Kyle Hadyniak

For The Maine Campus

“Thor: The Dark World” had a lot to live up to following the enormous success of “The Avengers.” Unfortunately, Thor’s second outing is lacking in several key areas that prevent it from being a great superhero movie. While “The Dark World” does some things right, its cons hamper the movie, ultimately disappointing audience members who expected Avengers-like quality.

One could argue it isn’t fair to judge “The Dark World” against the merits of “The Avengers,” but even a comparison to the first “Thor” movie shows this sequel is lacking. There are two main flaws to “The Dark World”: acting and writing. However, fans will be pleased to know that “The Dark World” does succeed in offering a visual feast, along with offering a couple of fanservice moments sure to leave the audience satisfied.

Firstly, “The Dark World” is void of any standout acting. Specifically, Natalie Portman simply lacks any charisma, believability or chemistry with her opposite. Her delivery is flat, even in action scenes, and there is no emotion in poignant sections. It is hard to engross yourself in one of “Thor”’s excellent action scenes when suddenly the tension is taken away by lackluster delivery.

Chris Hemsworth as the title character is only slightly better, but his constantly macho delivery wears out its welcome during romantic or emotional scenes. Other actors, such as Anthony Hopkins and Christopher Eccleston, put on decent performances, but nothing to write home about.

The other major flaw is the screenplay. Like the acting, “The Dark World” has a serviceable script, at best. The brotherly banter between Thor and Loki is cliché, and lacks the intended comedic effect. Likewise, opponent banter lacks wit or creativity, making each such encounter a brief, groan-worthy prelude to the excellent action scenes. To the script’s credit, the story moves along quickly, preventing the movie from dragging. Also, the editing is good enough to highlight the few well-written moments.

Comedically, “The Dark World” does include some effective moments. Some of these come in fan-service instants, such as a cameo by Stan Lee and Captain America. Others, like Thor getting on a subway to return to battle, or the impromptu love story between Darcy and her intern, are not forced and integrated well in the action, creating a quick, effective break in the otherwise dark plot.

Unexpectedly, “The Dark World” features some amazing CGI work. Thor’s home of Asgard is rendered beautifully, and large-scale battle scenes feature crisp and flashy weapon effects and explosions. Particularly, the Dark Elves designs are fully-realized and lifelike, lending credibility to the threat they pose. Asgardian ships are equally impressive in detail, further realizing this particular section of Marvel’s universe.

However, it should be noted that when viewed in 3D, some of the backgrounds look disjointed from the foreground, a distracting effect that is likely remedied by viewing the movie in 2D. Otherwise, 3D doesn’t lend any notable “wow” moments, making its addition feel unnecessary. Save yourself some money and see this movie in 2D.

“The Dark World” is a decent superhero movie and nothing more. As a side-story to “The Avengers” storyline, it is effective in creating a shared sense of continuity, which is always nice to see. Several references to the climactic battle in New York from “The Avengers” and the aforementioned appearance of Captain America solidifies this point.

As a standalone movie, one would think one of the Avengers deserves a better outing. With that said, “The Dark World” offers a mostly enjoyable 2-hour romp thanks to excellent visuals and comedically-sprinkled script. If the next “Thor” movie can improve the leads’ acting and the script, Thor could finally get the movie worthy of an “Avengers” character.

Grade: C