Thor: The Dark World (2013)

[Do you know what day today is? It's Tho- okay you know what, this intro would work better if it were Thursday instead of Friday.]

It's not summer yet, but Thor 2 is already out, for those of you (and me) who think that one year between Marvel movies is too long. Since this post is actually on time (watched it today!), I kinda feel obliged to give a brief synopsis of the film and to capitalize SPOILER WARNING:

Set shortly post-Avengers (timeline from Thor is two years), Jane stumbles upon and accidentally absorbs the MacGuffinAether, an energy that can convert matter into dark matter. It is also something required by the Dark Elves, who want to devoid the entire universe of light (both literally and figuratively), and the process can only be completed during the Convergence of all nine Realms (which, of course, happens to be now). Thor, who has been on peace campaigns in other Realms, whisks Jane back to Asgard to find a way to rid her of the Aether.

After the Elves attack Asgard (resulting in a poignantly beautiful funeral sequence focused in sending off a character that was only in the first movie for roughly five minutes), Odin locks down Asgard, leading Thor to again whisk Jane away for a cure but this time with the help of Loki, who makes good on his, “there are secret ways into Asgard that even you, with your all-seeing eye, do not even know of, etc.,” line from the first movie.

[I can’t believe I actually remembered that line. EDIT: I only remembered a variation of said line. My bad.]

Even so, the Elves still manage to retrieve the Aether (after an interesting turn of events where Loki is thought to have betrayed Thor in a brutally cool scene), and Loki is stabbed after trying to save Thor. Thor and Jane are stranded, but as the Convergence approaches, the boundaries between the Realms blur conveniently and they make their way back to Earth to prevent the Elves from succeeding in their quest. Long story short (“too late!”), they do succeed with very cool wormhole teleportation and CGI, and Thor returns to Asgard to tell his father about Loki’s sacrifice and that he cannot ascend the throne (not because of Jane, but because he can better serve as protector and peacekeeper to the Nine Realms).

And it doesn't end there; what happens next is simply brilliant and I’m very, very much looking forward to the next installment. I don’t want to spoil it, but I can’t refrain myself from typing it out either. It’s in black font just right below, so if you really wanna know, highlight away:

[Earlier scenes hint at Loki’s undeath, and in the last scene of the film, after Thor leaves Odin’s presence, we find out that (Anthony) Hopkins is actually Hiddles shape-shifted, and he’s on the throne on Asgard.]

Like The Avengers, the Phase II-related end-credits scene comes midway. I’ve never even heard of Guardians Of The Galaxy until they announced the movie, so what I can only say is that Benicio del Toro (at least, I think it’s him) is in it. There’s a short scene at the very end of the credits, but it’s, like, 10 seconds long and it’s shwarma-like so it’s skippable. I’ve described the scene (to the best of my recollection) in black font, so if you’re curious...:

[Scene begins with Jane in her apartment (that she shares with Erik, Darcy, etc.), and a rumbling in the sky leads her to the window, where a flash of light is reflected on the window pane. Camera pans to the loft/roof, Jane runs to where the Bifrost light is, Thor appears, and they kiss. Next scene shows the creature from Jotunheim that fell through a Convergence portal to our world chasing ravens. LOL.]

Chris Hemsworth can do no wrong in my book (no, not even Snow White And The Huntsman), and he’s able to project the kind of maturity and wisdom that would be expected from Thor (after all, Thor has been in two Marvel films already). There’s less of that good-natured big baby adorableness, though, since much of it happens on his home turf. And as expected, Tom Hiddleston (as Loki) steals every scene he’s in. Adding to my burgeoning interest in the character (you can never go wrong with the God of Mischief), the film explores another facet to Loki by including scenes with his adoptive mother, Frigga (played by Rene Russo). Apparently, there were supposed to be scenes of Hiddleston and Russo in Thor (Frigga’s favourite is Loki, it seems!, but they weren’t included in the final cut, so I’m really glad we got to see this in Thor 2.

Previously, what we’ve seen between Thor and Loki is rage and disgruntlement (more on Loki’s side), but in this movie Loki seems to have resigned himself to taunting/teasing Thor when they’re together, and this leads to very funny exchanges between Hemsworth and Hiddleston. It is also these scenes (humourous or otherwise) where both Hemsworth and Hiddleston shine, as there's always that parry-and-thrust relationship between them. One sequence, which isn’t plot-related but is hilarious enough to detract from that fact, has Loki pranking Thor to look like the Lady Sif at one point (still with Hemworth’s voice) and shape-shifting himself into various characters (including an Avenger!).

This is why I’m such a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe: aside from continuity, you’d get a surprise-cameo from an Avenger in each film. DC, please take note.

Again, a few minutes of seeing Asgard and I think to myself that I should’ve seen this in 3D (although, post-conversion movies tend to be no different than regular-D). Thankfully, in Asgard and some of the Nine Realms (and not Earth/Midgard; at least the scenes on Earth without Thor weren’t too long) are where much of the action is, so it would be more worth the 3D ticket price than the first film. More space is good. Green Lantern, if you get a sequel, please take note.

Apart from the funeral send-off, props also go to the scene where Heimdall (played by Idris Elba) takes out a cloaked Dark-Elf ship, only to have the mother ship rise up behind him and launching a few more smaller ships towards Asgard.

Thor suggests that science was mistaken by the ancients for mythology; Thor 2 confirms it in the opening scene (which occurs immediately after The Avengers), where Odin rebukes Loki for thinking that they are Gods. But what I don’t get is Loki and Frigga’s abilities with shape-shifting and astral/holographic projections. If they are not Gods nor supernatural creatures, (they’re not even blood kin), how is it they have these abilities that are only unique to them and not other Asgardians? It’s no secret that Loki has these abilities, and you’d think that the technology would’ve been requisitioned by Odin or his warmasters already.

Anyway, overall, Thor: The Dark World is a fantastic next step in Phase II, and I'm quite surprised to see it released in November (not that I'm complaining). Can't wait to see what comes next for our Norse Gods-cum-aliens.

Special shout-out to the end credits; I love this kind of shade art-like style. And also another shout-out to mini black-hole generator bombs. The geek in me got goosebumps with that.