with Odin. As I always said, Loki is way too dangerous and misleading to be kept alive; I’m just personally getting a little tired of the whole Loki angle already…I hope he has nothing to do with the next _Avengers_ or the third _Thor_ film, but I don’t think that’s going to be the case. As always, if you see this theatrically, don’t leave until halfway through the credits because there’s a scene that gives us a glimpse into where the next film might be going (or what may connect to the next _Avengers_ project; hard to say). The sequence depicts Thor’s team members Volstagg (Ray Stevenson) and Sif (Alexander) arriving at some alien “collection laboratory” where they turn in the now-collected Aether so it’s kept safe…but the alien in charge that takes the Aether from them seems to have “other plans” for it once the two Asgardians leave. Look for a cameo appearance by a certain actor in this scene, too. 

_Thor: The Dark World_ was good and somewhat exciting in many places but I think the original was slightly better; it will definitely be a buy when the Blu-ray is released, though, and of course we can all discuss it in that thread when the time comes…but let me know if you’ve seen this yet and what you thought about it!


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

Some nips and tucks made to post; thank you.


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## tripplej (Oct 23, 2011)

Thanks for the review. I was wondering if this movie would live up to the first. I will check it out on blu later.. I did see the first and it was good movie.


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

tripplej said:


> Thanks for the review. I was wondering if this movie would live up to the first. I will check it out on blu later.. I did see the first and it was good movie.


Indeed, Joe, it lived up to the first in many ways and was a good sequel as sequels go.


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## B- one (Jan 13, 2013)

Thanks for the review once again O. I will be buying this one on blu when it comes out. I have went to the theater 2 times this year and its to much hassle cost + sitter + time. I like them better at home,no annoying cell phones lighting up all over.


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

I totally understand, Bran...I agree completely and we only really go see titles we deem "theater worthy" if you know what I mean; the audiences today make it a MISERABLE experience, as you stated, with their rude antics but I still like to see certain films theatrically...:T


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

I also forgot to mention in the original post that prior to screening _Thor: The Dark World_, I caught the first glimpse of the trailer for _Captain America: The Winter Soldier_ which looks kinda cool. Unfortunately, the theater I was in was showing a 3D to 2D conversion trailer and it looked awful, completely blurry in some spots, but from what I was able to make out, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) is going to play a major role in this (odd that he really wasn't anywhere in _Iron Man 3_ or this new _Thor_) and the plot is going to have something to do with, as rumored, his old friend "Bucky" who becomes his adversary in this. From what I have read and based on some comic backstories, Bucky is found near dead at the base of that mountain he falls to in _Captain America_ and he's transformed into a quasi-robotic super-soldier perhaps even stronger than Steve...there's a cool moment in the trailer where Steve throws his iconic shield and a robotically masked man "catches" the shield with some contraption before it can strike him...it looks pretty cool, as I said. It also seems there's a bit of a change with Steve's costume, as in many scenes he's seen wearing a metallic gray new getup while in others he's running without much of an outfit on, with just the shield, but in still others he's flaunting some new variation of the red, white and blue suit. 

If anyone happens to catch the _Thor_ sequel while it's in theaters, I'd be interested in knowing if your theater showed the new _Captain America_ trailer (the film is due out next year).


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

Actually, now that I've watched the trailer yet again on YouTube -- very cool indeed upon second go-around -- it seems that "metallic gray" suit I was talking about was more blue, and I neglected to mention Robert Redford is in this along with not only Sam Jackson (Nick Fury from SHIELD) but Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow once again (looking ravishing with straight red hair). Oh, also -- we're getting Anthony Mackie in the role of Falcon, standing by Steve's side as he battles the equally-strong Winter Soldier and the rogue team of mercenaries looking to wipe out SHIELD (there's a cool clip of him flying with his "wings" in the trailer below). 

Check it out:


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## Infrasonic (Sep 28, 2010)

Great review Osage. I caught this last night in 3D Atmos. The sound was good and I hope they transfer it well to the BR release, the 3D wasn't really needed though - if someone is planning to see it in the theater don't bother with 3D.

Overall I thought the movie was good but not one of the best Marvel films to date. The CGI was probably the best element in the film; the way that the big horned super bad guy was visualized was very impressive. 

I didn't really follow the "scientific" aspect of the film and a lot of it seemed liked it was written in for convenience. But that isn't really why we watch these movies right? The action scenes were fun and the surround speakers were used effectively along with the LFE channel.

The acting was also good with some funny lines sprinkled through the film that will make you chuckle. I also enjoyed Loki's performance. Osage, I see what you mean about getting a little tired of him being in pretty much every film but I think you'd admit that he is a fun character and Tom Hiddleston can act circles around just about everyone else in these movies. Also is it just me or did Natalie Portman seem to age 10 years since the last movie?

Again I think it was a solid movie but I'd only recommend that you spend money in the theaters to see it if you are a huge Thor/Marvel fan, otherwise it will make a great BR.

Btw, there are actually *two* scenes after the movie, the first following the CGI credits and the second at the very end of the credit roll.


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

Infrasonic said:


> Great review Osage. I caught this last night in 3D Atmos. The sound was good and I hope they transfer it well to the BR release, the 3D wasn't really needed though - if someone is planning to see it in the theater don't bother with 3D.
> 
> Overall I thought the movie was good but not one of the best Marvel films to date. The CGI was probably the best element in the film; the way that the big horned super bad guy was visualized was very impressive.
> 
> ...


Hey, Infra! Thanks so much for checking in now that you saw this!

I didn't know that about the TWO clips provided after the film (the second one, like you mention, after the final credit roll)...shoot! Oh well, guess I'll have to catch that on the Blu-ray...can you, within spoiler brackets or via PM, describe what that scene was about?

I pretty much agree with everything else you stated above about the film itself, though we saw it in 2D. :T


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## Infrasonic (Sep 28, 2010)

Sure! Here's a description of that brief scene:


*Spoiler* 



The science foursome (Jane, Erik, Darcy & the intern) are all sitting at a kitchen table and Jane is looking very depressed because Thor had left 2 days prior when she hears a rumble of thunder and sees a flash of multi-colored light out the window. She then runs outside and into Thor’s embrace.

Then it cuts to showing that giant beast that got through the portal chasing a flock of birds and knocking over shipping containers in London.


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

Awesome! Thanks!

Did you catch the _Captain America: Winter Soldier_ trailer in your theater? :clap:


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## Infrasonic (Sep 28, 2010)

No, in fact we came in a couple minutes into the movie. I did see it online though and it does look good


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

It definitely does; a few things:

It's gonna have heavy SHIELD/Nick Fury/Black Widow elements in it, as they're working with Rogers to fight a group that wants to take over the secret governmental organization; that's where the Soviet super soldier (which according to rumor leaks IS going to be Steve's old friend Bucky) plot comes in, as he's a powerful rogue henchman created to go after SHIELD and Steve/Cap. Also, if you look carefully, you'll see Anthony Mackie's "Falcon" character being introduced, most likely being geared up as one of Steve's sidekicks in this...the trailer has a quick clip of him donning the "winged" outfit and flying off.


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## Infrasonic (Sep 28, 2010)

Yes from the looks of it it'll have several great characters. I figured it was coming out next month but it doesn't come out until April! They should have called it Captain America: Spring Soldier!


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## Osage_Winter (Apr 8, 2010)

LOL...

Yeah, the "Winter Soldier" reference is to the Bucky/Russian supersoldier backstory thing but, yes, it doesn't come out until 2014...


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