Reel Reviews: Thor-The Dark World

Magneto's Movies

Reel Reviews

 

Movie: Thor-The Dark World

 

Release Date: 8th November 2013

Director: Alan Taylor

Cast: Chris Hemsworth as Thor Odinson, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Christopher Eccleston as Malekith, Adewale Akinnuoye Agbaje as Algrim the Strong/Kurse,  Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis, Stellan Skarsgard as Eric Selvig, Idris Elba as Heimdall, Ray Stevenson as Volstagg, Tadanobu Asano as Hogun, Zachary Levi as Fandral, Jamie Alexander as Sif, Clive Russell as Tyr, Alice Krige as Eir, Rene Russo as Frigga, Chris Evans as Captain America with Benicio Del Toro as The Collector and Anthony Hopkins as Odin

Genre: Comic Book

Score: 7.6/10

Pros:-An out and out hilarious second act weaved in with great dramatic development and action, the third act has a uniquely odd climatic fight scene

          -The writers utilize the Marvel brand of comedy to terrific effect         

          -Dialogue tries its best not to feed information to the audience when need be

          -Loki's redemption character arc is played out terrifically, the ambiguous twist at the end just makes It that much better

          -Alan Taylor brings a certain amount of his flavor to the film, he directs it with interesting and thoughtful visual aesthetic

          -Most of the performances are great, however Tom Hiddleston is head and shoulders above the rest

          -The VFX is stunning, the costume and set design's blend well with the VFX aspects of the film

Cons:-The first act takes a while to get going

           -The film has a by the numbers plot, with certain plot points and characters just dropped due to this it isn't particularly memorable

           -Character writing in the film seems sloppy, where Thor begins with some depth he ends up just being the bland hero with no character arc. Jane has same traits, but for most of it is a damsel in distress . Malekith is a bland villain, he isn't explored enough.  

           -While the comedy is great, the film is tonally all over the place 

           -Even though it has that gritty Taylor vibe, eventually the film feels like a factory made production. Alan Taylor doesn't seem to have been allowed a clear artistic vision of his own

 

Best Scene: The extended sequence on Svartalfheim, Thor and Loki pull a fast one on the villains and audience but fail. Eventually a massive fight ensues with Loki redeeming himself by 'sacrificing' himself for Thor.  

Best Performance: Tom Hiddleston as Loki

Best Dialogue: "You must be truly desperate to come to me for help. What makes you think you can trust me?"-Loki
"I don't. Mother did. You should know that when we fought each other in the past, I did so with a glimmer of hope that my brother was still in there somewhere. That hope no longer exists to protect you. You betray me, and I will kill you."-Thor

Coolest Comic Book Reference:The Aether along with the Tesseract is revealed to be an Infinity Stone. In the comics there are the Infinity Gems, which when placed on the Infinity Gauntlet gives the wielder unlimited power. This is the object Thanos (big purple guy) seeks.

Reel Reviews: Thor

Magneto's Movies

Reel Reviews

The release of Thor: The Dark World means that its time to review the first film in the Thor franchise, Directed by Kenneth Branagh; Thor was probably the most riskiest property that Marvel Studios brought out on its road to The Avengers. The film however went onto become a blockbuster, and made stars out of talented actors Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston. 

Movie: Thor

 

Release Date: 6th May 2011

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Cast: Chris Hemsworth as Thor Odinson, Natalie Portman as Jane Foster, Tom Hiddleston as Loki, Kat Dennings as Darcy Lewis, Stellan Skarsgard as Eric Selvig, Colm Feore as Laufey, Idris Elba as Heimdall, Ray Stevenson as Volstagg, Tadanobu Asano as Hogun, Joshua Dallas as Fandral, Jamie Alexander as Sif, Rene Russo as Frigga, Clark Gregg as Agent Coulson, Maximiliano Hernandez as Agent Sitwell, Dakota Goyo as Young Thor, Jeremy Renner as Clint Barton/Hawkeye with Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury and Anthony Hopkins as Odin

Genre: Comic Book

Score: 7.5/10

Pros:-The scripts fish out of water type comedy is hilarious and makes the slow first and second acts entertaining

          -Loki's descent to villainy is written good

          -Branagh brings a terrific Shakespearean flare to his work, it sits perfectly alongside the comic book elements as well as the Norse Mythology

          -The multiple references to the universe, cohesively ties the film well

          -All round the performances are spectacular, Hemsworth handles himself well as a lead where as Hiddleston is a revelation far outshining his more accomplished co-stars

          -The visualized concept of Asgard, Jotunheim and characters is great

Cons:-The film follows some base tropes for an origin hero, just the situation is tad different

           -Thor humility character arc is developed too fast, where as his romance with Jane and the two actors chemistry is non existent

           -Supporting fan favorite comic book characters aren't developed enough and are generically wasted

           -The action sequences apart from Thor's hammer aren't really special, the final fight is a bit off a disappointment

Best Scene: When Loki finds about his true parentage, his confrontation with Odin is spectacular. Hiddleston brings his A game against a talented thespian like Hopkins, and far outshines him. 

Best Performance: Tom Hiddleston as Loki

Best Dialogue: "Loki, this is madness?"-Thor

"Is it madness? Is it? IS IT? I don't know what happened on Earth to make you so soft! Don't tell me it was that woman?... Oh, it was. Well maybe, when we're done here, I'll pay her a visit myself"-Loki

Coolest Comic Book Reference: Thor is given the alias of Doctor Donald Blake when he is one Earth, in the comics when he is banished to Earth Thor adopts the identity of Donald Blake.