Following the destruction of the Bifrost at the end of the first chapter, Thor (Chris Hemsworth) is busy pacifying the Nine Realms in turmoil, but in the meantime a new threat looms on the horizon in the form of Malekith (Christopher Ecclestone), lord of the Dark Elves, who thousands of years ago attempted to bring darkness into the universe using the power of the Aether and an astral conjunction that is about to occur again.
With the help of his beloved Jane Foster (Natalie Portman), the God of Thunder will have to try to stop Malekith, also enlisting the help of Loki (Tom Hiddleston), imprisoned after the events of The Avengers.
Marvel's God of Thunder returns with a largely unchanged cast (with the exception of Zachary Levi who replaces Joshua Dallas in the role of Fandrall) and with a new director, Alan Taylor, who has also directed episodes of cult TV shows such as The Sopranos and two of Game of Thrones, whose personal touch makes this long-awaited sequel one of the best Marvel productions in recent times.
Taylor in fact, thanks also to a script that reverses the setting compared to the previous film, no longer located in New Mexico but mainly in Asgard and the Nine Realms, develops by far the seeds planted by his predecessor Kenneth Branagh and gives the viewer an almost fairy-tale visual universe that seems taken directly from the pages of the comic.
In fact, the director not only outlines an even more majestic and technological Asgard at the same time, but also manages to construct sequences of great effect and impact regarding the Viking culture, which in one occasion in the film in particular (which we will not reveal) underline the great importance that the director has given in providing his version of the Asgardians and their culture.
But Thor: The Dark World is not only this, it is also a great entertainment product in pure Marvel style, where drama and humor blend together in the right times and ways, managing to give the viewer a show that entertains and involves. All thanks to a cast that works, in which the dynamics tested in the previous film are developed thanks to mechanisms such as plot twists, mourning, betrayals, jokes in a well-oiled machine that provides the Thor franchise with full maturity and its own legs to continue its cinematic adventure.
The only flaw is a main villain, Malekith, not accurately characterized that in addition to being threatening, does not provide details and further attractions. Luckily there is Tom Hiddleston, who once again confirms his majestic skill in playing a perfect Loki.
Hiddleston does not disappoint, confirming himself as the extra card to play in this film. His character, currently the best villain in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, contains within himself all the themes already present in the previous film, such as the tumultuous relationship with his stepbrother Thor, jealousy, aspirations to the throne and power of Asgard, the affection of Odin and his mother Frigga.
The alliance between the two during the film thus leads to an open confrontation in which many of these feelings, most of the time contrasting, come to light, accentuating a relationship that allows us to glimpse interesting developments for the third chapter, also thanks to a truly unexpected twist.
With the acclaimed The Avengers, which concluded the infamous Phase One by reuniting the Avengers in a single team, Marvel Studios seemed to have reached the qualitative peak of their production. The arrival of Joss Whedon, with his cultural background as a cinephile nerd, gave a new pace to the company's products, shattering box office records and collecting enthusiastic reviews.
Doing an encore was not easy, yet the alchemy is repeating itself with Thor: The Dark World. Despite having a long television experience behind him, Alan Taylor is not a renowned author like Whedon nor a classic artist like Kenneth Branagh - whose Thor, overshadowed by authorial ambition, fails to fully convince. Placing himself at the service of the script, Taylor creates a light, fun and spectacular product. Pure and simple entertainment cinema in which all the ingredients are mixed perfectly, including stereoscopy, since Marvel has now amply demonstrated its ability to master 3D, placing it at the service of the story to amplify the majesty of the vision.
After an incipit set in the distant past in which the solemn voice of Anthony Hopkins tells us of the existence of a Dark Kingdom inhabited by the menacing Malekith and his monstrous white warriors - who in ancient times had been defeated by Asgard and forced to give up the Aether, their dark power - the film opens in Asgard after the events of The Avengers.
The heart of the god of thunder is on Earth, along with Jane Foster, but his sense of duty pushes him to fight to stem the damage caused by Loki, finally managing to pacify the Nine Realms. This time the action focuses on Asgard and its malevolent counterpart, the desolate Dark World. Two evocative places, magnificently reconstructed in CGI, whose presence gives the film a truly mythical and surreal aura.
As for the third location, the earthly one, we soon discover that Jane and his colleagues have moved to London, where Jane's mother lives. Right in the English capital, to be precise in Greenwich, the spectacular final battle will take place in which everything will happen. And always in London Jane locates one of the points of contact between universes being sucked by a force that makes her fall right where the Aether is buried. Immediately the terrible power takes possession of her body. It will be the guardian Heimdall (Idris Elba) to notice the disappearance of the young woman alerting Thor who immediately goes to Earth in search of his beloved.
Unlike the volcanic Tony Stark, Thor is not a one-man show. His energetic hammer blows do not correspond to an equal dialectical verve. To make up for this lack, the script places alongside the granite demigod a group of characters who, by interacting, give life to unforgettable gags. The role of Odin is scaled down a bit to make room for Jane Foster.
Natalie Portman's character gains depth and is put in a position to show a wider range of feelings than in her previous appearance. Frigga, Thor's courageous mother, is given a key role, while the feelings of the beautiful warrior Sif for the blond god are made explicit (already in Thor we had sensed her passion, unrequited, for Odin's blond son). Even the scientist Eric Selvig, after the brainwashing of The Avengers, returns with some behavioral problems that make him much more likeable than before.
But the real superstar of Thor: The Dark World is Loki. His cynicism is the lifeblood of the script that reserves for him a triumph of jokes, plot twists, volte-faces that deceive the viewer and breathtaking action scenes. If Marvel really confirms its choice not to have Tom Hiddleston return in the new feature films in preparation, it will be a great loss for the studio. The English actor shows off all his talent by creating memorable duets with Chris Hemsworth that will drive fans crazy.
The weakness of some passages of the script (Jane's accidental discovery of the Aether), the unscrupulous use of scientific notions and the similarities with many other fantasy works (from the previous Marvel feature films to The Lord of the Rings and Star Wars) are compensated by a predominant comic component.
Cult scenes abound. Just think of Thor getting on the subway and impressing the blonde passenger on duty, Loki imitating one of the Avengers (whose identity we will not reveal) or Eric Selvig turning to nudism to overcome the trauma of having had a god in his brain. And then there's the return of Kat and her new intern and the irresistible 'intergalactic' phone call from Chris O'Dowd to Natalie Portman. Even those who love wild flights, special effects and spectacular duels will certainly not be disappointed.
Many spectators will be thrilled by Thor's sculpted chest and his romantic and passionate love for Jane, others will not disdain Loki's pale face and his more spirited look than ever.
A recommendation. Don't be fooled by the games of the Marvel creatives, don't leave the theater before the end of the credits because this time the teaser scenes that reveal the previews of the studio's next feature films are two. Don't miss, as always, the two final scenes after the credits, which connect the film to the upcoming The Guardians of The Galaxy, as well as romantically closing the events of this second chapter.
