While I did enjoy the first Thor movie, It wasn’t without its faults as there was more time focused on earth than there was on Asgard. This is why the sequel titled Thor The Dark World, would be in a lot of respects even better than the previous entry as there is not only a great chunk of time devoted to the world of the gods but also the same butt-kicking action and adventure that has been elevated to a whole new standard for the franchise. There are many things this movie does right to not only be a stand-alone success, but also be a superior sequel to its predecessor.
After the events of The Avengers, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) is sent to a prison cell in Asgard to pay for his crimes against his attempts to rule over Earth. Meanwhile, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is busy setting things right in the distant realms, and when he returns to Asgard to ask the gatekeeper to check upon Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), he discovers she is missing from the earth as Jane discovers a portal that leads her to a substance called the Aether which suddenly infects her body and wakes up afterward unknowing what had just happened. A worried Thor travels to Jane’s current location in Londen England to take her to Asgard when he finds out about her strange powerful infection. As the Asgardian nurses try to figure out about Jane’s condition, an enemy named Malekith awakens after years of slumber and plans on taking the Aether for himself to destroy Asgard and the Nine Realms. Thor will need all the help he can get and he may find he’ll need to rely on past aquaintances to put a stop to Malekith’s destruction.
Unlike the last movie, there is more focus being put on Asgard and the majestical realms of the gods. We do indeed get to spend time on earth as well, but the time on earth is cut short to make way for the more interesting stuff that is happening in Thor’s world which is a major upgrade from before. That’s not to say the stuff that happens on Earth is bad, but like before, it’s more interesting when the movie has the focus set on Asgard's worldbuilding and the way the gods manage the realms of old. The story brings more of the action-packed suspense with having many twists and turns that add stakes to a character’s decisions. Once again Thor and Loki’s relationship is spot on. I bet you could put these two in any random situation and it would still be just as entertaining because actors Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston are so dang good at playing brothers that their bond can almost seem believable most of the time. The rest of the characters outside of Jane, her colleagues and Odin, don’t leave too much of an impression, but they do serve their roles even when it may cost them to be rather forgettable at times.
The Visuals are a step up from before as they provide even more visual splendor. We get to see even more of the world of Asgard and the different realms our characters visit. The CGI has certainly gotten better as the look of Asgard feels shinier and wonderfully detailed. Since we do get to spend more time in Thor’s world, it does allow the audience to notice the costume designs for our heroes and our villains which are done expertly well. Some props such as the enemy ships and Asgardian weapons make for some interesting visual choices that we haven’t seen a Thor movie execute before. The action in the movie is outstanding as the movie makes more use of Thor’s powers and the setpieces that get introduced. There is even an intense but also fun final battle action sequence that makes great use of the character’s surroundings and uses those said surroundings in creative and inventive ways. Composer Brain Tyler comes off his scoring for Iron Man 3 and fully delivers on a much more epic sounding soundtrack that is even better than the first movie. Because we get more time for action and adventure, it only makes sense to give the audience something that feels grand and majestical when the time is right.
This is honestly what I originally envisioned a Thor movie to be like, it just turns out I needed to wait for one movie later. Thor The Dark World isn’t without its minor nitpicks, but it fully delivers on a much more engaging and adventurous storyline, likable characters, beautiful visuals, and an epic music score. If you’re like me and thought that there was a much better way to execute a Thor movie, then you’ll be surprised to find out how much of a major improvement this is over the original movie. Sure, it still does keep some of the elements that made the first movie good, but it does a thousand other things that help make this a superior sequel in so many ways.
(Final Grade: B+)