Thor: The Dark World

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When I saw the first Thor movie, I simply had one thought: meh. In a time when superhero movie are either phenomenal or a disappointment, Thor was just somewhere in between. When I saw the previews for Thor: The Dark World, I had high hopes and thought there would be more of an established plot and conflict. Much to my disappointment, Thor: The Dark World was a letdown. With no clear story or villain, there's nothing that Thor: The Dark World offers aside from some decent performances and a bit of comic relief.

Centuries before the events of the original Thor, a race of dark elves lose a crucial battle with the Asgardians. To take their vengeance, the elves wait for the Convergence, a time when all nine realms align, to make their move against Thor, his father Odin (Anthony Hopkins), and everyone else on the planet.

Following the events of The Avengers, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) has returned home to the otherworldly realm of Asgard, while his adoptive brother Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is imprisoned for his crimes against the human race. Back on Earth, Astrophysicist Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) is still searching for strange occurrences on her home planet, where her intern Darcy (Kat Dennings) stumbles upon a portal from Earth to Asgard. During her intergalactic travels, Jane is infected by the dark elves with an uncontrollable power source that begins overwhelming her.

The imminent battle between planets spans from Asgard to Earth to the Elves' home planet, putting countless lives in danger. Thor is forced to release his brother and work with him in their quest to combat the elves' attack.

Thor: The Dark World was trying its very best to convey a sense of fun, but wasn't successful in its attempt. In fact, it was actually quite boring most of the time. I never really cared about the caracters when they were in peril, because the script never gave them their necessary development.

While some moments of comic relief towards the end got me to laugh a few times, most of the time I found myself bored at the movie's attempts to be flashy and cool. Sorry to the filmmakers, but a showy appearance with attractive stars aren't enough to recommend a movie.

Hiddleston and Dennings had great screen presence, and managed to keep my eyes on the screen at the dullest of moments, but without them, the movie would have almost nothing worthwhile. Coming from the studio that delivered Iron Man and The Avengers, I don't think a step up from the average-quality Thor was so much to ask. Instead, it was a poorly constructed step down.

Rating: 2.5/5