There are nine realms in the universe including Asgard and Midgard--which is what the Asgardians call our world. Every once in a while, they all line up in a phenomenon known as “the Convergence.”
The last time this happened, an evil Dark Elf named Malekith (Christopher Eccleston, “Doctor Who”) wanted to use a fluid substance known as the Aether to plunge the universe into darkness. Before he could do this, Bor, the father of King Odin (Anthony Hopkins, "The Silence of the Lambs"), got in the way, and Malekith failed. He decided to hide the Aether until the next convergence occurs, so he can try to plunge the world into darkness once again.
It is now two years since the events of the first film, and Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), Thor’s love interest from the first film, is in London. She is trying to move on because Thor (Chris Hemsworth) did not come back for her when he said he would. What she does not know is when he went back to Asgard, the bridge to Earth was destroyed making it impossible to return. He is constantly thinking about her and looking after her with the help of Heimdall (Idris Elba, “Pacific Rim”), the gatekeeper who has the ability to see everything in the universe.
The convergence is about to happen again, and there are portals to other realms appearing on Earth. Jane enters one and accidentally finds the Aether, which consumes her body. The place she finds it is hidden from Heimdall’s sight, which worries Thor. He returns to Earth to see if she is okay.
The Aether gives her unstable, destructive power that goes off whenever she feels threatened. When Thor sees this, he takes her to Asgard to get help for her.
Meanwhile, Malekith sees that the Aether was taken by her. Since the Convergence is about to happen, he goes to Asgard in an attempt to retrieve it, and some big events happen as the Dark Elves lay siege there. However, they come out empty handed.
Thor knows the elves are going to come back for the Aether. In order to keep them away from Asgard, he plots to escape to the
Svartalfheim--where the elves are from--with Jane in an attempt to destroy the Aether.
This is against King Odin’s (Anthony Hopkins, “The Silence of the Lambs”) orders. He thinks the mission is too risky. Thor sees it as necessary to protect the people of Asgard. He does not have access to the rainbow bridge to get there, so he needs to find an alternate way.
The only person there who knows any other way out is Loki (Tom Hiddleston). He is locked up in an Asgardian prison for the war crimes he committed in “The Avengers.” During the course of that film, he led an army of aliens, known as the Chitauri, to attack Manhattan in an attempt to rule the world. Thor breaks him out, and Loki leads him to Svartalfheim.
The end of “The Avengers” leaves the audience wondering what will happen to Loki. “Thor: The Dark World” answers this question and takes the character to new places. His relationship with Thor--including its many complexities--is further exposed.
Loki is one of the most complex characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has so many different motives for doing the things he does. He is not simply a villain who wants to rule the world. He is the younger brother who has always lived in Thor’s shadow. Furthermore, he finds out as an adult that not only is he adopted, but his biological parents are enemies to Asgard. This film takes it even further and portrays him as having an Oedipus complex: he has a deep love for his mother, but he seems to resent King Odin.
This character could not have been pulled off without the amazing performance of Tom Hiddleston. Before I saw “Thor,” I had read a graphic novel in which Loki is one of the key villains. Hiddleston’s portrayal is exactly how I imagined him. He brings a sense of subtlety to the character that makes him unpredictable. In this movie, he uses his powers of deception several times, not only to trick other characters, but to trick the audience.
Chris Hemsworth does a great job as the title character. Thor has come a long way from the first film. In that one, he is over-confident and reckless. In this one, while he is still reckless at times, it is clear his actions are solely motivated by his will to do good.
This movie has the same mood as the other films in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is comical at many points, but there is plenty of drama to balance it out and make the characters believable. There is also a decent amount of action without going overboard.
The main villain is the weak point in the movie. It is not because he is not threatening. He is. It is not because Christopher Eccleston gives a horrible performance. It is quite good. Malekith is a weak villain because he was not developed properly by the filmmakers. The only scenes he is in are made for the purpose of showing him further his plan. However, it is unclear exactly what motivates him to achieve it. There is no depth to him like there is to Loki. He is just another villain who wants to destroy the universe.
Instead of developing the villain, the film focuses its attention on helping the audience understand what the Convergence is. There are several scenes that recap what it is. The filmmakers have good reason for doing this. It is a fairly complicated piece of lore, and it is important to the story. However, the film would have benefitted by developing Malekith further and focusing less on explaining the Convergence.
With that being said, Christopher Eccleston is great for the role. I know him as the Doctor from the first season of the new version of “Doctor Who.” If I had not known that he was going to be in the movie, I would never have guessed it was him. Furthermore, he brings a sense of menace to the character, and had it not been for that, Malekith would have left no impression at all.
I give this film four-and-a-half out of five stars. It is an entertaining movie that furthers the characters in a satisfying way. If you are a fan of Marvel, you will want to see this movie. In fact, you might want to see it several times. Next to “The Avengers,” it is probably my favorite in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Content: Rated PG-13. There is very mild language. There are intense, violent scenes throughout. For the most part it is not gory, but a body part is cut off in one scene. The Dark Elves might be frightening to younger viewers. There is no sexual content, but one character is shown streaking in a censored news clip.
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