Review: Thor 2 Hammers it Out of the Park
If you’re going to see Thor: The Dark World (and you should, it’s a great movie) do not see it in 3D, I implore you. If you take nothing else away from this review, hold that knowledge in your heart and keep it close. This film is as close to perfect as a Marvel movie gets and I had exactly two problems with it, only two, which I’ll get to in a minute, but first the good parts.
The whole movie.
Yes, the whole movie is the good parts. If you’re concerned about the many problems in the first Thor, don’t even worry about it, this is a whole new Asgardian ball game. The entire cast is brilliant to the point where I can’t even pick a stand-out, but with a hammer to my head I’d say Kat Dennings. Damn that woman can steal a scene.
13th billed cast member. All I can think about in a movie about actual Gods. Damn.
Literally everyone is on point in this movie though, perfect timing, perfect delivery, great dialogue and everyone is likeable in a slightly different way.
And the women really shine! Dennings and Natalie Portman are adorable and charming, while also being independent and moving the plot along. Lady Sif is portrayed as a warrior and thankfully not a third wheel love interest like some people were worried about (including myself). Even Rene Russo gets to kick some ass in one of the best moments in the movie. And of course Hemsworth and Hiddleston kill it as Thor and Loki, we don’t even have to talk about that.
Thankfully the plot of Thor 2 is much stronger than the first film, being more straight forward but with more on the line, emphasized by some truly emotional scenes and great character development on the parts of Thor and Loki. Thor 2 also manages to find that perfect balance of fun and drama. The final battle is one of the most fun, well choreographed and original fights I’ve ever seen, but the characters keep it real and it always feels like a life or death battle, creating tension even while the audience fist pumps the air from the awesomeness.
Stick around after the film as always, there are 2 after credits scenes in this one and there’s an in-movie Marvel cameo that was so spectacular it had the audience applauding halfway through the film.
Who could it be??? I’ll say nothing except mind-blowing.
I said I had two problems with the movie though and here’s what they are:
One, there was no reason for more than half of Christopher Eccleston’s lines to be in subtitled Dark Elvish. Come on, this man is one of the greatest actors of this generation, he brings so much emotion and empathy to his roles that I want the chance to fully understand his character, Malekith. We already can’t see his facial expressions through all that make-up, so let me at least feel what he feels through his dialogue and acting ability instead of reading his character arc off a screen.
This picture sums up his entire character arc. Somehow.
Secondly, as I said, do not see Thor 2 in 3D. I felt like this movie was tagged The Dark World because the colors were so terribly muted by 3D conversion. This movie is set in half a dozen different worlds, most made of actual magic that should be exploding with color and beauty and yet the 3D made everything feel like it was in grayscale. I wanted to be awed, and I could tell where the shots were that would be magnificent if I had been watching the film in 2D but were just kind of “meh” in the darkened 3D format.
I will admit that in still scenes the 3D added some really nice depth at times, but it made any moving shots shaky and distracting. The beginning fight scene in particular was almost unwatchable and made me nauseous from too much movement and the knowledge that I was missing some great choreography.
Overall though this movie is a great addition to the Marvel movie universe, and leaps and bounds better than the original. I verily recommend it.
