Review: Thor The Dark World
Review by Rick Pipito, with input by Dan Pipito
It’s Star Wars meets Lord of the Rings in another epic Marvel movie. I could just tell you what I think of the film, and give it a rating, but then I wouldn’t be able to explain a few of the things I picked up and speculate on it. If you want my rating, and no spoilers, then skip to the last paragraph; otherwise, you’ve been warned… There are Major SPOILERS ahead.
The characters are a great starting point. We’re already sold on Loki and Thor. Hiddleston and Hemsworth are these characters incarnate. I cannot (nor do I want to) see anyone else fill their shoes (at least for a very long time). Hemsworth’s commanding posture and voice mirror the pages from the comics, while Hiddleston’s smirks, his emotion, and sly comments are ones to make you cheer for the badguy. Aside from them, the rest of the cast performed as well as they. Christopher Eccleston’s Malekith was a wonderful choice for villain; especially with Kurse at his side. I particularly love how their “origins” (at least for how they look in the comics) was shown. I thought it was creative, and thrown in quick enough without focusing on it. Natalie Portman, Anthony Hopkins, and Renee Russo, as well as the Warriors Three were of an average performance (certainly not under or overwhelming, but decent). Jaimie Alexander as Lady Sif I felt was underused, but I’d assume she’d play a larger role against an enemy like Enchantress in the future. Idris Elba as Heimdall is always amazing, and although the portrayal of Erik Selvig was cheesy at best, it somehow worked.
The Plot was interesting and made the audience feel the seriousness of the situation at hand. It flowed well, and I don’t feel that there were any unnecessary nods or side steps. From the opening scene until the credits rolled, I was glued to what was happening, and didn’t miss a beat. My only problem is that I figured out the Loki not being dead from the moment it happened on the battlefield (this I’ll explain in my theories in a few paragraphs). I was also shocked during a few moments of the movie with things I wasn’t expecting, which was good. There was a perfect blend of humor and action as well.
Sound and Visuals: I have no complaints about the score of music. Even the visuals were great in most places, but there were a few spots where something didn’t look right. In the scene where the two jets are flying, as well as when the realms were aligning, something just felt off there. It almost looked fake, but for a mere second. It’s probably just me being nitpicky, but it was something I noticed. Also, the scene where Thor jumped from the balcony and shed his robe to fly off in the distance looked a little cartoony, but overall not bad. Keep in mind, this was a very visual effect heavy movie, so if these are my only complaints, then it isn’t really an issue beyond me being stubborn.
Easter Eggs and Continuity: The Avengers was referenced nonchalantly multiple times, so it is well established when this takes place. Stan Lee’s cameo was hilarious yet again (I love that man). The surprise of Loki’s illusion of Chris Evan’s Captain America was both exhilarating and funny. The Infinity gems are now pretty much established as part of the whole saga, obviously leading up to an infinity gem war with Thanos in Avengers 3. The Collector appearing in the mid credits was a lot of fun especially since it will lead right into guardians of the Galaxy. All in all, the film was full of them, and done well. Hell, even the end credit scene brought some closure to the story, and though it wasn’t needed, it sort of showed that some “cleaning up” needed to be done on earth. Not necessary, like I said, but welcome being there.
Overall feel and speculation: Thor the Dark World fit well, it stood equal to what the Avengers and prior movies already established, and it more than made up for some of the faults of Iron Man 3. So where do we go from here? Here are my thoughts…. Keep in mind, this is just speculation, but I think a semi intelligent deduction.
1) Loki DID die. Before he died on the battlefield, he told Kurse “I’ll see you in Hel.” Anyone familiar with the comics knows that this is HEL, not HELL. Asgardians die and go to Hel, which is run by Hela. In the comics, Hela and Loki were related. I think Loki was not fearing death. He had a plan. Remember, he is the god of mischief and trickery. He died, and in Hel, he made a deal with Hela. This deal was to allow him to return to life, but in exchange, he would give Hela a more powerful entity for her realm. So as he returned, he killed Odin. Hela gets the most powerful Asgardian, while Loki gets the throne he always wanted. BTW, I turned to Dan during the end when “Odin” was speaking to Thor. I could see from his stance, and his manner that this was in fact Loki; so when the reveal came, I wasn’t at all surprised, but pleased.
2) The gems. So far we have the Mind Gem (which was in Loki’s staff in avengers). This is in SHIELD’s possession. Then we have the Space Gem. I didn’t think the Tesseract was anything more than just a cosmic cube, but apparently now we know (from the mid credits scene) that it is a gem. It had the ability to open portals to anywhere in the universe. What does this mean? Well Red Skull just teleported away, as I previously assumed, and he isn’t dead. Neither are anyone else who was “vaporized” by it in Captain America The First Avenger. The Space Gem is in Asgard’s vaults. Finally there is the Aether from this movie. It was in fact the Soul Gem. Sure the colors are all off, but that doesn’t matter. It infected the Soul, and the soul was referenced by the Asgardians. The Collector mentioned the 6 gems. Three have been covered. Guardians of the Galaxy is rumored to be taking place in the future (at least part of it). This could explain the Time Gem, which leaves the Power Gem, and the Reality Gem. It will be interesting to see where this all fits.
3) Enchantress, Surtur, Hela… there is plenty of room for more Thor movies, and I’m sure we’ll see it.
4) Agents of SHIELD… okay, so this strays, but it’ll be interesting to see how this movie affects the series, which I believe will tie in around episode 8 of this season.
Final Rating: If I rated Thor a 7, then I have to give Thor 2: The Dark World 8 sCrypt Coffins out of 10. It was a better sequel, it opened up more comic mythology, and it stood as a sequel and standalone movie to ALL of the Marvel Universe movies. Intelligent, funny, and action packed, this goes up high on my list of Great comic book movies.
What did you think of Thor The Dark World? Do you have any predictions? Comment below, and thanks for checking out our review.
Update!! SDCC 2012: Marvel News
I won’t be able to cover ALL of Marvel’s announcements for this year’s San Diego Comic Con, but I will include the key points of interest in my book.
First off, A deadpool video game has been announced. From the looks of the trailer, I’m betting it is going to be something that makes every Deadpool fan happy. The official website is here: http://deadpoolgame.com/
Next we go to the Disney/Marvel merger. Anyone remember a few years back, when rumor was that there would be a crossover between companies that was bound to happen at some point? Well, the moment has arrived. “Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel” has been announced. In it, Ironman, Hulk, Thor and Spiderman lose their powers and must enlist the help of Disney’s Phineas and Ferb. Also guest starring are Venom, Redskull, and Whiplash as confirmed villains. The coverage of this can be found at www.disneyabcvideo.com
And what about Marvel on TV? Well, “Avengers: Earth’s mightiest Heroes” was said to have been cancelled, but the new series “Avengers Assemble” is being seen as a continuation of that series.
Footage was shown from the new animated series coming soon “Hulk and the Agents of SMASH.” It included Red Hulk, She Hulk, Skaar, A Bomb, and of course the title character.
There are a series of Marvel Knights motion comics coming. These include: Inhumans, Eternals, Wolvering: Origins, Wolverine: Weapon X, and Ultimate Wolvering vs Hulk.
Ultimate Spiderman has been considered the #1 animated series on Disney XD. Therefore, it has been renewed for a second season and will include Rhino, Beetle, Lizard, and Electro.
According to www.comicbookmovie.com, Thomas Jane has made a return appearance as the Punisher in a short movie called “My Movie”. Here is their description. — The film, entitled “My Movie”, starred Thomas Jane and his good buddy Ron Perlman who was also in attendance.
The film begins with Thomas Jane trying to do his laundry at the local laundry mat, while a group of thugs begin making trouble. Once he’s had enough, he picks up a bottle of Jack Daniels from Ron Perlman’s liquor store and proceeds to deal out his brand of “justice” with said Jack Daniels. Yes, he uses the bottle to take out the entire group of thugs, except for their leader, who gets “punished”. VERY violent, VERY bloody, and VERY well received by those in attendance. When the young boy Thomas Jane rescues tries to return a shirt that fell out of his laundry basket, Thomas Jane says “Keep it. It’s got a hole in it.” and throws the shirt back to the boy, revealing a black shirt with the new Punisher skull on it, which was designed by Tim Bradstreet. — I wished I would have gotten to see this as I love his incarnation of the Punisher. He of course was asked about possibly reprising the role now that Marvel owns the rights to the character once again. He was enthusiastic with interest.
In the world of the Avengers Alliance game on facebook, it has been announced that the Avengers vs X-men storyline currently in the comics, will be coming as an expansion to the turn based game.
Now let’s take a look (I’ve included the official title cards) of the Marvel Phase 2 movie slate. Antman footage was shown. It is unclear as to who is playing the part, but from reactions on Superherohype.com, and other comic book movie websites, the reaction was exciting. No release date has been given, but Edgar Wright begins filming this next year.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier will be released on 4/4/14. I guess that gives us an idea that Bucky did indeed survive, and he will become the Winter Soldier. Rumors are still flying about Falcon being a part of this movie as well.
Ironman 3 footage was debuted, and people are claiming it is HOT HOT HOT. There are a few bits of coverage of Q and A panels, and a LOT was talked about. Even the possibility of Pepper Potts becoming Rescue. Ben Kingsley is definitely the Mandarin complete with robe and rings, and a surprise appearace by RDJ rounded out the event.
Guardians of the Galaxy will come out on 8/1/14. Drax, Groot, Rocket Raccon and Nova are all confirmed as part of the movie, and it is speculated that Thanos will indeed be the villain after his introduction in the Avengers. There is concept art of the characters available online as well.
Finally, Thor: The Dark World has an official release date of 11/8/13. The Dark Elves will be playing a role in this movie, but it is unknown to what extent.
I’m going to add a few more bits of coverage, including a DC coverage, and other categories.
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