Friday, November 15, 2013

Thor: The Dark World


Let me get right to the bottom line, in case you're in a hurry: If you think you might like Thor: The Dark World, you're probably right, and you should go see it.  You'll have a pleasant time, though you will leave the theater less than fully satisfied.  This reaction is one that big-budget summer movies--and ignore the date of its release, because this is a summer movie--frequently cause, so you're probably already used to it.

You'll have a good enough time because plenty of shit blows up real good, as Joe Bob used to say, and the story takes exactly the sorts of twists and turns you expect it to.  A key character dies, another one appears to die, and good people find themselves regularly in bad situations.  Chris Hemsworth takes his shirt off for no good reason.  Etc. 

You'll exit with less than complete satisfaction, though, because there's not much real drama here--no one grows, no one truly changes--and because the story is less a story than a collection of scenes.  Taken individually, each scene is decent enough.  As a group, though, they feel disjointed, almost as if a completely different crew filmed each one and then clipped them together.

If you've read any reviews of this movie, you've probably seen that a lot of reviewers and critics are hating on Natalie Portman.  They're wrong.  She did as much with the cardboard character the writers gave her as anyone reasonably could.  Give Natalie a little love for being a trooper in the face of the sad role she had. 

In the credits, the movie delivers the Marvel Easter eggs we've come to expect, and the greater plot arc marches on toward the next Avengers movie.

So, yeah, I enjoyed it well enough, but it highlighted yet again how much less a film is when it has little heart and a weak story.  It's really a shame that Joss Whedon can't write and direct all the Marvel movies. 


8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Actually, any movie that Chris Helmsworth has long flowing hair and takes his shirt off is worth the ticket price. Plot? What plot?

Mark said...

I can understand that perspective, though it is not mine.

Rosanne said...

I remember getting really excited when the Fantastic Four movie w/ the Silver Surfer came along, because the Silver Surfer is one of my favorite comic book characters. I was very disappointed in the movie though, because the jokes felt forced and the plot was weak, so I understand what you are saying about the "Thor" movie. I have not yet seen "Ender's Game" or "Thor, the Dark World" and now the latest "Hunger Games" movie opens next Friday. Well..there's always waiting till the DVD's are released. :)

Mark said...

I don't know that you would be disappointed, but you probably would. Still, I did enjoy seeing it. I also enjoyed Ender's Game, and I look forward to seeing the second Hunger Games film.

Rosanne said...

I will probably still see the movie at some point. The past few years I have missed seeing many movies in the theater, and saw them later once the library had a DVD copy. I know there were parts I disliked about both "The Hobbit", and "Prometheus", but now, watching them again, I focus on enjoying what I liked about the movie.

Mark said...

I try always to focus on the positive when watching movies, though that is not always easy to do.

Rosanne said...

I felt that way when I watched "Cloverfield" and "Chronicle" on DVD. They were just not my cup of tea.

Mark said...

I can understand that feeling.

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