Thor 2 -- The Dark World: Which One Was That Again?
It may seem odd to call a movie that cost approximately $200 Million to make 'a plucky little film' but that's how Thor 2 comes across. This is an action movie that could have easily sat on its Asgardian laurels with an attitude of 'yeah, I'm a sequel to a successful super hero movie, so let's play it safe and not screw this up.' Instead, it got in there and fought for every joke, every quotable moment, every second of emotion.
The actors turn in uniformly terrific performances, including Chris Hemsworth who only had two emotions in the first movie, angry and perplexed. Mind you, he does a great angry and his perplexed isn't bad either. But here he demonstrated a greater range, thanks in part to a script that let him be more than just a hunk with great hair and killer abs. Natalie Portman seemed a bit more committed this time to the role of Jane, though we still are never given any real reason for these two people to love one another. They are hardly ever alone, hardly ever given time to do anything but run, fight, and duck. Superhero movies almost always fall apart in the romantic area, so I don't think anyone should fault Thor 2 for not doing it any better. At least they didn't do any worse.
The supporting players made the most of their moments. Kat Dennings as Darcy continues to shine, getting some of the biggest laughs in the movie. Stellan Skarsgard is a riot...though I still maintain that they made the wrong guy pantless. Gotta keep it clean, I guess. The only disappointment was Anthony Hopkins, who just seems to show up for the paycheck now in almost every movie he does. He growls well, sneers on cue, and look appropriately hoary. The only time I bought him as Odin was in a brief moment when he attempts to matchmake for Thor. Rene Russo, however, was tender, strong and intelligent in her limited screen time. Why isn't Hollywood knocking on her door instead of Susan Sarandon's? No offense to Miss Sarandon, but come on, Rene could do a whole lot more work and not wear out her welcome.
And then, oh, you knew I'd get there, Tom Hiddleston as Loki. He just keeps getting better all the time. His smile is more frightening than most actors' intense Method-y glowers and you just wait for him to do something unforgivable so you can forgive him. Over and over again. Now, if they'd just give him a romantic foil...like Jamie Alexander's Sif. A girl who hates him and loves his brother? Sounds like Loki: The Musical!
Speaking of good bad guys, both Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Christopher Eccleston are more than a little intimidating, though I do wish we could have had much, much less makeup on them both. They are actors who could easily inhabit dark roles without spending hours every day in the chair if only some director would stop playing with toys long enough to see it.
My only real quibble with Thor 2: The Dark World is...which world was supposed to be dark? The Dark Elves' planet, where we spend very little time? Asgard, which was gorgeous but always seemed in the middle of a brown-out? Or Earth, where, surprise, surprise, the climatic scene is laid. My money's on Earth, especially now it looks as if Thor is here to stay...and The Avengers: Age of Ultron is in the works.
By the way, get there early enough to see the Captain America: The Winter Soldier preview. It was so good it made me forget that I wasn't there to see that movie...and a little disappointed that Thor 2 was up next. April 4 2014 can't come soon enough!
The actors turn in uniformly terrific performances, including Chris Hemsworth who only had two emotions in the first movie, angry and perplexed. Mind you, he does a great angry and his perplexed isn't bad either. But here he demonstrated a greater range, thanks in part to a script that let him be more than just a hunk with great hair and killer abs. Natalie Portman seemed a bit more committed this time to the role of Jane, though we still are never given any real reason for these two people to love one another. They are hardly ever alone, hardly ever given time to do anything but run, fight, and duck. Superhero movies almost always fall apart in the romantic area, so I don't think anyone should fault Thor 2 for not doing it any better. At least they didn't do any worse.
The supporting players made the most of their moments. Kat Dennings as Darcy continues to shine, getting some of the biggest laughs in the movie. Stellan Skarsgard is a riot...though I still maintain that they made the wrong guy pantless. Gotta keep it clean, I guess. The only disappointment was Anthony Hopkins, who just seems to show up for the paycheck now in almost every movie he does. He growls well, sneers on cue, and look appropriately hoary. The only time I bought him as Odin was in a brief moment when he attempts to matchmake for Thor. Rene Russo, however, was tender, strong and intelligent in her limited screen time. Why isn't Hollywood knocking on her door instead of Susan Sarandon's? No offense to Miss Sarandon, but come on, Rene could do a whole lot more work and not wear out her welcome.
And then, oh, you knew I'd get there, Tom Hiddleston as Loki. He just keeps getting better all the time. His smile is more frightening than most actors' intense Method-y glowers and you just wait for him to do something unforgivable so you can forgive him. Over and over again. Now, if they'd just give him a romantic foil...like Jamie Alexander's Sif. A girl who hates him and loves his brother? Sounds like Loki: The Musical!
Speaking of good bad guys, both Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Christopher Eccleston are more than a little intimidating, though I do wish we could have had much, much less makeup on them both. They are actors who could easily inhabit dark roles without spending hours every day in the chair if only some director would stop playing with toys long enough to see it.
My only real quibble with Thor 2: The Dark World is...which world was supposed to be dark? The Dark Elves' planet, where we spend very little time? Asgard, which was gorgeous but always seemed in the middle of a brown-out? Or Earth, where, surprise, surprise, the climatic scene is laid. My money's on Earth, especially now it looks as if Thor is here to stay...and The Avengers: Age of Ultron is in the works.
By the way, get there early enough to see the Captain America: The Winter Soldier preview. It was so good it made me forget that I wasn't there to see that movie...and a little disappointed that Thor 2 was up next. April 4 2014 can't come soon enough!
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