Thor: The Dark World
(2013)Marvel’s Thor returns in this post-Avengers battle to save Earth and all the nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that pre-dates the universe itself. Chris Hemsworth returns to the hammer, alongside Tom Hiddleston's Loki, Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins and Idris Elba under new director Alan Taylor (TV's Game of Thrones).
In the aftermath of Thor (2011) and The Avengers (2012), Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos. But an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith (Christopher Eccleston) returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin (Hopkins) and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor's task will reunite him with Jane Foster (Portman) and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.
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Directed by Alan Taylor
Starring Chris Hemsworth, Natalie Portman, Kat Dennings, Zachary Levi, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Hiddleston, Idris Elba, Ray Stevenson, Stellan Skarsgård, Christopher Eccleston, Chris O'Dowd, Rene Russo
Written by Christopher Yost, Christopher Markus, Stephen McFeely
On Demand, DVD & Blu-Ray
Available from 4 providers
Flicks Review
BY Dominic Corry Flicks Writer
With Iron Man 3 having demonstrated that a post-Avengers movie focusing on “only” one superhero can still be a heck of a lot of fun, it now falls upon Thor: The Dark World to reinforce that point. While this blockbuster never quite reaches the giddy heights of the unexpectedly awesome Iron Man 3, it's still a perfectly enjoyable exercise in superheroics, and much more fun to watch than Man of Steel.... More
Advance word promised more of Asgard this time around and, even more so than the first film, Thor: The Dark World qualifies as a space-bound adventure. There are awesome space ships, aliens (of sorts) and a number of different worlds.
The relationship between Thor and Natalie Portman's Jane is re-engaged after having been ignored for The Avengers and it once again provides the emotional thrust of the movie.
The film suffers for the familiarity of its Macguffin - it is yet ANOTHER infinitely powerful weapon that could destroy the universe. But the guy who wants to wield it - a “dark elf” played by Christopher Eccleston - feels relatively original.
Tom Hiddleston's Loki is often described as a “fan favourite”, but I, for one, am getting tired of his smirky shenanigans. Plus the film fails to come up with anything interesting for Thor's band of merry men to do - they were one of the best parts of the first film.
Director Alan Taylor - a Games of Thrones veteran - doesn't display Thor helmer Kenneth Branagh's talent for creatively-staged action or tilty camera-work, but he steps up to the task of lending everything the requisite gravitas.
I felt a little action starved in the first half, but Thor: The Dark World perks up considerably in the final third. It may lack the surprise of the first film, but Marvel Studios is still making the best superhero movies around.Hide
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Thor: The Dark World
BY thorinoak superstar
The worst of the Marvel films so far, almost too serious for its own good, but still, as movies go, not too bad.
BY nzbayleys nobody
Another great Marvel product... fantastic production, graphics, continuity of interwoven Marvel stories and humour to boot.
BY CJRedshaw superstar
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The Press Reviews
84%
of critics recommend.
Rotten Tomatoes Score. More reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
As confident and assured as its lead character, Marvel's great run continues. Full Review
Thanks to Hiddleston and Hemsworth's impressive collective charisma, [this is] far from a franchise killer. Full Review
Too much hammer time, not enough fun, except when Loki's onscreen. Full Review
This is a grander, pacier film crammed with sprawling prog-rock landscapes, masked elf armies and giant spaceships over Greenwich. Full Review
Marvel's man with the mallet does all that's required of him in a breakneck sequel that's never dark for long. Full Review
This robust, impersonal visual-effects showpiece proves buoyant and unpretentious enough to offset its stew of otherwise derivative fantasy/action elements. Full Review
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