TheMarvel Cinematic Universeis one of the most successful film franchises of the 21st Century, and it has changed the industry in many ways. Rival studios have been trying to replicate the interconnected storytelling model that the MCU perfected for years, but few projects since have matched the success of what Marvel Studios perfected with even the firstThe Avengersfilm in 2012. It was the essential crossover film that spawned Marvel’s second phase, which included a continuation into theThorfranchise. Directed by Alan Taylor,Thor: The Dark Worldfeatured Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman reprising their roles as Thor and Jane Foster, respectively.
While the film earned modestly mixed to positive reviews at the time and was a box office success, its reputation has declined in recent years. Marvel fans love to rank the franchise films based on quality, andThor: The Dark Worldoften ends up close to the bottom;IndieWireplaced it at #29 on its list, andTime Outhad it placed at the very bottom. While all opinions are subjective, the hatred centered aroundThor: The Dark Worldfeels somewhat misplaced. While the film is hardly on the level of some of the MCU’s truly great films likeCaptain America: Civil War, Iron Man,andGuardians of the Galaxy, it’s far from being the worst.
The Enjoyable Story and Characters
While it’s hard to judgeHemsworth’s appearance inThor: The Dark Worldand compare it to his roles inAvengers: Infinity WarandAvengers: Endgame, he does a very respectable job reprising his role and adding more depth. It seems like fans were more excited by Hemsworth’s more comedic work after Taika Waititi took over the franchise withThor: Ragnarok, but it was important for Thor to make a transition before he could become a more light-hearted character. 2011’sThorwas much more of a sincere Shakespearean epic that had a lot in common with director Kenneth Branagh’s stage adaptations, andThor: The Dark Worldis certainly much more fun. While in the first film Thor is very self-serious, he has a much more developed confidence and sense of humor in the sequel, particularly when he is home in Asgard.
Unquestionably, the most entertaining part ofThor: The Dark Worldis the dynamic between Thor and his adopted brother, Loki (Tom Hiddleston), who had just tried to conquer Earth inThe Avengersand has now been imprisoned. The chemistry between Hemsworth and Hiddelston has evolved and changed throughout the entire MCU, and it’s interesting to see them at this critical stage when they’re forced to team up. The banter between the two is quite funny, particularly when Loki must be freed from prison and becomes the subject of mockery in the eyes of Thor’s friends. However, the more sincere moments when Thor and Loki mourn the death of their mother (Rene Russo) are just as effective.
Related:Thor: The Dark World Director Talks About The ‘Taylor Cut’
The MCU has employed the work of some very acclaimed auteur filmmakers such as Chloé Zhao and Ryan Coogler, but Taylor is certainly not lacking in credentials. With directorial credits on some of the best episodes ofGame of Thrones, Mad Men, The Sopranos, and the mafia show’s spinoff filmThe Many Saints of Newark, Taylor certainly knows how to balance an ensemble and create elaborate production design; Asgard looks absolutely beautiful, and the computer generated-imagery has actually held up after a decade. Many would cite Christopher Eccelston’s Malekith the Dark Elf as one of the MCU’s worst villains, but that isn’t necessarily an anomaly; despite the generally positive reception that they received,Guardians of the GalaxyandDoctor Strangedon’t have particularly compelling antagonists either.
The Failures That Followed
Thanks toThor: Love and Thunder,Thor: The Dark Worldis hardly even the worstThorfilm. While the worst thing that can be said aboutThor: The Dark Worldis that it is somewhat forgettable,Thor: Love and Thunderis shrill, obnoxious, and completely misses the mark on tone; serious scenes of Jane’s issues with cancer and Gorr the God Butcher (Christian Bale) are intertwined with scenes of childish comedy. In terms of MCU sequels,Iron Man 2is a more egregious example of a character being ruined and a story being messy. Hemsworth still does a great job inThor: The Dark World,but inIron Man 2, Robert Downey Jr. turns Tony Stark into an arrogant, selfish jerk that wrecks his home and fights with his friends.
The reason that the MCU has been so consistently successful so far has been on the strength of casting and characters; fans are engaged in these heroes on an emotional level, and both Thor and Loki develop in interesting ways throughoutThor: The Dark World. Some of the weaker MCU installments failed to do that; none of the new heroes introduced withinEternalsreally stood out, and Brie Larson’s depiction of Carol Danvers inCaptain Marvelfailed to elicit any excitement from fans.
Related:Ranking Every Movie From Taika Waititi, the Hottest Director in Hollywood Today
The Standalone Quality
Consideringhow disappointing Phase Fourhas been,Thor: The Dark Worldfeels like a relative breath of fresh air. One of the issues that the new film has had is the focus on bridging everything together, which has just made the ongoing storylines more difficult to watch on their own. WhileThor: The Dark Worldcontains references to the other franchise installments, it is still understandable for those that have only seenThe Avengersand the firstThor.
Thor: The Dark Worldisn’t necessarily one of the MCU’s most well-written films, but it’s certainly not the sloppiest. Between the sloppy use of flashbacks inBlack Widow, the awkward inclusion of television characters inBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever, the confusing scientific mumbo jumbo in bothAnt-Man and the WaspandAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and the tonal inconsistency ofDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: The Dark Worldhardly has one of the franchise’s worst scripts.
